Any time you have the chance to leave Ohio and come to Michigan you should do it!

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It's not how you start, it's how you finish

Funny, it's been much easier for us Buckeyes to come up to Michigan since Tressel took over the series but I was trying to leave the rivalry out of the equation on my purchase. Good luck with the rest of the season I hope we are both undefeated in the Big 10 again when it comes time for the big game, always more fun that way.

I live about 20min away from Tom's and have to say that they do a top notch job there. That being said you have to understand that Tom's place is pretty small which means that there are not alot of bikes on display ready to send out the door. You will most likely have to make two visits, 1 to pick out your bike, 2 to pick up you bike and get the fit. Or you coudl get lucky and he will have the one you want in stock, in which case give me a call and we can go up the street and have a beer while you wait for it to be built up!

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This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time. - Fight Club
Industry Brat.

Sorry, I know your post was serious, I just had to throw something in even though we have been your wipping boys the last few years. Bikesport is worth the drive, Tom will take very good care of you.

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It's not how you start, it's how you finish

Definetly worth the drive. I live two hours north of Tom's place and wouldn't go anywhere else. I got my tribike from Tom a couple of years ago and then decided to get a road bike from the local guy. I have regretted the road bike purchase ever since. When they fit the road bike I had to direct the guy doing it and still ended up with a poor fitting bike, he seemed in a hurry to get me out of the shop. Tom's place on the other hand spent hours adjusting the fit not once but twice when I went back in with an issue that developed on longer rides.

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Jim

**Note above poster works for a retailer selling bikes and related gear*

Oh and you can ask UKGearmuncher and JulianinEngland if it is worth it. They FLEW over from England to have Tom fit them.

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Jim

**Note above poster works for a retailer selling bikes and related gear*

It would be worth the drive just so you can be properly FIST fitted.

I have purchased two bikes from them and I live approx. 3 hours from Bikesport. As much as I like the guys at my LBS, I believe that the experience at Tom's shop is invaluable. I would recommend that you make the drive.

I had been debating posting this but I figure this would bethe best place- Knowing Tom from his posts I am sure he will make sure this doesn't happen again.

I made a trip there a few weeks ago and was a very disappointed with the service. My bike is to long in the top tube and I was wanting to look at options for a new front end with a shorter stem or a whole new bike. I waited in the store for someone to help me for about 30 -40 min, I saw Tom in and out of his office a few times he said Hi that was it. The Kid at the counter helped a bit, but seemed more focused on working on the bike he had up in the stand. I was the only person in the store for about 30 min then a young woman walked in and Tom came right out to help her. No one was rude, just not helpful. I live about 4 hours away but was in town for a business trip so I stopped in, I certainly am glad that I did make a special trip.

Maybe you should call ahead to let Tom know you are making a trip to see him?

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I'm just a 10 cent rider on a $2,500.00 Bike

As Jim said I came over in '04 to be fitted by Tom and found it such a worthwhile and educational experience that I returned the following year for a road bike and fit along with Bryce. If you can fit him (Mister 99th percentile) you can fit anyone.

I would strongly recommend the experience but ensure that you book and have everything in place before travelling as they are EXTREMELY busy.

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"How bad can it be?" - SimpleS

I had same experience as this guy, was not real pleased at all with the service. I would say though that the fit was good but the experience was not all I had hoped.

As a note, you do need to make an appointment for a fitting before you go. Bikesport is a busy place and dropping in to buy a bike may not work if they are booked with fittings.

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Jim

**Note above poster works for a retailer selling bikes and related gear*

Don't believe the hype. That's a long drive to be ignored. Save the gas and support your local economy.

Dan

I was not in there for a fitting- just some general advice as to which way I should go- new front end or new bike. After which I might have spent money in the shop.

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I'm just a 10 cent rider on a $2,500.00 Bike

I agree, especially if it's to spend money...our economy needs all the help it can get!

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Ann Arbor Triathlon Club

Follow me on Twitter

We're pleased you're considering making the trip. Reading through the posts in this thread I think there is an emerging balance to what our strengths and weaknesses are. Here's my take:

Weaknesses:

1. We're slow. This is a small place and if you want it fast allow me to recommend places like all3sports, Nytro, R&A, etc. People sometimes try to compare us to them and we are absolutely no where near the same size operation. We are literally 5 people with me doing almost every fit. I've purposely slowed things down in here to be sure stuff is done as well as we can, and even then mistakes still occasionally happen. For the most part though, I am pleased with our capability and willingness to be exacting in fit and assembly and go the extra mile for people.

