Bike shopping, an eye opening experience - recommendation please

Hold off your purchase for a month or two, and you can probably go to a "going out of business" sale at that shop. No, 99% of the bike shops do not operate that way - you did the right thing to get out of there as fast as you can. I just bought a new bike, and the salesman spent at least 30 minutes on each bike fitting me before I took out for a test ride. He was willing to do this all day, if necessary, to find the bike that worked for me.

Good luck,

Dennis

LOL.  That's an excellent idea!

If not, you could probabaly buy the shop for a steal due to lack of low/no sales!

Thanks Renee, I'll e-mail him in case he still has connections up here. LOL!! Homer is just the right fit for this guy's description.

with the bike new york trip coming up, i remembered that there is a list of shops on their site. http://www.bikenewyork.org. not that the list means anything, but it is a place to start. i also poked around a little and there is the new york cycle club, http://www.nycc.org/and has a message board. i bet you can find some good advice on a good shop in the city on it.

good luck.

You just went to a loser LBS. Last year about this time I bought a new bike. I took an afternoon off from work and arranged to test ride bikes at a shop I new was good. First they made sure that they showed me bikes that were the right size. Then for the next 4 hours I rode bikes. I'd go for a 5 or 6 mile ride. Then when I got back they'd have another one set up, and off I'd go. They warned me that I would fall in love with the first bike I rode since my current bike at the time was a '89 Schwinn, and made sure that I got to ride as many bikes as I wanted.

After I had the bike for a couple of months I went back in for a my fit from someone who was enthusiastic about getting it right. Find the right LBS. Good luck.

Actually I think your experience was frightfully common. If you frequent the kind of store that may have several locations (ie small regional chain) I've found that type of treatment normal. I stood at the counter at one local version with a $400 purchase in my hand, for over 20 minutes and no one noticed me(I just started my stop watch and waited for the heck of it). there were 5 staff, and 4 customers in the store. I walked back to the repair area, and had to wave my arms around to get anyone to notice, finally. I've had similar experiences all over the place. But real bike stores are usually nice places to hang out, and will offer much well informed advice. A lot of small shops are offering lifetime maintenance as a way of pulling customers away from the chains, so this is a thing to look for. I would caution you though, there are a lot of guys who will call themselves fitters, and yet they have no training. Ask what system they'll use to fit you, where they were trained, what their Tri-bike philosophy is, etc, and you will get blank stares. Real tri stores are very rare. I'm currently riding a bike that was decent $$$, and was fitted by a friendly, moderately experienced bike mechanic. I'd pay $200 to have it re-done by a pro. Likely he'd suggest a different frame. Unlike a professional fitter, the semi-professional is going to fit you HIS way, not the best way.

Correct me if I'm wrong but the pot bellied disinterested salesperson you spoke with at that bike shop was obviously not the owner or the manager.  I would make it a point of contacting the manager/owner in person, by phone or by email and let them know that I would definitely not be buying a bike from them and explain why.

I agree. I'm not into costing people their livelihood, but it seems maybe said salesperson is in need of a change of occupation, since he obviously isn't into what he does. That said, the tone of a salesforce, their attitude, technique, etc is or should be a reflection of the boss. If the staff are allowed to be like this guy, it probably is okay with the boss. Things won't get much better.

Thought I'd share my experience today. Popped into a LBS which I rarely frequent; I went in only because my fav LBS is 45 minutes north and I was on my lunch hour (or 2). Anyway, I was hoping they would have a rubber piece that is missing from my Topeak bike pump (6yr old nephew was fascinated with and disassembled some of it). While I'm there a guy comes in and asks the salesguy if they have a selection of women's mtn bikes he could look at for his girlfriend. The salesguy says "They don't really make mtn bikes just for women. Women usually ride men's mtn bikes."

I have a word for someone like this but not sure Ron's rules of civility would allow me to use it.

The guy was leaving as I was and I referred him to my LBS, told him they were GREAT and would help him find a suitable bike for his girlfriend. And that, yes, they DO make mtn bikes just for women.

Those are the kind without a top tube, with the "step-through" frame? Usually in pink, with the glittery handlebar streamers?

Just kidding, of course! ;-)

I'm not in the NY area, but I often visit R & A Cycles' web page. They are in Brooklyn and are supposed to be one of the biggest shops on the East Coast. Hopefully, your story was not based on this shop. Check out their webpage www.racycles.com. I would definitely look around at a number of shops before purchasing though. Good luck in your search.

Stephen,

Let's just say, my wife and I are afraid to go back there. .....get it?

A few people have PM me stating they can't believe it was them. I'll go back there again (alone this time), just to see if I happen to come by on a REALLY bad day. So far, no one I know, knows them first hand but I'm still digging.

LOL!! You forgot the banana seat.

Michel - In my past experiences, if the staff of an establishment are miserable and treat their customers the same, then that is not only because they are allowed to work that way but, they are usually treated that same way from above. As stated in a previous post, I'm going back there this coming weekend to see if I happened to be there on a down day or some something like that.

Thanks Jose, I will pay them a visit.

Where can one find these streamers of pink? They would match my pearlized unicorn head I mounted on my handlebars.

I think the lighter ones (made of Carbon Fiber on a Titanium mount) are found at all your better triathlon shops.

If you are in fact speaking of R&A, here's what I know about it...I have heard nothing but horror stories from my bike enthusiast friends in terms of their customer service. So I went there myself about 2 or 3 weeks ago to look at some bikes, as I am in the market for a road bike. It was empty save for one person on a trainer. A guy helped me out, was very nice when I told him what I was looking for - showed me a few bikes in my price range. Even sent someone downstairs to get a bike in my size that was still in the box to show me, and told me the 'really great price for this bike.' He knew I wasn't buying - said that up front.

Next day, I'm talking to a tri friend of mine (vs the regular lazy slob friends of mine ha ha) and I told her of my experience. She said she had no problems at R&A either. She asked me if everyone that told me the horror stories of "R&A's great bike selection but awful customer service" were men. My answer? YES.

So, perhaps it's a guy thing - I don't know. Mind you, I have been there that one time and haven't been back. I plan on making my purchase from Brand's out in Wantagh, Long Island as my brother has a great relationship with them and they will spend time with you, build bikes for you to try out, adjust them - the whole nine. http://www.brandscycle.com It's just under an hour from Brooklyn, so may be worth going there to check out. They have more bikes than their site shows and they will order anything even if they aren't a regular distributor (ie I want to try out a Felt and they don't carry them but will order one for me if I really want to test it).

Good luck. And maybe I'll see you tonite at the Brooklyn tri club meeting?

If you frequent predominantly male-oriented retail establishments, you'll often see this. ie HOme Depot. Stand at the end of an aisle and watch as a pretty woman turns the corner and starts toward you. within seconds, the notoriously hard to find staff appear as if through a time portal, stumbling over each other to help the comely customer. Meanwhile the rest of us dudes, some with $$$$ purchases in hand, get short shrift. oh well, it's the price we pay for having the joy of women in our lives, I guess.

I took my training partner bike shopping (she is a stunning mid-30s mother of 6, not to be confused with the stunning mother of 3 I'm married to) and I've never had such great service. Lesson guys, take a babe with you.