David Kerber wrote:
> In article <
[email protected]>,
>
[email protected] says...
>
>>Mike Jacoubowsky/Chain Reaction Bicycles wrote:
>>
>>>>Would you spend 20% of the cost of the bike getting it
>>>>fitted? In my LBS it's not an issue, you get the money
>>>>back if you buy a bike.
>>>
>>>
>>>If it made the difference between a bike that was fun to
>>>ride and one that wasn't, it might be worth it. But it's
>>>academic for the most part; the fittings we do are part
>>>of the service we offer with bikes we sell, regardless of
>>>price. Even a $500 TREK 1000 customer doesn't leave the
>>>door without being properly fit (which means, at minimum,
>>>the various common measurements, along with checking out
>>>his/her position on the bike afterward, looking for
>>>indications that something might need further
>>>adjustment).
>>>
>>>The biggest mistake comes when people make the purchase
>>>of that first road bike. The better shops essentially
>>>subsidize that purchase, by putting in more time &
>>>effort making sure everything is just right than makes
>>>sense economically. But it's worth it, because if we can
>>>get people hooked on cycling, they come back for more
>>>and more and more. Jerseys, shorts, helmets, shoes,
>>>computers, racks, seat bags, tools, pumps... The shop
>>>that just pushes a bike across the counter and
>>>congratulates themselves on making a sale is a sad
>>>place, because not only is the shop losing out on a
>>>continuing revenue stream, but the customer is losing
>>>out because they may very well add cycling to that long
>>>list of things they spent a bunch of money on but didn't
>>>work out.
>>>
>>>--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
>>>
>>>"Just zis Guy, you know?" <
[email protected]>
>>>wrote in message
>>>
news:[email protected]...
>>>
>>>
>>>>On Mon, 16 Feb 2004 21:37:30 GMT, "Mike
>>>>Jacoubowsky/Chain Reaction Bicycles"
>>>><
[email protected]> wrote in message
>>>><
[email protected]>:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>The usefulness and joy of a bike doesn't come from its
>>>>>price, but rather
>>>>
>>>>>from how fun it is to ride. Why should somebody take
>>>>>advantage of being
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>properly fit on a $2000 bike and not a $600 one? If we,
>>>>>as an industry,
>>>
>>>did
>>>
>>>
>>>>>a better job of fitting people to $600 bikes, they'd
>>>>>spend a *lot* more
>>>
>>>time
>>>
>>>
>>>>>out on the road, a lot less time in the garage, and, in
>>>>>the end, we'd
>>>
>>>sell a
>>>
>>>
>>>>>lot more $2000 bikes.
>>>>
>>>>Would you spend 20% of the cost of the bike getting it
>>>>fitted? In my LBS it's not an issue, you get the money
>>>>back if you buy a bike.
>>>>
>>>>Guy
>>>>===
>>>>May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle
>>>>after posting.
http://chapmancentral.demon.co.uk
>>>>
>>>>88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at
>>>>Washington University
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>I'll second this post (a bit late, but hey!)
>>
>>I just bought a new bike (hardtail mountain for road and
>>trail use) from a shop that had the reputation as being
>>reputable, and it appears that the reputation was
>>justified. I've been back twice now for adjustments, and
>>I'm about to head on in again (I'm 50 pounds overweight
>>and hunched up to boot, and my hands are getting numb on a
>>15 mile ride; I think I need the handlebars up even higher
>>than where we have them at).
>
>
> Wouldn't it be even easier if you did that yourself?
> Then you could try a lot more different settings in a
> lot less time.
>
>
>
>>I suspect that the shop has lost money on the bike sale to
>>me (it was a 2003 discounted), but the amount of money
>>I've dropped for accessories has (I hope) more than made
>>up for it.
>
>
> That's the way it usually works <Grin>.
>
With my previous bike, raising handlebars was trivial with a
quill stem (although the bike shop let me know that I had
exceeded the maximum extension), but with this new bike, it
means new handlebars, new stems, or a stem riser, none of
which I have.