Now that I am finally recovering from a back problem (I had to take
months off), I have to start looking at replacement parts and
components, which includes going to the nearby Parisian bike shops.
When I last went, back in January, I listed the most horrible as well
as the acceptable ones in close Parisian suburbs:
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.bicycles.racing/browse_frm/thread/f08fac1cb122563c/6f2a44c041004209?lnk=gst&q=paris+bike+shops&rnum=1&hl=en#6f2a44c041004209
Since I had a fairly good experience at the Cycles du Tourmalet in
Nogent-sur-Marne, I started there. However, the salesman who did a
good job there last time wasn't there this time, and it was a debacle.
I told them I was interested in getting a high end bike, but that I
wanted to test ride the bike, and the salesman looked at me as if I
was completely insane. It was the first time he had ever heard such a
request. I asked him how one was supposed to choose without a test
ride, and he said you had to look at magazines and read reviews.
Apparently, they don't believe that their customers are capable of
independent thought. He also looked at me with disbelief when I told
him that every US bike shop allows you to test bikes and even up to
hour long rides. The shop is also the French distributor for SRM
cranks, but they did not have a single one in stock. I asked them if
it would be possible to test cranks on a trainer to see if I could get
the ankle clearance I needed, they said that this would also be
impossible. The manager, who was older and was probably the owner,
told me that I should just get the Dura-Ace model, and when I said
that I wanted lower profile cranks, he said that they would fit me
with appropriate shoes and pedals so that there would be heel
clearance. When I said that I also wanted a low q-factor, the then
said: "OK, so don't get Dura-Ace then!" I realised I was wasting my
time there, and told them that anyway, I would be in the US the
following week, so would be able to test ride bikes there. The
manager's response was: "Say hi to Mr. Bush." which was supposed to be
funny according to him. Anyway, I don't see a single reason not to buy
mail order if you can't test ride the bike and if the shop is going to
treat you poorly anyway. This definitely convinced me not to buy a
bike in a French bike shop.
Today, I went to the Porte Maillot Velo and Oxygene bike shop to get
cycling socks since I don't have a single intact pair left. As usual
with that store, they did not greet me and left me completely alone to
find the stuff I needed. They had a large selection of socks, almost
all of them in size XXL, so I had a difficult time finding some my
size. After a while I found a couple of pairs and went to pay. The
salesman saw that I had left a number of socks in a pile and told me
to put them back. I said that it was his job to do that. He insisted
and I then said that in fact, a customer should not put articles back,
since he was not familiar with the store's sorting system and might
misplace things. He said that I was pretty good at removing stuff, so
I should be just as good at putting it back. At this point, I finally
realised that I was not going to get socks there. It was going to be
the last time I would ever go to that store. The strange thing about
this is that it is not at all typical French behavior, even for rude
Parisian salespeople. As a rule, salespeople are expected to put back
articles of clothing. It appears that this store and this salesman in
particular are particularly rude and incompetent. Since I really
needed cycling socks, I rode over to rue Ballard to the former Carnac
store but it turned out that it has gone out of business. Needless to
say, I was not too unhappy at the demise of a Paris shop. It looks
like I will have to buy my socks in the US. Just as well, I say.
Otherwise, Parisian cycling has taken a new turn with the start of
Velib, a public transportation initiative, where you can rent 22kg
bikes by the half hour and drop them off when you are done
http://www.velib.paris.fr/ They were very popular on Sunday, the
inauguration. My wife simply hates them, and she was truly annoyed
when I went to help a person whose left crank had fallen off. The
bikes are a big success for Lapierre, since 20,000 have been ordered.
The heavy weight and low gearing does seem to encourage civic
responsibility though, people on these bikes are stopping at red
lights, as opposed to the typical Paris "urban guerilla" cyclist who
yells at you if you don't jump out of his way when you walk acrros
pedestrian crosswalk with a green light.
-ilan