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Bike Shopping
Feb. 8th, 2007 12:45 pmYesterday J and I went over to my favorite local bike shop to begin looking at road bikes. Boy howdy, let me tell you, we got some pretty enthusiastic advice. Actually, I think that has been a part of the overall problem. People have a lot of opinions, but usually they don't have very good justifications for those opinions.
The particular guy who was giving us advice yesterday was probably the most helpful out of what I've learned so far, though, because he had more than just opinions--he had a good starting point. First off, he had a good idea as to how to best match ranges of people to ranges of bikes and how to help us prioritize various other factors in this process. We figured out that we're probably after mid-range bikes that are well-built with quality components so we'll be happy riding the same bikes for a long time.
Beyond that basic characteristic, of course, there are a ton of different things to consider. First of all, where do I want my money to go--towards a brand-new bike, or towards a used bike? I'm actually leaning towards a brand-new bike for the same reason I bought a new computer (almost two years ago--jeez!)--I'll know the bike's history and if any problems arise at first I can take it back. That's what makes buying used a risky proposition. Although it's a pretty large investment initially, it will be a long-term investment. And it sounds like a lot of people end up getting sucked into constantly upgrading or repairing bike components, which can ultimately be more expensive than purchasing a new bike outright.
The other funny thing about answering the question about where I want my money to go is considering which bike shop I want to support. Lots of my friends keep telling me to go to Performance Bikes, a huge chain, or to Landis Cyclery, a local chain. I'm hesitant to do so, because I don't really know the people working at either place all that well, so I'll be flying blind with respect to their judgments about what makes a bike good. And I'm skeptical about whether they will actually sell me what I'm looking for.
I dunno. This is going to be a tedious process, that's for sure. Big-ticket purchases are stressful.
But in other good news, two of my friends here found out that they can ride in the Seattle-to-Portland! So that plan is shaping up nicely. Now I just have to train and find a reasonably comfortable and fast bike to ride.
The particular guy who was giving us advice yesterday was probably the most helpful out of what I've learned so far, though, because he had more than just opinions--he had a good starting point. First off, he had a good idea as to how to best match ranges of people to ranges of bikes and how to help us prioritize various other factors in this process. We figured out that we're probably after mid-range bikes that are well-built with quality components so we'll be happy riding the same bikes for a long time.
Beyond that basic characteristic, of course, there are a ton of different things to consider. First of all, where do I want my money to go--towards a brand-new bike, or towards a used bike? I'm actually leaning towards a brand-new bike for the same reason I bought a new computer (almost two years ago--jeez!)--I'll know the bike's history and if any problems arise at first I can take it back. That's what makes buying used a risky proposition. Although it's a pretty large investment initially, it will be a long-term investment. And it sounds like a lot of people end up getting sucked into constantly upgrading or repairing bike components, which can ultimately be more expensive than purchasing a new bike outright.
The other funny thing about answering the question about where I want my money to go is considering which bike shop I want to support. Lots of my friends keep telling me to go to Performance Bikes, a huge chain, or to Landis Cyclery, a local chain. I'm hesitant to do so, because I don't really know the people working at either place all that well, so I'll be flying blind with respect to their judgments about what makes a bike good. And I'm skeptical about whether they will actually sell me what I'm looking for.
I dunno. This is going to be a tedious process, that's for sure. Big-ticket purchases are stressful.
But in other good news, two of my friends here found out that they can ride in the Seattle-to-Portland! So that plan is shaping up nicely. Now I just have to train and find a reasonably comfortable and fast bike to ride.
