Hi all! I spent two days reading the reviews many people had posted about Hybrid Bikes and decided on a Giant Cypress SX. I went to Brooklyn Bicycle Center on Coney Island Ave in Brooklyn, where I live. The salesperson Margo, seemed extremely knowledgeable about bikes. I asked why the Cypress SX she had on display looked different from the pictures online and in the 2005 Giant Catalog. It had no front suspension, or rapidfire shifters. She said that you can't go by the catalog and that they preferred this deisgn over the one I described. She also told me that to make up for the things I asked her about, Giant reduced the quality of the derailleurs. She quoted me a price of $700 each for two. I thought something was fishy, so I double checked the web and I called Giant. Margo was selling me two 2004 Cypress SX's with a MSRP of $600 each for $700 each. They are no longer in Giant's catalog and can be found online for under $600. The 2005 Cypress SX's have suggested MSRP's of $750. I was getting hosed. I confronted Margo. She of course denied that she was selling last years model at an inflated price. She told me the people I spoke to at Giant were wrong.
To make a long story short, don't buy at Brooklyn Bicycle Center!
Best Regards,
Scott

You're probably better off without the suspension. Still not a reason for them to be jacking the price on last year's model - they should be on sale, if anything. :)

Just an FYI, Giant does a 2004.5 model year where you get bikes at 2005 prices that may not be exactly like the finalized 2005 bicycle. For example, the SX for 2004.5 didn't have suspension... in fact, I just quit at a Giant dealer about 3 weeks ago and had never seen a Cypress SX w/ suspension or disc brakes until I just checked their website now. I suspect a late running change to the product. Most shops and salespeople treat the 2004.5 as an '05 model, and it does get stickered for full '05 retail usually and only gets marked down when '06s start coming in.

Wouldn't it be great if the OP had heard your explanation from the dealer? I can now see what's going on, and it's probably legit, but I can understand why the OP feels like he's being screwed. Personally I expect a dealer to know what's going on with model changes and to make an effort to communocate it to the customer. In short, I expect better than what the OP got. Don't you?

Had the dealer been up front about the bike being last years, the msrp being $600, and not lied about Giant reducing the quality of the gears to give the other things mentioned on the new model, I would have been fine. ;) . She continued to insist that Giant gave me the wrong information and that both models were current versions. It also really ticked me off to see numerous on line dealers selling the '04 for less then $600.

What's wrong with a front suspension? Weight?

Personally, I'd take the 04 over the 05 anyday. The 05 is going to be heavier due to the suspension, has a big fat seat on it and much fatter tires which all adds up to more comfort and less speed. I think the 04 seems to have about the right mix of both and is probably going to make a better commuter bike as well. Admittedly, I like the discs on the 05 model over the V brakes on the 04.

daddylonglens has posted three times on bf. two of his posts have been identical -- the original post on this thread, and one in another forum. this is someone with an axe to grind. my gut feeling is that, whatever the reason, his principal interest is in defaming the shop. don't take him too seriously.

Of course I'm pissed and I'd like to let as many people know as possible. That doesn't mean that the information isn't reliable. I found an LBS that I feel is behaving in a decietful fashion. What better way to punish them, then by letting others know to avoid the store? Isn't that the way it's supposed to work? I apologize for the double posting. I don't apologize for getting the word out on this shop. You use the word defame, which implies I'm not telling the truth. Feel free to buy there, Caveat emptor.

The deal with front suspension isn't even weight so much as that when you are trying to put some muscle to the ground, the shock is absorbing your hard spent energy in a bobbing up and down motion. Its a VERY low quality low end shock, and definately not something I would want on a commuter. For commuting, rigid is the only way to go in my experience.

Thanks for your reply. What about a shock with a lock out such as the Suntour NCX D LO as on the Crossroads XC Pro?