Get deal , crap bike shop?

Nicely priced Giant road bike with carbon stays/fork & Ultegra hanging off it, finished in a lovely shade of “Buy me!” red.

Problem is it’s sitting in a bike shop where the guys dusting the shelves reckons that a medium frame is the way to go & doesn’t offer a leg over or even a lap of the milk bars for a teaser.
To top it off he says that he can throw in some pedals with it as well, no problem.

How many prospectives are out buying bikes like they’re picking up a newspaper?

(ps: I would have bought it right then, if I got a half way reasonable buying experience).

name and shame shop. maybe we could organise a 'collective' phone-in and get the guy thinking, so he's primed to give you what you want/need when you next wander in

"Marx SS" wrote in message ...
>
> Problem is it's sitting in a bike shop where the guys dusting the
> shelves reckons that a medium frame is the way to go & doesn't offer a
> leg over or even a lap of the milk bars for a teaser.
> To top it off he says that he can throw in some pedals with it as well,
> no problem.
>

I had the same experience when I was on the hunt for my new toy around two
months ago... I had _ALL_ my preferred measurements down to the cm of what
I wanted after spending months setting up my current ride... I'd walk into
a shop, and they'd look at my height and say "medium" straight away.. I am
around 183cms and rode/ride a 55.5 (large) OCR-1 which in all honesty is a
tad on the big side for me, but with the adjustments (new saddle, pole,
100mm stem) it is the perfect ride...

When I went into the bike store in Ringwood (near the Holden dealer).. I
got the same treatment.. "you ride a large!? pfft, I wouldn't sell you
anything but a medium"... then I actually sat on a M-L (53.5) which was spot
on for measurements right off the shelf, the guy says to me.. "well, you are
right.. this fits you well"...

Then I shopped around for the best price I could find.. one place even
turned down a cash sale with "if you could get it for that price elsewhere,
jump on it NOW".. which I did... the store I got it from just bumped up
their price by $300 on the same bike too!... w00t!..

Anyways, enough of my rant... I guess in short, know your measurements and
know what feels right.. and depending where you are shop around once you
know what you want.. I know in Melb there are enough good bike stores around
that you can simply brush off the prick ones and find someone who is willing
to help you out..

As for pedals... grab some Ultegra SPD-SLs from probikekit.. best bang for
buck around!


cheers,
GPL
:am I now in trouble for referring to a bike store location by its proximity
to a car dealer?:

If anybody has a spare $2.5K in their pocket then check out the red
Ciocc
bike at www.spoken.com.au It's 2nd hand, but should be worth checking
out.

It's under "private sale" in the specials section.
I have no interest in this bike (or shop), it just looks like a bargain
to me

DaveA

I should, but they might sell out of the special they have by Monday if it gets out where it's at.
By then, after spending a fruitless weekend looking about the shops & private sellers I might be weaken enough the drag myself back in there & press for a test ride a 2nd time.....

$1.5k is my ceiling, even for new. I know it's not much, but it is goig to be my 3rd bike - almost a training ride, & MTBing for me is just too much fun.

Update 5pm: looks like there's a Giant OCR 1 with 105, carbon stays in Moonee ponds for $1200 that needs some checking out....

Marx SS wrote:
> Nicely priced Giant road bike with carbon stays/fork & Ultegra hanging
> off it, finished in a lovely shade of “Buy me!” red.
>
> Problem is it’s sitting in a bike shop where the guys dusting the
> shelves reckons that a medium frame is the way to go & doesn’t offer a
> leg over or even a lap of the milk bars for a teaser.
> To top it off he says that he can throw in some pedals with it as well,
> no problem.
>
> How many prospectives are out buying bikes like they’re picking up a
> newspaper?
>
> (ps: I would have bought it right then, if I got a half way reasonable
> buying experience).
>
>
where are u and what bike shop.?


Kathy bought exactly that one.. I think I told you for exactly 1600 And
they were pretty good to her. Its a fair bit lighter than my old tcr

The freedom Machine has the Red one (OCR 0) for $1499 in the latest Bike Vic magazine.

