I just impulse bought a '03 QR Caliente for $1500 at my LBS sale. Should I be giddy from a good buy or woozy from a decision made perhaps a bit too quickly?
Go for a ride, see what your heart (or your butt) tells you.
(if in the off chance you made the wrong decision, you can always mail me the bike to get it off your conscience.)
Yea, you might be a little nuts you WACKO! But aren’t all of us who do this sport a little warped? The Caliente is a super nice bike for the money. And for the price you bought it for, you can’t go wrong. I am jealous! I test rode one and fell in love with it. Very comfortable and fit me perfectly. The LBS wanted full price and wouldn’t budge. Found a QR dealer in New York blowing these out and ordered a 55cm with 700c wheels from him for $1550. His bozo guy in warehouse pulled wrong bike and sent me a 55cm Kilo. What a big disappointment. Unfortunately, by the time the Kilo arrived and I recontacted the dealer, the last Caliente was gone. Nonetheless, I sent the Kilo back for obvious reasons.
You ought to feel good about this early Christmas present. I think you made a “can’t go wrong” type of purchase here as long as the bike fit. Does your LBS have anymore left at that price, maybe in a 55cm?
Good luck with the bike. In my opinion, it’s every bit as nice as the P2K and probably more comfortable. Not to mention the paint job rocks unlike the new burnt orange color for 2004. Enjoy the ride.
Thank you. You make the world go around as far as I’m concerned. I own a bike shop. There is a “zone of decision” people enter. REI has done extensive research on it. A person will research, comparison shop, read, surf the net, get a fitting- go though all the “hoops” they are supposed to go through to make an “intellegent buying decision” and then do exactly what you did: Buy a bike because of some hazy emotional stimulus they can neither identify nor acknowledge. It is the majority of bike sales. Bless your heart. If it weren’t for you, I couldn’t have gone to Thailand- or paid my rent, or done basically anything. Make no mistake, you are a good customer. On behalf of your local IBS, I thank you. If more people shopped like you I would only have to work 3 hours a day.
(People) (b)uy a bike because of some hazy emotional stimulus they can neither identify nor acknowledge. It is the majority of bike sales. Bless your heart. If it weren’t for you, I couldn’t have gone to Thailand- or paid my rent, or done basically anything.
I enjoy your posts on this forum (especially the ones on bikes and your personal life), but I’m hoping that you’re saying that tongue-in-cheek, because it’s sad that you would be revelling in that.
Bless your heart. If it weren’t for you, I couldn’t have gone to Thailand- or paid my rent, or done basically anything. Make no mistake, you are a good customer. On behalf of your local IBS, I thank you. If more people shopped like you I would only have to work 3 hours a day.
I know what you mean, Tom, and I agree with you. A good retailer knows about this “extra dimension” to how we all shop. If we just boil everything down to data and soulless numbers, we’d just buy everything mail-order. I have always felt that dang near any bike made would suit my needs from a technical point of view – virtually any frame can be rigged up to fit me. But, my dream bike has nothing to do with any of that. I bought it because it fits a different part of me. When I wheel it out of the garage and look at it while I hitch up my helmet, I get a smile on my face.
Our friend bought his new Caliente for exactly the right reason. You’re going to LOVE that bike!
Not to sound the slightest bit defensive, but it’s not like I saw a bike I have never heard of before and bought it 'cause I liked the paint job. The salesguy didn’t push it on me (in fact, it was the other way around…I found the bike and after satisfying some fit questions, I made the decision to buy it without hearing a sales pitch. The salesguy even agreed with my less than stellar opinion about the Spinergy wheelset that was stock on it.) I have been researching the heck out of 5 or 6 different frames, but wasn’t sure if I was going to stay with my older Softride or try something else. I fully acknowledged my hazy emotional stimuli when I made a no pressure, well informed decision to buy a bike that would best suit me for the races I have booked for next year. It was still a lot of fun! The impulsive part of my decision is that I walked into the store intending to buy a few jerseys and walked out with a bike. At the end of the day I am thrilled. Great price, great bike, how could I ever have doubted myself??
I am but it is. There are a few great phenomenon we observe regularly in this industry, worthy of their own thread, and they have made me cynical. They include:
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Customer comes in: “Hi, I understand you guys have experience fitting triathlon bikes and can recommend one based on my measurements. I want a 56cm P3.”
Us: “Very good, the P3 is an excellent bike. I’ve owned on myself. May we ask how you settled on that bike frame and size?”
