If your friend ever finds herself north of the Red River, there is an LBS in Norman, OK called Buchanan's that carries a very eclectic selection of bikes. I think they are completely independent with no Trek, Specialized, etc.. Instead, they have Surly, Salsa, Handsome Cycles, etc... They usually have a Troll on the floor and that is one sweet bicycle. They also had a Handsome She-Devil the last time I was in. If nothing else, she might give them a call, tell them her needs and see if they have anything they might recommend. They are the only LBS I've found that has Brooks saddles hanging on the wall. Because of the nature of the store, I asked if they ever had any Rivendells come thru and the owner (a framebuilder) said that he has repaired a broken Atlantis frame.
On Monday, September 14, 2015 at 5:43:06 PM UTC-5, Anne Paulson wrote: > > Here's the next step in the story of my online friend who wants to buy > a new bike to replace the $500 step-through bike she's been riding for > an hour to two hours every day for exercise. She reports: > > I went to Richardson Bike mart again, told them my needs, told them my > last bike was a Trek step in around $500 and that I was ready to > upgrade to a really good bike. I told him my frustrations with the > Trek, my habits, my goals, etc. The guy pulls out another step in that > is $649 and offered zero additional features/benefits. > > I was so irritated. I said, "wow, I was willing to go as high as $2000 > for something really nice, but what you're showing me is basically the > same thing." So either he wasn't listening, or doesn't think I look > like a non-beginner, or he was just trying to unload a discontinued > bike. > > ****************************** > > (this is Anne again:) Several people here disrecommended Richardson-- > now I see why!-- and recommended she look at something like a Surly > Cross-Check at Oak Cliff Bikes. So that will be her next step. I don't > know if she wasn't taken seriously because she is a woman, or if the > sales people don't understand anything but racing bikes and low-end > shopping bikes because that's all their shop carries, but it's so > frustrating that bike shops can't sell people sensible bikes even when > the people ask for sensible bikes and are willing to pay for them. > > -- > -- Anne Paulson > > It isn't a contest. Enjoy the ride. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
