Good Bike Shop to Purchase a Road Bike

[jampack]

Hello everyone! It's around the time of the year that there will be some sales going on road bikes as the shops are moving forward to 2017 models. I am also looking into my first road bike for endurance and possibly, do some racing ( maybe only) in the future.

I am asking on feedbacks on different bike shops and their services. I saw on one thread about bike repairs but this is more specific on bike purchases and services that they offer.

I am in between 2 shops at the moment: Calgary Cycle (Pure Cycle) because of their Tune-Ups-For-Life program, perks like 15% of parts and accessories within 1 month of purchase, price and fit guarantee

and..

Ridley Cycle but has no Tune-Ups-For-Life, no discounts, 2 years of service and have to pay extra for actual bike fitting. Though generally, their prices are lower than Pure Cycle, but Pure Cycle can probably match their prices on bikes. Parts and accessories, Ridley's appear to have more discounted items.

Anyone has experiences on any of these 2 stores? Recommendations about other stores are also welcome!

Thanks everyone!

[lilmira]

Ridley is pretty friendly but I have no experience on bike service there. My go to shop is Cyclepath North, friendly shop, service is good, I know them and they know me. Haven't been to Pure. Bow is pretty friendly too but it's a bigger, higher volume shop.

Do you have certain models in mind? The brand will narrow down the shops somewhat.

[jampack]

Originally posted by lilmira
Ridley is pretty friendly but I have no experience on bike service there. My go to shop is Cyclepath North, friendly shop, service is good, I know them and they know me. Haven't been to Pure. Bow is pretty friendly too but it's a bigger, higher volume shop.

Do you have certain models in mind? The brand will narrow down the shops somewhat.

That's actually where I am struggling also. So the Trek Emonda SL6 is not available at Pure Cycle anymore but is available at Ridley's. The other choices I have are Specialized Roubaix or Tarmac which are only available at Ridley's. In terms, the bikes I want are at Ridley's Okotoks (which is fine as I live deep down south) but struggling to the fact that Pure Cycle has these offers when you purchase from them. I guess it all comes down to service if anyone has experiences on either of the shops. Bowcycle for me is just too far for service and has no good deals as of yet but probably join their club (I think you can join even if you didn't buy bike from them).

[lilmira]

Looks like Cyclepath has the SL6 on sale, they have a shop in the south. I wouldn't worry too much about the free tune up offer. They never charge me for anything that they can fix at the spot.

I'm sure anyone can join the Bow club.

[jampack]

Originally posted by lilmira
Looks like Cyclepath has the SL6 on sale, they have a shop in the south. I wouldn't worry too much about the free tune up offer. They never charge me for anything that they can fix at the spot.

I'm sure anyone can join the Bow club.

Thank you for checking on that. I will check them out on Tuesday!

[Brent.ff]

I was a big fan of Wheelife in Okotoks. By far the best service I experienced, and gave me a smoking deal without much of a wrangling on my part. I'd say it's worth the drive, and think I have a 3 year free tune up. Probably worth at least a call to see if they have anything of interest


Maybe it was just me, but I found pure cycle exceedingly douchey, maybe cause I didn't feel like dropping 3k on my first bike and they pushed for it immediately

[benyl]

Tune ups for life are worth it if you don't wrench on your own bike.

I bring my bikes in every 2 months. You can bring it after every ride if you want.

You can bring it to any of their 4 shops. Pure, Calgary cycle mtn, Road or 22x in Bragg creek.

If trek has the bike you want in stock, Pure can bring it in. I would call them.

I have a good contact at MTN if you want. He also fit me for my Domane.

[D'z Nutz]

I doubt you'll be interested if you think Bowcycle is out of your way, but I think it's worth mentioning Bike Cafe out in Canmore.

I purchased a bike from them earlier in the year but I was looking for last year's model cause I preferred the colour and some of the components and they were able to find one for me and I saved a few hundred bucks on top. They also offer free tune ups for the life of the bike and the fitting is free, plus you get 15% off parts and accessories when you buy your bike. Plus the staff are really nice and friendly.

