Toronto bike shop recommendations - Page 2

I checked out Racer Sportif and La Bicicletta today.

La Bicicletta had a pretty big selection. I had my eyes on a Look KG 461 -->
http://www.lookcycle.com/english/cat...dres_kg461.htm (I think it was a 461, I forgot to
write down the exact model number) that was built up with Ultegra. They were selling it for around
$3250 or so.

They also had a Look KX frame and fork --->
http://www.lookcycle.com/english/cat.../cadres_kx.htm and they said they could build a
complete bike with Ultegra for around $3600 (OK, a bit out of my price range).

They also had a brand called Marinoni, I think they are a Quebec company. Any info on them? Good?
Bad? One particular model I looked at ---> http://www.marinoni.qc.ca/html/eng_piumaxtra.asp had a
steel front triangle and carbon rear.

Racer Sportif had a Pinarello Surprise frame built with Mavic Cosmics and Ultegra for around
$2900 or so.

The guy at Racer Sportif also showed me an Aquila Titanio CR frame and fork set that he said they
could build into a complete bike with Ultegra components & wheels for me for around $3600. I was
impressed with the looks and weight of the Aquila Titanio. It has a Ti front triangle and Ti chain
stays, and carbon seat stays. I'm not to familiar with Aquila, but you can view the frame and fork
in question here ---> http://www.aquilacycles.com/Products...ioCRStrada.htm

Where are Aquilas made? Are they a 'house brand' for some local bike shops around Ontario and
Quebec? Are they good? bad?

The guy at Racer Sportif really seemed to recommend Ti for a tall & heavy bastard like me. Perhaps
he was just looking to sell me something more expensive, but I have heard some good things about the
ride quality of a Ti frame (although I've never ridden one myself).

Both shops said that they would measure me and get me to ride on a trainer to figure out my riding
style, etc. and to help determine my frame size. La Bicicletta had a cool computerized setup to help
with some of that stuff.

J. Spaceman

"Jason Spaceman" <IEatSpammersForBreakfast@rogers.com> wrote in message
> They also had a brand called Marinoni, I think they are a Quebec company. Any info on them? Good?
> Bad? One particular model I looked at ---> http://www.marinoni.qc.ca/html/eng_piumaxtra.asp had
a
> steel front triangle and carbon rear.

Marinoni is a good bike. I'm not real familiar with them now but when I was (1980s-90s) they were
very good value for top level racing bikes. I believe a Marinoni won the 1984 Olympic women's RR
(rebadged as another brand). I loved mine (got it in 1986) and still do.

JT

--
*******************************************
NB: reply-to address is munged

Visit http://www.jt10000.com
*******************************************

Jason Spaceman <IEatSpammersForBreakfast@rogers.com> writes:

> I checked out Racer Sportif and La Bicicletta today.
>
>
> Racer Sportif had a Pinarello Surprise frame built with Mavic Cosmics and Ultegra for around
> $2900 or so.
>

> Both shops said that they would measure me and get me to ride on a trainer to figure out my riding
> style, etc. and to help determine my frame size. La Bicicletta had a cool computerized setup to
> help with some of that stuff.
>

I hope you will not take this the wrong way, but $2500 to $3000 is an awful lot of money to spend on
a bike especially as you do not really seem to know what you want.

A good used steel bike can be bought much more cheaply, and used bikes tend to hold their value
better than new ones.

Possibly after riding for a while you would be in better position to know what you wanted.

And Fit-Kit type machines? If you know your measurements, you do not need them. At best they are
only a guide and at worst they serve to ~fit~ you to an expensive product that just happens to be
~on sale, but only until tonight.~

Toronto bike shops?

A motley crowd if ever there was one. Personally I find mail order more to my liking.

But try Eon D'Ornellas on Laurence (East about 2200 or something) or Trail Blazer on Danforth
(around 2000) you will get good service from both places and Trail Blazer have some beautiful
Bianchi's that are made of real steel, fitted with Campagnolo components and reasonably priced.

--
le vent a Dos

Davey Crockett

There is a great shop out in Streetsville called Re-My Sport. They are a top notch shop with great
service and a nice selection of bikes. They carry Trek, Giant and Cannondale road frames. Ask for
Jean-Paul when you give them a call or drop by. If you are planning on spending $3500.00 on a bike
then the trip out to Mississauga will be far worth the drive.

By the way I am riding a Marinoni Delta Extra which is their aluminum race machine with full real
carbon triangle. I have full DA components on it with the FSA Pro Team Issue crank. This is one
sweet machine. You will have a hard time finding a frame anywhere that matches what Marinoni
produces whether it be aluminum or steel. They even have a carbon model out this year but I don't
know much about it.

Best of luck in your search for the right bike.

