Hill Climber

In the middle of purchasing my first road bike.... a sob story first:
There are no bike shops in my town in East Tennessee, but a handful within an hour's drive. I visited the only area Trek dealer Saturday (name withheld to protect the guilty), and he had a 1000 in my size for $569. It was pouring rain, so I couldn't test ride. I asked if they'd be open Monday, and I'd come get the bike. They said no, but the shop is open Tuesday. "OK, I'll be back." For some reason, I called Monday anyway and got the salesman, identified myself and asked if they were open. He said no, but he just happened to be in the shop. I reminded him I was from out of town and told him I was coming in Tuesday at lunch for the bike. He said great. I took off work Tuesday afternoon, made the trip, and when I got there, it was "That bike just went out of here and hour ago. We didn't know you were coming to buy it." This isn't a big shop with lots of salesmen. There are two, and I had spoken with both of them. It was the only bike in my size. I asked about a 1200 hoping to get a deal, but they didn't have it in my size either. He said to make up for for the hassle, he'd knock $50 off a 1200 they could have in stock in a week or so, and to their credit, have it delivered to my home. $50 off was an insult. He made a comment to the nature of "the other guy was here, and one in the hand is worth two in the bush" but they missed that although they sold the one bike, they missed the future sale of a bike for my wife plus future parts, service and accessories.
OK, to the point (sorry)...
Because of what happened, I have decided to pass on Trek all together... my sign from above. That was the bike I wanted, but have since decided not to be a sheep and choose a bike of another brand.
I have also looked at a Raleigh Sport 06 which is aluminum with cro-moly fork and a pretty good ride, a Giant OCR3, Lemond Etape, and Specialized Allez.
I've read the under $700 thread and have gotten a lot of good advice. Sora fits my needs at the moment. I think going the entry level route now and moving up into the higher end stuff in a few years is the path for me and leave the mid-level bikes out all together. Thanks. I know this is more of a rant than a question. But any more advice?

baj32161

Buy the LeMond...my apologies to Ziggurat!

LeMond is owned by Trek, by the way.

Body2big

I did like the look of the Giant bikes. me and my wife went and looked at Treks, Giants and Spec. I loved the OCR1 but my wife thought it was too much for her first bike. so we got a deal on the 04 OCR3.

good luck

Shawn

nomo4me

What are they guilty of?
If you knew you were going to buy it you could have put a deposit on it. You (correctly) wanted to test ride first, so your hold request was conditional.

Selling out from under you was the only correct business decision they could have made.

the_UGK

yea, a LeMond is a great bike to get, I have a tourmalet and I have a great time with it. but WHATEVER you do, do not buy a giant, they tend not to honor their warranties. My brother has a carbon TCR 1 and the frame cracked at the chain stays, and they would not replace the frame for him, even though it wasn't because of a crash.

bsyptak

I think OP and me believe that the shop owner just said he had it in stock, though never did. Only a fool would stick around if this was the case.

manual_overide

Specialized!! No Trek affiliation either

nomo4me

OP said he visited the shop but couldn't test ride due to rain. You snooze you loose.

mrchristian

Don't have one, but I have used my friend's OCR2 (an OCR3 with Tiagra instead of Sora) a lot, and I hate the adjustable stem on it. I don't know, maybe its just me. Other than that its a nice bike.

sunninho

I'd lean towards the Specialized. Did you get to ride these?

Hill Climber

nomo - Don't know how things work in your part of the world, but around here someone's word is his bond. If someone calls and says "I'm coming for the bike" that's usually more solid than any cash deposit you could leave. It was not a good business decision because, as I just said, word of mouth is pretty powerful.

I haven't ridden the Specialized, hopefully this afternoon.

cryogenic

How far from Knoxville are you? The Bike Zoo is a really good Specialized dealer and they'll definitely take care of you... plus we actually do have a couple of Trek dealers here along with two Giant dealers (only one of which I'd actually buy from).

Grasschopper

I have to agree that if you called one of the shops from around here and told them that you were from out of town and were going to come in and buy a bike that you had been there before to look at, they would hold the bike at least until the end of the day.

I don'k know anything about the Lemond but the Specialized and the Giant are pretty different bikes. The Allez has more of a racing geometry and the Giant has a more upright comfortable geometry. Just food for thought.

