By ‘reasonable distance’ I mean 1-2 hour drive, I have heard of tri-action, peninsula and the store in Mission as being pretty decent but I’d like to hear what folks here have to say.
If the bike fits (and I assume it will, given that my body is fairly ‘vanilla’ in terms of torso/legs/arms proportions) I’m very likely to spring for a Cervelo Dual, with a FSA aluminum compact crank, pedals & shoes (unsure about pedals yet, I kind of like the wide base of the look pedals I have on my road bike) with an outside shot at a P2K (likely only if it’s a 2003 on sale but hey, who knows). This means not major $$$ but not peanuts either…
I =really= want to buy the bike from a shop with whom I can start a ‘long term relationship’ with, otherwise I’d just price shop or even mail order: if I’m going to pay extra I’d want a GOOD store to have my business, and by good I mean competent (in terms of sales and fitting) AND nice (and not only when I’m there to plonk down for a new bike, but even afterwards if I’m in for service or just to browse stuff).
BTW, since I’d want to get a compact crank (and not the standard shipped one) would it be reasonable to expect the shop to knock down a little the bike price? (after all they’d keep the crank themselves for parts or something)
Go see Greg at Triaction Sports on Lougheed. He is probably one of the best locally and can get you a Cervelo I think. He is a great guy and I have been fitted by him a couple of times. He has a great stock of bikes and has a huge knowledge base. He has won the Half Iron in Victoria and a lot of local races. So he knows his stuff.
Out towards us, you can go to Peninsula Cycles and chat with Damian. He is one of the owners there. I just had him fit me on my new Dual and it feels great. He sells Argon18 bikes. He is an ex national cycling team member and knows his stuff as well.
Greg @ Tri-Action in Coquitlam is THE MAN. SimpleS sent me down there to get fitted, and I in turn sent down a few buddies (PowerGyoza being one of them). He does indeed stock and sell Cervelo, and knows his shit. He is the kind of shop owner that you would want to build a relationship with. He just reno’ed his shop, too - so it should be pretty sweet (I haven’t seen it yet).
Another vote for Tri-Action. I’ve dealt with Greg for a number of years, and am very pleased with the service I’ve received. Grant B. is working there now too (just arrived from Cervelo in TO) and is a good guy.
As everyone else here has mentioned Greg is in my view the one true tri bike store in BC. Greg knows his stuff and can back it up with performances on the race course. I describe him jokingly as a bit a “tri bike nazi” Very passionate about how a tri bike should be ridden and set up. Very similar to what Slowman preaches.
The reason I replied was your mention of Dual and Compact Cranks. A riding buddy recently bought a Dual which Greg specd with compact cranks, I thought it was unusal as I didnt think it was standard issue and would have jacked the price up. In any case my buddy absolutely loves the bike and he is riding faster now than ever before, the difference between old road bike and new bike (poisition) is the difference between night and day. He also loves the lower gearing with the compacts, FSA Energy I think is 'the model. I suspect you migth want to pick up the phone fast to make sure they have a few sets left, even I am tempted!
Also my buddy mentioned the new guy (Stuart ?) at the store really knows his stuff, I met him once before and he mentioned having worked for Cervelo (and possibly Nytro) and his wife also races IMs. At least he will know how to service the Cervelos.
If you are set on a Dual you dont have much choice in retailers in BC. I think there are only two in Van area, the other being La Bici. As for tri specific fittings I cant really comment as most of the guys are road specific. Tyler Dumont working out of UBC Sports Med looks after a lot of the North Shore club members, but he also comes from a road background. Other road guys doing fittings are: Larry Zimmich and Alan Prazasky (dont hold me to the spellings)
Good luck and have fun shopping.
p/s I ride a p2k mostly stock which I bought from Greg, very happy with it.