Mike

"S. Anderson" <scott.anderson3@zsympaticoz.ca> wrote in message
news:<5qkYa.3380$_a4.701431@news20.bellglobal.com>...
> "Jason Spaceman" <IEatSpammersForBreakfast@rogers.com> wrote in message
> news:65i3jv86k26p3bbied7f67tjoifqga3uu4@4ax.com...
> >
> > Would he have a Pinarello for between $3000 and $3500? :-) Any idea if the 'house brand' Pavan
> > is any good?
> >
> >
> >
> > J. Spaceman
> >
> >
>
> I'm sure he has some nice Pinarellos...my road racing buddy has bought several there in the last
> few years. I think he was in the $3500 range for his last one. Honestly, I'm not up on road stuff
> too much, except my 20 year old Rossin that I keep clunking along with. As far as the Pavan brand,
> I don't think they're in the same league as Cervelo or Pinarello. The frames are manufactured in
> Italy somewhere by some third party builder so they may not be up to Pinarello quality. I'm not a
> big fan of carbon stays on alu frames either so maybe I'm jaded. However, they're probably very
> well assembled as they do good work at Pavan's. His shop is fairly small and aimed mostly at the
> road racer: not a lot of recreational accessories or even clothing. If you're ever out that way
> I'd recommend stopping in to see him or Don Zuck, his associate. But he's mostly about importing
> Pinarellos.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Scott..

Hey JS,

If its not too late try La Bicicletta www.labicicletta.com which is in TO. They have been really helpful on the phone and they stock good high end bikes, though not Cervelo. Have you thought about Marinoni? I am trying to decide between Marinoni which are beautifully built but have no name recognition here in Europe or Cervelo which now everyone knows about cos of Tyler and the Tour de France. Last time I lived in Toronto (granted it was 14 years ago) I thought Dukes was a good shop and Racer Sportif were a bunch of arrogant dickheads. Lousy service and a lousy mechanic who nearly ruined the bearing races on my hubs by overtightening, I could hardly turn the wheel when I got it home and had to buy some cone wrenches to adjust them myself.

wadoflove wrote:
> Hey JS,
>
> If its not too late try La Bicicletta http://www.labicicletta.com/www.labicicletta.com which is in
> TO. They have been really helpful on the phone and they stock good high end bikes, though not
> Cervelo. Have you thought about Marinoni? I am trying to decide between Marinoni which are
> beautifully built but have no name recognition here in Europe or Cervelo which now everyone knows
> about cos of Tyler and the Tour de France. Last time I lived in Toronto (granted it was 14 years ago) I
> thought Dukes was a good shop and Racer Sportif were a bunch of arrogant dickheads. Lousy service
> and a lousy mechanic who nearly ruined the bearing races on my hubs by overtightening, I could
> hardly turn the wheel when I got it home and had to buy some cone wrenches to adjust them myself.
>

Too late, I already bought a bike from Duke's (a 2004 Trek 5200). I picked it up 2 weeks ago after
my order finally came in.

I did check out La Bicicletta though, and I was impressed with it. They seem pretty thorough when it
comes to fitting you for a bike. When I was there they did have some Cervelos in stock although not
a lot. The guy mentioned that they are having a hard time getting orders from Cervelo filled (Duke's
also told me the same thing). Cervelo also had a display set up at the World Road Championships in
Hamilton, although they weren't permitted to sell any bikes.

I liked the Marinonis I tested, especially this steel/carbon fibre model that Bicicletta had (it
would have been my 2nd choice if Duke's wasn't able to get me the Trek).

Bicicletta also had Looks, Lightspeeds, De Rosas, etc. in stock.

As for Racer Sportif, yeah you kind of feel a bit of arrogance in the air when you talk to some of
the people there. I test drove an Aquila Ti when I was at their shop. It seemed like a nice bike,
but I don't know much about Aquila or where they are made, frame quality, etc. So I decided not to
go with them.

J. Spaceman

Jason Spaceman <I@eat.spammers.for.breakfast> wrote in message
news:<NZVqb.48651$YN6.35793@news02.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com>...
> wadoflove wrote:
> > Hey JS,
> >
> > If its not too late try La Bicicletta http://www.labicicletta.com/www.labicicletta.com which is
> > in TO. They have been really helpful on the phone and they stock good high end bikes, though not
> > Cervelo. . . . Last time I lived in Toronto (granted > > it was 14 years ago) I thought Dukes
> > was a good shop and Racer Sportif were a bunch of arrogant dickheads. Lousy service and a lousy
> > mechanic who nearly ruined the bearing races on my hubs by overtightening, I could hardly turn
> > the wheel when I got it home and had to buy some cone wrenches to adjust them myself.
> >
>
[ snip ]
> I did check out La Bicicletta though, and I was impressed with it. They seem pretty thorough when
> it comes to fitting you for a bike.
>
[ snip ]
>
> As for Racer Sportif, yeah you kind of feel a bit of arrogance in the air when you talk to some of
> the people there.
[ snip ]
>
> J. Spaceman

Dear Jason,

Your instinctive dislike of the French as exemplified by Racer Sportif (who may be a fine bunch for
all I know) puts the Simpsons solidly behind you:

3 Nov 1996 Simpsons episode 3F23 "You Only Move Twice": Supervillain Hank Scorpio asks: "Homer,
what's your least favorite country: Italy or France?" When Homer says France, Hank replies: "Nobody
ever says Italy."

