Originally Posted by Iride01

Not sure if you have a question or just passively venting. <grin>

I usually find that going to the smaller bike shops that only deal with bikes and cycling gear will get you face to face with someone that is pretty knowledgeable. They might not have the bike you want, but they sure will have a lot of information to load you up with.

The bigger the store, the more likely the people with that knowledge will be in some office, maybe not even at that store, where you'll never get to see them and benefit from their knowledge.