I think Goldcross also has it for under $1500 to clear them out.

Marx SS wrote:
> $1.5k is my ceiling, even for new. I know it's not much, but it is goig
> to be my 3rd bike - almost a training ride, & MTBing for me is just too
> much fun.
>
> Update 5pm: looks like there's a Giant OCR 1 with 105, carbon stays in
> Moonee ponds for $1200 that needs some checking out....
>
>

Its a lot.. but for 1.6 you could have that OCR zero

Ivanhoe have an blue OCR 1 with 105 for 1200

Its small or medium

smartie wrote:
> Marx SS Wrote:
>
>>$1.5k is my ceiling, even for new. I know it's not much, but it is goig
>>to be my 3rd bike - almost a training ride, & MTBing for me is just too
>>much fun.
>>
>>Update 5pm: looks like there's a Giant OCR 1 with 105, carbon stays in
>>Moonee ponds for $1200 that needs some checking out....
>
> The freedom Machine has the Red one (OCR 0) for $1499 in the latest
> Bike Vic magazine.
>
> I think Goldcross also has it for under $1500 to clear them out.
>
>

Yeah thats what Kathy got. Its the current one.

Man that really s**ts me about that, test rides..... I had the same issue, I was looking to spend some fairly serious cash and I will name the shop, "Terry Hammond Cycles" in Port Melbourne, I can quote him as saying, "No we dont do Test Rides", so I said "Thanks, I will take my $0000 somewhere elsewhere and spend them, see ya"

now to the Positives, Ivanhoe Cycles, S-B-R, Freedom Machine, BikeNow, Chelthenam Cycles all said yep no problems, rock on down and try it out, needless to say I bought from one those shops and I would highly recommend any of them, some of the shops, let me test ride, employee bikes.

tell them their policy sucks and it is going to cost them sales! Who was it ?

I actually phoned back every shop that let me test ride a bike and thanked them for letting me try the bike out, because I felt kind of bad, they were all really helpful.

Dont buy it from them!

__________________
MOz

"dave" wrote in message ...
>
> Its a lot.. but for 1.6 you could have that OCR zero
>
> Ivanhoe have an blue OCR 1 with 105 for 1200
>

Just to 2nd all the OCR-1 comments - my 'training' bike is the 2003 model
with 105, it has been rock solid (apart from the stock rubber it came
with).. the newer models are much better speced with rear carbon stays etc..


cheers,
GPL

On Fri, 26 Aug 2005 18:08:26 +1000, MikeyOz wrote:

> now to the Positives, Ivanhoe Cycles, S-B-R, Freedom Machine, BikeNow,
> Chelthenam Cycles all said yep no problems, rock on down and try it
> out, needless to say I bought from one those shops and I would highly
> recommend any of them, some of the shops, let me test ride, employee
> bikes.

What sort of rides did they allow? When I was last looking none of the
shops in the city here (Adelaide) would agree to more than a trundle
around the block, and none had demo/employee bikes to offer for
testing.

About all they're willing to do, at least in the $3-5K range, is put the
bike on a trainer and fit you.

--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw

On Fri, 26 Aug 2005 14:40:04 +1000, Marx SS wrote:

> How many prospectives are out buying bikes like they’re picking up a
> newspaper?

It depends on the bike and brand to some extent. Giants are pretty much
sourced and sold like newspapers, and at similar margins and volumes. They
don't care if you won't buy one because you can't ride it, so it's up to
you to figure out whether it fits properly and you'll like the sensitive
handling (in the TCRs).

BTW, I have two, and am very happy with them :-)

--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw

Marx SS wrote:
> Nicely priced Giant road bike with carbon stays/fork & Ultegra hanging
> off it, finished in a lovely shade of "Buy me!" red.
>
> Problem is it's sitting in a bike shop where the guys dusting the
> shelves reckons that a medium frame is the way to go & doesn't offer a
> leg over or even a lap of the milk bars for a teaser.
> To top it off he says that he can throw in some pedals with it as well,
> no problem.
>
> How many prospectives are out buying bikes like they're picking up a
> newspaper?


If they won't let you testride, go to another shop.