New Bike News
We did a road trip to Boston this morning in search of Novara Randonees. I called the stores prior to this journey and was immensely surprised to find out that not one of the several REI’s in the Boston area had all of the sizes of this bike in stock. It seems quite odd that any place that sells bicycles might carry only one size of a model. One store had only the 57cm model, which I thought would be perfect for Robert. For me, I figured that the 52cm would be a good fit. The sizes corresponded to our current 21″ and 23 ” frames.
We headed to the Boston store first which had the 52cm bike aka my bike. The clerk had to locate the bicycle, which was hanging from the ceiling, just one of the places that the keep their bicycles. As I swung my leg over the bar, I realized even before getting both feet on the ground that this frame was too big for me. In fact, it fit Robert quite well, so he claimed that bicycle for himself. The helpful clerk called around and found that the Reading store, about a half an hour north of this store, had a 47cm frame, but it wasn’t assembled. The can’t sell unassembled bikes, but assured me that it could be ready to go in a few hours.
We headed north and found a spot for lunch and mosied over to the Reading store. The bike wasn’t ready yet, so we looked around for a few minutes. I tried this bike and still felt that I had to swing my leg a little bit too high. Much to my dismay, this frame was also too big for me. Now we had wasted all this time for nothing. We also bought two REI memberships, so that we could get a discount on both bicycles.
So, why is it that NONE of the people who worked in the bicycle department and who should have been familiar with this model of bike, could not look at me and immediately guess that none of their frames would fit me? Why did the clerk at the second store encourage me to take the bike anyway even though the clearance between my crotch and the top tube was dangerously slim? Why don’t bikes come in the same old sizes like they used to?
When Robert worked at a bike shop, he and the other employees became adept at guessing the frame size for a particular person. Is this no longer a skill acquired by bike sellers?
We wasted many hours tracking down a too big frame, but we did come away with one nice new bike. Now to put Plan B in motion. I found a store in Manchester VT that carries both Trek and Cannondale. Will they stock the touring models of these bikes? It would be a real benefit to compare the touring models of both brands side by side. At least Manchester is a tad closer than Boston, but I can’t do anything until Monday when the store re-opens. I am hoping that since they have some articles on the touring expeditions of people I think might be the owners, that the store does stock touring bicycles. I know how dangerous it is to assume anything, so I will have to keep my fingers crossed and hope that when I call them on Monday they will say that they have touring models in both brands and that all sizes are available. I surely could be dreaming.
Did I mention that I always get lost in Boston? I am sure that it is some conspiracy. That has to be the reason that road signs are conspicuously absent or few and far between. I always forget that Boston poses a problem until I find myself lost yet another time.