Customer: “My friend told me.” -
Customer comes in now (winter) and gets measured but “isn’t ready to buy”. Is doing Ironman France on June 21. Wants a Felt DA700 with Dura-Ace 10. Gets a complete fitting, pays for it (since they aren’t buying a bike that day) and leaves. Shows up on June 14th, “I’m ready for my Felt DA700…” OK dude, it will be six weeks. He (she) freaks, even though we told them literally 5 times during the fitting and showed them in writing why they should order their bike now, in addition to the fact that the cost of a Duar-Ace 10 kit has gone up over $100 just since it was announced- and that’s without any terrorist attacks on our ports (yet).
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Customer spends 11 months “researching” (i.e., surfing the web and talking to the “expert” in the cubicle next to him at work who worked in a bike shop 20 years ago in college and, after all, he’s an engineer…) finally buys a bike (usually the wrong one for them, but hey, “knock 'em where they lean, the customer is always right”- who’s to say our collective 100+ years of experience and over 5,000 triathlon and road bikes sold and fitted even comes close to a guy who worked two summers in a bike shop in Lafayette, Indiana, 20 years ago but can’t even spell STI?)- finally comes in to buy a bike after his dilligent “research” period of 11 months then expects the bike in two days- in June- as though he was the first person on earth to come up with the bright idea that he wants (altogether now…) “A Cervelo P3 with Dura-Ace 10”. Then he just can;t understand why he has to wait for the bike: “You have four of them sitting here!?!” Well, friend, that first one there is mine and the rest are sold. The next 6 coming in are sold- they have been for 4 weeks. Where were you in January when you should have been in here buying a bike?
Anyway, you got me ranting. No, I do not revel in it. I just shake my head and shamefully deposit the money hoping for a better day, that one shining moment in January when a customer, respendid in their intellect, insight, intelligence and common sense, comes through the door and says those magical words:
“Hi, I need to get fitted and buy a bike today so I have it in time for the season and I can lock in some decent pricing now. I’m interested to hear what your recommendations are. If you can give me a fair deal and I am impressed with the thouroughness of your fitting I may buy a bike today or within the next week or two…”
That, my friend, is why I get up in the morning. That is what I revell in. That, and seeing the finished product assembled perfectly and fitted without compromise. That is an awesome feeling.
Well… I guess you answered your question in your original post.
I don’t know why you think those scenarios are unique to the cycling industry. Substitute bike/fitting for another product or service and those EXACT analogies can be applied to my industry and several others. It has nothing to do with the “industry” it has to do with “whom” you are dealing: PEOPLE… humans… homo sapiens.
As my wise old mother often told me : “That’s life… accept it, learn from it, and move on.” Or, as my more matter-of-fact father would say: “stop your bitching…”
Actually, Saber, you’re right. Unlikely I’ll ever stop my bitching though. I just have occasional outbursts.
Doesn’t the manufacturer share at least as much blame as the customer? If I want to go buy a blender or a Honda Accord, I don’t have to wait 6 months for target or Autopark Honda to get it in. If your vendors can’t deliver, maybe it’s time to look to other vendors. I know that delivery issues are the norm in the bike industry, but that doesn’t make it right.
You can buy a Honda and drive out the door on the day. However, if you’d like a new Ferrari, chances are you have a wait of 6 months - 2 years, depending on how recently the model was launched.
Similarly, if you want to buy a Raleigh, or Hufffy, or something like that, you can walk out the door with it on the day. The better bikes may take a little longer…
You couldn’t have stated what you said better. I, too, enjoy reading Mr. Demmerly’s posts but I didn’t enjoy reading this particular one. Sounds kind of pompous and arrogant to me. Actually, after reading it over again, it sounds insulting. I guess we all should just go to Mr. Demmerly’s Bikesport for all of our future bike purchases. Sounds like there is only one expert in the business and buying from anyone else would be a set-up for total disaster. I recently had a salesperson from Bicyclesports tell me that I would be making a huge mistake, one that is often made too frequently, if I were to purchase my bike from another mail order company. He said I was being baited by the price. Well, there was an $800 difference in price between the 2 shops. Neither shop was local. Why would I not buy the bike from the shop where I could save $800? I had already ridden the bike and knew the fit of the bike so it was a no brainer. But I was still making a big mistake. I guess we all should be so lucky to have Bicyclesports and Missionbay and Nytro and Bikesport in our hometown so that we don’t make a big purchase mistake. I mean that with sincerity, if I had the luxury of having one of those shops close by, I would pay for their expertise. But I will not pay extra for the bike and not get anything personal in return just to help pay for their advertising.
Once again to the guy who bought the Caliente, you should be happy with your purchase and not let anyone spoil your happiness. You should also be commended for supporting your LBS. I don’t have a LBS that sells QR so I am forced to mail order. When I do order the new ride, it will be at an $800 savings.