It's definitely out of the way for servicing, but how much do you really think you'll be taking it in? IMO you should be learning some of the basic stuff yourself like cable adjustments and then have the shop do a once over once a year or something. The way I see it, hauling it up to Canmore for a quick servicing is a good excuse for me to go ride the Legacy Trail for the afternoon so it's not a big deal for me.

[jampack]

Originally posted by benyl
Tune ups for life are worth it if you don't wrench on your own bike.

I bring my bikes in every 2 months. You can bring it after every ride if you want.

You can bring it to any of their 4 shops. Pure, Calgary cycle mtn, Road or 22x in Bragg creek.

If trek has the bike you want in stock, Pure can bring it in. I would call them.

I have a good contact at MTN if you want. He also fit me for my Domane.

I have called purecycle and unfortunately, they do not have SL6's anymore and only have Domane 5.9 (no 5.2) which is out of my budget at this time and probably won't spend that much yet for first road bike. :) They also checked with their Trek account and apparently, Trek is out of stock of the size I need for a road bike. Maybe I'd take your contact in MTN though :) Thanks!


Originally posted by D'z Nutz
I doubt you'll be interested if you think Bowcycle is out of your way, but I think it's worth mentioning Bike Cafe out in Canmore.

I purchased a bike from them earlier in the year but I was looking for last year's model cause I preferred the colour and some of the components and they were able to find one for me and I saved a few hundred bucks on top. They also offer free tune ups for the life of the bike and the fitting is free, plus you get 15% off parts and accessories when you buy your bike. Plus the staff are really nice and friendly.

It's definitely out of the way for servicing, but how much do you really think you'll be taking it in? IMO you should be learning some of the basic stuff yourself like cable adjustments and then have the shop do a once over once a year or something. The way I see it, hauling it up to Canmore for a quick servicing is a good excuse for me to go ride the Legacy Trail for the afternoon so it's not a big deal for me.

I don't mind going all the way out haha. I do know quite a bit on bikes and plan to maintain it myself for the most part but would most likely take advantage too of the services/tune ups for free that any shop could offer. I have bikes right now that I maintain myself. It seems that the bike café website doesn't really have much info so when we travel to Jasper this coming weekend, I probably will drop by over there and see what's up.

I am shopping around and hoping to get a bike in a couple of weeks! Stoked.. :)

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by jampack
I don't mind going all the way out haha. I do know quite a bit on bikes and plan to maintain it myself for the most part but would most likely take advantage too of the services/tune ups for free that any shop could offer. I have bikes right now that I maintain myself. It seems that the bike café website doesn't really have much info so when we travel to Jasper this coming weekend, I probably will drop by over there and see what's up.

I am shopping around and hoping to get a bike in a couple of weeks! Stoked.. :)

Yeah their website sucks, but they seem to be pretty active on their facebook page and the owner Jay ([email protected]) responds to emails really quickly. He was able to track down the bike I wanted within the hour and it arrived a few days after I gave my deposit over the phone.

[jampack]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz


Yeah their website sucks, but they seem to be pretty active on their facebook page and the owner Jay ([email protected]) responds to emails really quickly. He was able to track down the bike I wanted within the hour and it arrived a few days after I gave my deposit over the phone.

Thank you for the info. I called Cyclepath today and they do have the Trek Emonda SL6 and Domane 5.2. The guy told me he can still order some 2016's so I guess we'll see. I will check out some bike stores this week and if I run out of options then I will check bicycle café out.

I, at times, refer to google reviews when I choose stores and that's why I like asking here in beyond about you guys' personal experience with shops as google reviews are not enough lol :)

Thanks everyone!

[triplep]

Have you tried seeing with outletbikes.ca has and if you would be interested in any of the things they have (they are a division of pure cycle/ calgary cycle). It is in the NE I believe, but once you buy the bike, you can go to pure cycle and get everything serviced etc.

Also, as it is your first bike, have you looked into the used market? People will buy nice bikes thinking they will get into it and just eventually sell them when they realize it just sits in their garage. For a road bike, I would think you could find a good deal used.

Not sure what they retail for and if this is the model you are looking for http://www.kijiji.ca/v-road-bike/calgary/2016-trek-emonda-s6-size-54/1177335110?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

[jampack]

Originally posted by triplep
Have you tried seeing with outletbikes.ca has and if you would be interested in any of the things they have (they are a division of pure cycle/ calgary cycle). It is in the NE I believe, but once you buy the bike, you can go to pure cycle and get everything serviced etc.

