Friday, February 10, 2006
The bike saga
After riding on my friend Mario's road bike, I knew it was going to be hard to convince myself to go through the race on the mountain bike. For anyone else out there who has ridden a mountain bike recently but has forgotten what a road bike is like, a mountain bike is to running as a road bike is to ice skating. The energy you put into the pedals doesn't die away instantly... you just glide along. In any case, I wanted to get a road bike for the triathlon.
I did look around on Craig's List and at various bike shops for good deals, and was actually offered what seemed like a good deal through one particular bike shop (I won't trash them here as they redeemed themselves in the end). When I went to that shop I was told the deal was all filled up, but that they had some very nice bikes from last year for a great price. Needless to say, they fitted me for a fully carbon frame bike (that prior to this would have been completely out of my price range). They were able to discount the bike to a price that was a little above my target price. Given the great deal, I relucently spent the money and took the bike home.
Even on the drive back home I felt terrible. Even though the bike was a good deal for what it was, it was not the bike I was looking for, and the thought of the sales tactics that were used on me left me feeling terrible about the whole experience. I brought the bike to a local bike shop to see what they thought about the deal I was given and sure enough, it was an unbelievable deal. However, in the end I decided to return that bike and get the bike that I originally wanted from a sales person that helped me find a bike that was right for me, instead of baiting me in and then using me to clear out some old inventory. I am much happier with my decision and my bike now.
I did look around on Craig's List and at various bike shops for good deals, and was actually offered what seemed like a good deal through one particular bike shop (I won't trash them here as they redeemed themselves in the end). When I went to that shop I was told the deal was all filled up, but that they had some very nice bikes from last year for a great price. Needless to say, they fitted me for a fully carbon frame bike (that prior to this would have been completely out of my price range). They were able to discount the bike to a price that was a little above my target price. Given the great deal, I relucently spent the money and took the bike home.
Even on the drive back home I felt terrible. Even though the bike was a good deal for what it was, it was not the bike I was looking for, and the thought of the sales tactics that were used on me left me feeling terrible about the whole experience. I brought the bike to a local bike shop to see what they thought about the deal I was given and sure enough, it was an unbelievable deal. However, in the end I decided to return that bike and get the bike that I originally wanted from a sales person that helped me find a bike that was right for me, instead of baiting me in and then using me to clear out some old inventory. I am much happier with my decision and my bike now.
// posted by Zack @ 10:34 AM 