2. We don't have everything in stock, ready to ship overnight. R&A and Nytro and Mission Bay and all3sports does. We do not.

3. You do need to make an appointment to get good service here and even then out appointments, especially on busy Saturdays, can run over time. One insanely busy Saturday this June we had appoinments booked every hour and one before opening and one after. In the middle of the fit schedule a good customer walked in the store having just crashed on his bike. He was pretty torn up so I interupted the fitting I was doing to get him cleaned up a little, get the mechanics going on his bike and make sure the guy was OK (he collided with another rider on a local group ride). Some customers understood that, some didn't. Like I said, we're a small place.

Strengths:

People have done a decent job already mentioning those in this thread and you can read about them on our website and elsewhere. I think the key thing is to have an understanding of what we can and most importantly can't do before you decide to make the trip.

More conveniently in your area, have you tried Wheelie Fun Multisport? They are highly recommended and more in your area. If you do decide to make the trip we'll certainly do our best for you. Call Kim at (313) 278-1350 and she'll schedule you in.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

So Bikesport is in the same category as Nytro. It has been Nytrosized.

When I travel, I also stop by and visit a well known shop. Unfortunately, so far I have only found a few good shops in the whole country.

The toughest thing about setting high service expectations is fulfilling them. Not defending or attacking Bikesport or the OP, but if someone is traveling a distance with the expectation of a significant amount of attention, it's best to make an appointment. I owned a big ticket retail business for years and was amazed at the number of people that would drive hours and just drop in, and expect their salesman to be available for hours of personal attention. On the other hand, sometimes mistakes are made, people are overlooked, and we have opportunities to apologize and improve.

Tom, since you are in San Diego, make sure you visit Nytro to make sure your shop is never like Nytro. Nytro has the worst customer service of any large shop I have been to.

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Pasadena Tri Club

Tom,

I am not trying to start a pissing match or talk bad about you or your shop, I am just trying to understand the service I got.

3.You do need to make an appointment to get good service here and even then out appointments, especially on busy Saturdays, can run over time. One insanely busy Saturday this June we had appoinments booked every hour and one before opening and one after. In the middle of the fit schedule a good customer walked in the store having just crashed on his bike. He was pretty torn up so I interupted the fitting I was doing to get him cleaned up a little, get the mechanics going on his bike and make sure the guy was OK (he collided with another rider on a local group ride). Some customers understood that, some didn't. Like I said, we're a small place.

What I am confused about is this was the middle of the week, mid day, no one was in the shop and I waited for 30-40 minutes before the guy behind the counter kind of helped me. Maybe we was busting his ass to get a bike ready for a someone to come pick up later in the day, maybe you were doing the same in back. But to me it did not look like that, what I felt was that you really didn't care if I was in your shop or not. I guess what I am trying to say is that f you are busy trying to get something out the door I would fully understand. I would also understand if you stopped to help a bloodied up guy fix his bike. But in my case I just wlaked out becuase I felt like you didn't want to help me. If you were busy and had told me that and asked me to come back I know I would have liked that much much better than what happened.

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I'm just a 10 cent rider on a $2,500.00 Bike

Negative on the drive - it is not worth it based on my prior experiences.

On a side note: I have bought some quite expensive stuff from Tom online, shipped to Norway, and it all came delivered to my small island as agreed and in perfect condition. Definitely a business I would trust with my money again.

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Another IM in 2016 - hopefully..

One of the best things I like about Bikesport is that they aren't just selling bikes, they are selling Cycling and Triathlon.

That's what makes the difference for me.

jaretj

I havent yet visited them but have decided to do so even though I live in the Twin Cities.

I am sure that like every small retail outlet, they occasionally have longer waits than desired, but from reading Toms posts and his editorials on their site (highly recommended, he is a good writer), 2 things already stand out.

One, he believes in a scientific and analytic approach to bike fitting. Two, and most importantly, he seems a down to earth guy who will treat someone like me still trying to find a place in the sport with courtesy and respect instead of the elitist and arrogant attitude that led me to stop going to my local tri store, where they act as if they are doing you a favor by letting you spend money.

Tom. looking forward to meeting you.