There's a whole page pandering to Franco-phobia, its lavish selection of anti-French bon mots
studded with gems from the Simpsons, at:

http://www.rotten.com/library/cultur...-francophobia/

24 Oct 1999 Simpsons episode AABF21 "Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner?": After a French
pastry chef brusquely shoos Ned Flanders away from a tempting éclair, Ned responds: "A rude
Frenchman? Well, I never!"

Of course, I understand that the French throw a pretty good bike race every summer, and Peter Mayle
makes them seem impossibly charming.

Xenophobically yours,

Carl Fogel

Jeez Carl,

Where did this come from? Racer Sportif has nothing to do with the French apart from the name. For your education, the French are anything but rude, a little self-centred maybe, but not rude. No, the rudest people in this world are the AMERICANS. Perhaps not to each other but when they are travelling. You know, the ones who descend on Paris every summer, not having bothered to learn a word of French (not even Merci or S'il vous plait) and have no idea of the customs of this country and then walk up to people in shops and say "How much is this?" and when they don't answer immediately they yell the same thing louder as if it was a hearing problem not a language problem "HOW MUCH". Then when they get the answer to their rudely asked question they say things like "In yer money or my money?". I could give hundreds of examples of their poor behaviour but I'll let you educate yourself by visiting other countries and seeing for yourself. I've lived for at least 2 years in 3 different European countries including France and Paris and have never felt that the French were rude in comparison to the American Tourists.

The most insulting thing to be called as a foreigner living in Europe in my humble Canadian opinion is "American".

wadoflove <usenet-forum@cyclingforums.com> wrote in message
news:<3fb2d6ec$1_1@news.chariot.net.au>...
> Carl Fogel wrote:
> > Dear Jason, Your instinctive dislike of the French as exemplified by Racer Sportif (who may be
> > a fine bunch for all I know) puts the Simpsons solidly behind you: 3 Nov 1996 Simpsons episode
> > 3F23 "You Only Move Twice": Supervillain Hank Scorpio asks: "Homer, what's your least favorite
> > country: Italy or France?" When Homer says France, Hank replies: "Nobody ever says Italy."
> > There's a whole page pandering to Franco-phobia, its lavish selection of anti-French bon mots
> > studded with gems from the Simpsons, at:
> > http://www.rotten.com/library/cultur...ia/http://www-
> > .rotten.com/library/culture/american-francophobia/ 24 Oct 1999 Simpsons episode AABF21 "Guess
> > Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner?": After a French pastry chef brusquely shoos Ned Flanders
> > away from a tempting éclair, Ned responds: "A rude Frenchman? Well, I never!" Of course, I
> > understand that the French throw a pretty good bike race every summer, and Peter Mayle makes
> > them seem impossibly charming. Xenophobically yours, Carl Fogel
>
>
>
> Jeez Carl,
>
> Where did this come from? Racer Sportif has nothing to do with the French apart from the name. For
> your education, the French are anything but rude, a little self-centred maybe, but not rude. No,
> the rudest people in this world are the AMERICANS. Perhaps not to each other but when they are
> travelling. You know, the ones who descend on Paris every summer, not having bothered to learn a
> word of French (not even Merci or S'il vous plait) and have no idea of the customs of this country
> and then walk up to people in shops and say "How much is this?" and when they don't answer
> immediately they yell the same thing louder as if it was a hearing problem not a language problem
> "HOW MUCH". Then when they get the answer to their rudely asked question they say things like "In
> yer money or my money?". I could give hundreds of examples of their poor behaviour but I'll let
> you educate yourself by visiting other countries and seeing for yourself. I've lived for at least
> 2 years in 3 different European countries including France and Paris and have never felt that the
> French were rude in comparison to the American Tourists.
>
> The most insulting thing to be called as a foreigner living in Europe in my humble Canadian
> opinion is "American".

Dear Jason,

Gosh, with that sense of humor you could almost pas for a stereotypical French waiter, not a
humble Canadian.

Au revoir, eh?

Carl Fogel

On 14 Nov 2003 01:52:18 GMT, rookery7@aol.comparrot (Joe) wrote:

>> The most insulting thing to be called as a foreigner living in Europe in my humble Canadian
>> opinion is "American".
>
>Q: Do you know why they planted trees along the road in Paris?
>
>A: So the German army could march in the shade.
>
Actually it was so Napoleons army could march in the shade...

Lets keep the foolish jingoist BS where it belongs ... in RASF1

You're right. I just get steamed when people buy into this scary right wing hate mongering without thinking about it. So put in my two cents without thinking about others... for the record its not all Americans who behave like loud mouthed boors in Europe, those are just the ones that everyone notices!
€8'B