It sounds silly huh!! Walk in, pick the one you like and pay over the counter!
In essence, that’s the basics, but it can to be so much more than that! We are on record as saying you wont buy a bad bike anymore. Most are of a level and are “good”. But what is good. We all like something a little bit different. I’m a coward, so I’ve grown fond of bikes that feel very stable, very planted and bike’s I know I’m going to come out the other end of a corner on! Not everyone will like that, some of the braver folk will look for different things, comfort, stiffness, responsiveness.
As we said, you wont get a bad bike, but you can get an inappropriate bike, or one that doesn’t fit you. That’s a bad bike, but its not the bikes fault!! That’s what your local shop should be there for. Guiding you through the process to an appropriate and well fitted bike.
Lets do a bit of role play, customer Dr X walks through the doors and says he wants a new bike. That’s fine, how do we break it down to making sure its the right bike, the correct size and that, ultimately, you like it. That starts with a conversation about what DR X wants to use the bike for. Is he a nut case racer, is he riding sportive’s, touring the world or gravel riding. This will whittle a large selection of bikes down to a few less that will suit the riders needs.
Next its the awkward one, budget. How much does DR X want to spend on his or hers bike. This will eliminate a few further bikes and leave you with 3 or 4. These can then be test ridden to get a feel for how the bike performs and feels underneath you. It wont be tailored to you or bars/stems changed etc but if you like it when it doesn’t fit like a glove, you’ll love it when it does!
Once the DR has chosen his preferred ride and gives the go ahead on a purchase we start the fitting process. We go and us Shimano’s bike fitting software. We tell the machine what shoes, pedals, bars etc we are using and take a load of measurements from the individual. This will spit out a graph that looks a bit like the one below. The whole document will be emailed over for future reference, should you need it. It will give us info on seat height, reach, set back, drop and others we need to set the bike up. The parts such as bars and stems will be changed to suit your dimensions. This will be discussed as to when collection can be made.
While this process is going on discussions on finishing kit, wheels, tyres and any specific bits would be discussed. Wheel upgrade options would be available and costs offset against components being removed and not wanted. This can also be done for groupsets, saddles and anything you want. Just because a bike is built on display and in stock format, doesn’t mean that’s how it leaves. All bikes can be and are tailored to an individuals needs and wants. Costs will be varied but the end goal is the same.
By all means, pop by for a yap, coffee and a mooch around at what could possibly be your dream build!
