Road bike shopping, Part II: Dances with idiots
(Part I is here.)
So, by the time I left the first bike shop, it was after 11 and I was hungry. I decided to go home for lunch, and try another bike shop closer to my house that sold Specialized and Bianchi. I was anxious to try some of the other Specialized models, since the first place had nothing in stock in my price range but the Dolce.
Before I get too far into this, I want to say that I REALLY wanted to like this LBS. They were the ones that fixed my tire after The Flat, and the guy I worked with then was friendly and seemed like he knew what he was talking about. It's also much closer to home than the shops I had worked with in the past. So even though I couldn't really care less about Bianchi, I decided to check out their Specialized stock and see what their prices were like.
Well.
I walked into the shop with my requirements firmly in mind--Shimano 105 or above, 52cm frame, no WSD, $1200 price limit. I was able to look around at their pricing on my own for a minute, and discovered that aside from a few token sales, they were selling everything at MSRP. Nothing wrong with that, I guess, but it did cool me to the store a little. I'm not a haggler, and I'm not even sure haggling is acceptable in bikeland. I remained hopeful, though, because really great service might be worth the higher prices.
After a few minutes, I caught the eye of a sales guy--about 20 years old, very eager to help. So far so good.
"What can I do for you today?"
"I'm looking for a road bike."
His face lit up, and he walked straight to the Dolces. My heart sank.
"Specialized makes some really great road bikes that are specially designed for women. Most women don't fit well on men's bikes, because women generally have longer reaches and shorter leg proportions than men..."
Um, no. I mean, he got the words right, but exactly backwards. I let him finish his spiel, then decided to let him know that I had already ruled out WSD.
"Really. I did fittings on some bikes this morning, and the Dolce didn't fit me very well at all--my knees were about an inch from the handlebars on the 51. It could have just been that the frame size was too small, but the men's 52cm bikes fit better for me, particularly the Trek 1500."
His face lit up again. "Oh, you're going to like Specialized sooo much better than Trek. They ride better, they handle better, they have better components for the price.."
Oh gawd...I don't know if this is generally true or not--I haven't done a side by side comparison pricing. However, no one EVER gets very far with me by bashing the competition. He talked some more about some women on their riding team with Specialized Sequoias and Allez...es? Allezi? Anyway, I wasn't really listening anymore, because it was becoming increasingly apparent that this guy didn't know any more about road bikes than I did. If he was selling cars, he would have been showing me the vanity mirror right about now, without even considering that I might want to look under the hood. After the fitting guy at the other place, this was such a disappointment. Ah well, cut my losses. Even though I knew that there was no way in hell I was buying a bike or anything else from him, I figured I could at least do a test ride.
"Hmm. Great! I think I'd like to try an Allez."
After a fit test that consisted of grabbing the handlebars and the seat and lifting up to check for clearance, he grabbed me a helmet, and we went out to the parking lot. I asked him to move the seat up a little, and then I took it around the parking lot. It didn't fit very well--the reach was too long to the brakes, and it wasn't a comfortable ride for me at all. I didn't feel in control of it...maybe it was partly because I hadn't ridden a road bike in a long time, but fit was definitely an issue. I wasn't crazy about the Tiagra shifters, either.
I came back in after a few minutes, and gave my assessment. The reach was too long--was it possible to try a shorter stem?
"Well, each one of our bikes comes with a complimentary fitting after you buy it, where we make sure the seat is the right height, and the handlebars are adjusted..."
So, that would be "no", then. All righty! If I left now, I'd still have time to hit another LBS by 5:00. Still, I wanted to give Specialized one more shot, so I asked if he had a Sequoia in a 52. He did not. What about a Dolce in a 53? I seemed to remember that they came in a 53, and I was curious about how WSD would feel in a larger frame size. On this one, he had to call someone else from the back, who told me (quite pleasantly, at least) that the Dolces jump from 51cm to 54cm, and they didn't have a 54 in stock. He repeated the thing about the complimentary fitting after purchase, etc. In all fairness, this guy seemed more knowledgeable about road bikes, but it was too little, too late.
I gave them the best fake smile I could manage, and backed slowly toward the door with weak statements that I "might be back".
It's not likely, but I hate to be mean to people unless they really deserve it. My salesman wasn't a bad guy, after all, and maybe if I were shopping for a mountain bike he would have been just the guy to talk to. Still, if I come into your store looking to spend $1000 on a road bike, I want to be directed to someone on staff who knows more about them than how to read a specs page and rattle off a sales pitch.
Oh well, on to the next store! I called Rob to have him find out when they closed, and with just 2 1/2 hours of shopping time left, I headed down the road.
UP NEXT: Road bike shopping, Part III: The Home Stretch (that title is lame, so might change once the post is actually written)
Posted by Joy at July 18, 2005 11:09 AM
I'm dying to hear what you decided? I've loved reading these posts, it sounds like your experience has been very similar to mine. But I finally got my bike, and let me tell you, it feels so good to have a new toy! You're going to have so much fun!
Posted by: Jeni on July 19, 2005 06:11 PM
