Any thoughts on Mission Bay store in Chicago?
It’s a tri/bike shop.
Other than that…
Huge selection.
Their main store is a pain in the arse to locate.
Good/bad service? Good/bad for bike fittings?
Never actually bought anything, I’ve only been there once.
Dan should have a write up somewhere on this site of it, though. Check under “Shop Profiles.”
Be advised that there is a rule about bad mouthing retailers on this site. Especially ones that Dan knows personally like Mission Bay.
Censorship sucks.
Clarence, You’ll hear a lot of good things about Mission Bay on this forum. I have seen Dan E. as well as another big poster on this board-Tom D. give the best compliments to Mission Bay. They (Mission) are FIST fitters as well.
http://www.slowtwitch.com/dealersurvey/fistcoaches.html
Some info:
Thank much Mike!
I have nothing but great things to say about Bill, Val, and the rest of the crew at Mission Bay. I have bought two bikes from them in the past 14 months, and they have all been terrific. Both purchases were preceeded by several weeks/months of at least 1 phone call per week to check on pricing, availability, etc., etc. They were always very helpful.
Just two weeks ago, when I was in to get my awesome new P3C, I was in the shop for probably 8 hours, getting the fit right, getting everything installed correctly, etc. It was a great experience, and nobody seemed to mind me being there, asking questions.
Lastly, the fit. Clearly the most important part of the bike buying puzzle, and several people spent a lot of time with me getting everything from cleat position to aero-bar length absolutely dialed it. My new bike fits like a glove, and I’m running off the bike better than ever before.
Go to mission bay, you won’t be disappointed.
-Colin
Whenever the words “Mission Bay” appear in the Forum, a really loud alarm sounds at Slowman’s place…
I agree, though in some cases it may have been the better action considering some post without thinking through their problem and while still hot under the collar. Maybe you will get some STers to PM you about thier experiences, good and bad.
Hint-Hint wink-wink to those in the know!
Thanks colin. Makes me feel much better. 
Dan has his reasons listed in the threads below:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=376980;search_string=retailer;#376980
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=376980;search_string=retailer;#376980
No one gets TOO bent out of shape about it (censorship), this forum is actually pretty liberal as far as stuff goes … you can curse and everything
Below is what Dan says about Mission Bay
FYI, the search posts feature works quite well
Preface this by saying I’ve been to the place on Randolph st. in the city, not the shop in elgin.
I got my P2k there last year, also wetsuit and misc. tri crap over the years. I’d say I’m there once a month during the season. In most cases they’ve been pretty good to me, but I’m sure you can find people (as always) who would have some complaints.
They did a better then average fit on the P2k (average being standing you over the bike and looking at you and saying yup that fits) Put you on a trainer, plumb bob on the knee, swap stems bla bla bla. I ended up going to a place over on irving park road called get a grip cycles where the owner of the shop does a lot of custom frames and fitting. The owner is a Serotta advanced fitter and goes into much more depth then Mission Bay really has time for. You have to call the guy and setup and appointment.
Bill (the owner) and the crowd he has on Randolph seem to care about the people who come in. I’ll keep going there.
Strider, Thanks for posting those links.
I have absolutely nothing nice to say about this place, so Dan won’t let me say anything at all. They are not very good. I had some OK and a few very bad experiences with them.
For great service, cool stuff and a awesome fit check out Rich Ducar’s shop in Glen Ellyn. Well worth the drive.
http://www.thebikeshopge.com/index.html
Ed
I’ve put off posting about this place for fear of flaming, but I guess I don’t care anymore. I went in partly on recommendations and partly because they had a special set price for a wetsuit and a road bike upgraded w/ clipless and clip-on aeros. I was completely green when it came to this stuff, but walked in and explained that I wanted that package. after several minutes of searching through brochures, they found that in fact I wasn’t making this up, the deal existed. I could tell already that the staff was kept up-to-date by the owners.
immediately, the sales guy (forgot his name) starts telling me the bike I want is OK, but the shifters are cheap and the next level up is better. (why are you selling the damn thing then?!?) I stick to my guns. at least two more times, the salesperson tries to sell me a more expensive bike.
we do the bike fit in 10 minutes, he uses a plumbline but no other measuring devices, just eyeballs. “okay, looks good.” I thought that it felt fine, I didn’t really know enough to question it. sure, it’s my responsibility to be educated, but 10 minutes is a long ways from 1 hour or more that some people get.
when it came to the wetsuit, I tried on one, and it was uncomfortable in the neck. conveniently for them, as it turned out, they didn’t have the next larger size. they handed me a different brand, and it fit perfectly. as they ring up everything, they mention that the new suit is $25 extra because it’s nicer and not part of the package deal. interesting that they “forgot” to mention this before. whatever, it fits and I pay.
I will not go back. maybe you just have to spend a lot to get good service.
It’s like a train wreck just about to happen!!
Whoo hoo, I can hear the whistles, here she comes, right around the bend… The Mission Bay Express coming in!
Whoo Hoo!
Exactly what I was thinking. I cringed when I saw MB in the subject line. Here we go again.
I personally like to hear peoples experiences with shops, coaches, etc. so I have no problem with you posting what you did.
I guess it’s up to someone else to make the call on this though and from the link that is posted above about Dan’s take on Mission Bay/retailers you should know this.
Sorry to hear about your bad experience, do you have a shop in the area that you could recommend to Clarrence?