^Sounds like you had an interesting experience as well.

I think what threw me off is that I found out the two shops I went to first have come under new ownership within the past 2 years. I should have paid closer attention to the dates on the reviews I found. One of the others I went to, however, had great recent reviews and was still pretty lousy.

The shop I inevitably bought from was great. No sales pressure, willing to let me bike around more than just the parking lot, multiple rides on multiple bikes, etc. My wife isn't the best at riding (not that I claim to be a pro by any means). They were incredibly patient with her when we went back.

Thanks for adding nothing useful or constructive to the conversation.