Also, as it is your first bike, have you looked into the used market? People will buy nice bikes thinking they will get into it and just eventually sell them when they realize it just sits in their garage. For a road bike, I would think you could find a good deal used.

Not sure what they retail for and if this is the model you are looking for http://www.kijiji.ca/v-road-bike/calgary/2016-trek-emonda-s6-size-54/1177335110?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

Thanks for the info. I thought of going there and I will later today to see what's there. I have looked into used bikes but there are just those certain things I look for on bikes. Size matters also as I know what size I need to get. At this time, there are lots of sales out there which include the routine services for new bikes so a new bike makes sense. This is not my first bike, just first road bike. I have been biking for a long time now but have not bought a new one for a looong time so just wondering what shops are the best out there!

Thanks very much for the input though :)

[jampack]

Just an update:

So I have gone to different shops now. The most welcoming shop was cyclepath up the NW. I travelled there as they have both Emonda SL6 and Domane 5.2 for my size. I have to say, Domane feels better than the Emonda but price wise as my first road bike, I will go with Emonda SL6 first then maybe upgrade in a couple of years to a better bike like the Domane SLR. With $700 difference, I could probably get more accessories like GPS with that money, etc.

The Domane 5.2 only comes with white or matte brown/blue which both colours I really don't like. Emonda SL6 will be in nice Matte Black. Emonda is very light and really, I also enjoyed riding it.

In terms of service, anyone has experience with service for cyclepath down here at the SW area? Cyclepath also has a lifetime service plan and a full tune on bike purchase; appears to be like Calgary Cycle but now, I would like to see how both of these shops do their service. I like Pure Cycle in Canyon Meadows and I think they should be able to bring these bikes also for me. Their prices are higher too but I talk to one of their staff and they said they can price match it.

If anyone has any tips, it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[lilmira]

Good stuff! Haven't been to their south store. I've met the owner Doan a few times. I think he's usually at the south store since he lives in the south. Seems like a nice guy. I would suggest checking it out in person to find out for sure.

Do you like the Domane more because you sit higher on it? My first road bike is an endurance bike. I started dropping the handlebar very soon once I got used to the sitting position. That's my experience. You can't go wrong with either.

[jampack]

Originally posted by lilmira
Good stuff! Haven't been to their south store. I've met the owner Doan a few times. I think he's usually at the south store since he lives in the south. Seems like a nice guy. I would suggest checking it out in person to find out for sure.

Do you like the Domane more because you sit higher on it? My first road bike is an endurance bike. I started dropping the handlebar very soon once I got used to the sitting position. That's my experience. You can't go wrong with either.

I think it's the IsoSpeed decoupler. I just felt more comfortable though really, Domane is the endurance bike and Emonda is performance. I tried both of them twice and the Domane was only slightly better from the Emonda so for now, I am going with what I think is better for the money and upgrade in the future if I want to.

I've gone to Pure Cycle today and have talked to one of their employees and he said they can price match Cyclepath's price. Based on reviews everywhere, I think I will go with Pure Cycle. I will drop by again over there tomorrow before going to Jasper for the weekend; see if I can decide if I want to put some money down now to order or give myself some time over the weekend again to decide which store. Will ask them about their service program, etc.

Thanks everyone! Any tips about both stores are still welcome! :)

[lilmira]

Hurry up and get the bike, you are missing the wonderful summer we are having now. :banghead:

[jampack]

Originally posted by lilmira
Hurry up and get the bike, you are missing the wonderful summer we are having now. :banghead:

All done! So I went to Pure Cycle on Monday and talked to a couple of people whom both has been great to talk to and explained everything to me. They basically "almost" price matched the offer from Cyclepath and with their service policy, I think I got a really good deal with Pure Cycle; having also the fact they are the closest bike shop from where I live. Bike is on sale on Trek's website and I still got it down by another $300.

Bike is ordered and hopefully comes Friday!

http://www.francebikerentals.com/sites/default/files/1441900_2016_a_2_emonda_sl_6.png

I can't wait to get it! :thumbsup:

Thanks everyone for the advices!