Hey St. Louis!
Who are the hot tri shops in your area? Right now, I am being told that Maplewood is the answer.
Thanks for your help!
I would say you’ve been told the right answer. There are several other VERY good bike shops in St Louis, but Maplewood has more tri offerings than the other shops, IMO.
Maplewood probably has the most tri-specific stuff, but Big Shark is also very top notch.
Maplewood sponsors the St. Louis Tri Club, so they get the nod in that regard.
Big Shark is also very good - especially with their clothing company across the street.
Ghisallo in Chesterfield is not bad, either.
Steve
I have had good luck with both Maplewood and Big Shark. You can get a “preferred” discount by joining the maplewood tri team (and maybe big shark as well??.)
I was also impressed with the Ghisallo shop - but have limited exposure with them. http://www.ghisallosports.com/
Speaking of service - I recently had such good service at Big Shark and was charged so little I felt like I was robbing them.
Speaking of Maplewood - Their fit guy, Tim (I believe) is FISTed and extremely nice and accomodating.
I agree with you - both shops are top notch.
www.swimbikerunstlouis.com they have all shops linked
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I recently had such good service at Big Shark and was charged so little I felt like I was robbing them.
Oh come now. You’re lying. Charged so little at Big Shark. I no longer believe anything you say 
There isn’t a tri shop in STL…
There are bikes shops that carry tri gear and there are triathletes that work at most of these shops. Your highest probability of talking to a knowledgeable triathlete is by going into the “lil Shark”, which is across the street from Big Shark. But…of course, there are knowledgeable tri-geek(s) at Maplewood and Ghishallo as well as Big Shark. It’s just that lil shark is the closest thing to a tri shop, but it’s not…if that makes sense. Those are easily your top targets and since Cervelo/Maplewood broke up, maybe they are most ripe.
Perhaps your real question is “where can Paul sell the most Kuotas” to St. Louis natives…and my response would be, www.trisports.com. The shops in STL are too loyal to their current base and you wouldn’t get your minimums. STL is a crit-roadie town. If you could convince Mesa Cycles to carry tri-gear, that is the best untapped tri resource in town, although they have no tri-geeks.
There are a lot of fast tri-geeks in St. Louis, but the tri-scene is small and fragmented. It’s hard to build a customer base when there are only a couple of “big” triathlons in STL (Who Tris Harder, 1/2 Max, Lake St, Louis). Many people and clubs travel…so much of the influence resides within magazines, message boards and word of mouth.
If you must get a dealer in the area, put it in Columbia and ride that gravy train…
Diesel is correct in everything he says. And, even with the Maplewood/Cervelo split-up, I’m not really sure how “ripe” they are. They still carry tri bikes from QR, Elite, Trek & LeMond (and possibly others that I don’t remember).
I haven’t been there, but from what I gathered at the Show-Me State Games Tri/Du, Tri-Athletics in Columbia is probably the closest thing to a “true” tri shop in the area (although Columbia is actually a couple hours from St. Louis, to be fair).
Steve
I’d also like to mention that when I was searching for a tri bike back in June, it was very difficult to find bikes I was interested in locally. Two of the main contenders in my price range were Cervelo and Guru. Unfortunately, neither had/have a local dealer. I had to trust the reviews I read, the recommendations of others, and order on-line to get what I wanted. Not ideal, but I’m extremely happy with my bike, so…
Mesa Cycles (which Diesel mentioned) is a VERY nice shop. They carry some of the not-so-popular brands such as Seven, Orbea, etc. and are in a pretty nice area.
Mesa Cycles has a sweet Orbea Ordu for sale right now.