Hill Climber

Cryogenic - I live in Greeneville, so 60 miles. I am probably headed that way this afternoon to see what I can find. I've seen Bike Zoo's website. I think there are also a couple of good places in Maryville aren't there?

Terex

I agree w/ your position re dealer, HC. Maybe it was a "sign". My vote is to go for a more medium-grade bike, but acknowledging that fit is the primary consideration. Shave a couple of pounds, get 105 level components, and I think you'll be happier in the long run. By definition, you will be riding lots of hills if you really get into riding, and not only will a lighter bike feel better going up hill, you will be stressing your components much more than a flat-lander (shifting up, brakes down). Good luck - I'll be riding my mtn bike in W. NC, just S of the Smokies, in August. (By the way, I own a Trek 2300 w/ Ultegra - bought it from local dealer after getting a "sign" from a couple of other dealers)

jitteringjr

I tend to agree here. In retail, all bets are off till the money is on the table. Personally, I have told a salesman that I was going to buy something, only to have a change of heart when I got there so I'm sure they get that alot. Therefore, money talks.

Hill Climber

That’s the difference between living in a medium or large city where you’re just some annonymous face in the crowd vs. living in small town America. If someone tells you they’re going to do something, they do it.
I don’t think the guy pushed the bike out the door with malicous intent to sell it out from under me at all. If I hadn’t called Monday, said I was coming in Tuesday for the bike and even told him when I’d be there, I wouldn’t have been upset.

You are right on one point. While all this was going on my wife was getting a tube for her bike. She asked if I had any cash. I pulled $800 cash out of my pocket, paid for the tube and said “I had intended on leaving most of this here, but I guess I’ll take it somewhere else.”

clfjmpr44

I understand the "word is bond" arguement, but tw othings you have said still have me siding with the shop. You didn't leave a deposit, but more importantly you hadn't even test ridden the bike, so the bike could of been completely wrong for you. If the shop had turned the first guy away and the bike wasn't right for you after a test ride, then the shop would be stuck with the inventory.
Good luck on your search. All of the brands you have listed make very nice entry-level bikes. In addition, I had Sora for five years and it never did me wrong.
A

nomo4me

We are getting one side of the story here. It very well could be that you, as a prospective customer, triggered their spidey sense in a way that made the other guy's money seem like the way to go.

cryogenic

There are a couple of places in Maryville but nothing any better than what you'll find here... I'd check out the Bike Zoo first.. then maybe go to Harper's on Northshore Dr (They sell Giant & Felt)... Cedar Bluff Cycles sells Treks and Lemonds and they're usually pretty good. The only Fuji dealer in town is West Bicycles @ Campbell Station Rd & Kingston Pike in Farragut. River Sports Outfitters is the only Bianchi dealer around. I've been to basically all the bike shops in Knoxville and know at least one or two guys at all the shops (except River Sports).

Hill Climber

I couldn't possibly imagine how there were any "spidey" singals. By my clothes and manner of speaking I'm clearly not some wellfare case stumbling in off the street saying "look and them bicycles, they sure are shiney, I'd like me one of them." I have the means to purchase pretty much any bike they carry.
At this point it doesn't really matter. I stopped being upset about 45 seconds after I left the shop. The guy moved his merchandise, and I've just elected to take my business elsewhere and will wind up with a bike I am equally happy with.

Hill Climber

I've been to River Sports in the past and seem to remember them having a pretty good selection and also a shop sort of between downtown and the new News-Sent. office that seemed pretty good. Dang... I just hate the thought of Knoxville afternoon traffic!

va_cyclist

Word is bond, but you don't apply that standard to just anyone. I'm sure these shops have been burned by customers who made them special-order or hold merchandise only to back out. Trust, but verify. Sorry for your loss, but it sounds like you'll end up with a nice bike anyway.

Hill Climber

All's well that ends well...
I bought an OCR3 this afternoon, got it for $500.
The dealer was great. Of all the bikes I've ridden, he was the only one that actually went for a test ride with me to see how I looked on the bike instead of just saying "take it up the road." He swapped the adjustable factory stem for a new shorter, lighter fixed one - at no extra charge - because he didn't like the way I looked on the longer one the bike came with.
First post-purchase ride (15 miles) was smooth and easy. After climbing the hills around here on a 35 pound "mart" mountain bike, my new OCR is like a feather weight rocket.

jitteringjr

Good news for you. Hope you enjoy your new ride.