jdon

The kid in the store lacks tact, that is all. He will learn in time that there are better ways such as asking what type of bike or riding the customer has in mind, their experience level and budget before even moving towards the bike display. If the attitude goes deeper than that in the store, then you may want to consider another shop.

If people don't know cycling lingo or are obviously inexperienced, are aged, overweight or all 3, nobody is going to walk you to the Cervelo section. Make your intentions clear and go from there.

stapfam

Remember that you MAY know what you want in an MTB but Road bikes are completely new to you. There is a rule about the first bike you get and that is that it is only there to tell you what the 2nd bike will be. You don't know the type you want (Plenty of different road bikes out there)- the quality you want- perhaps not want but require may be a better term- and you won't know the size you want and that is not only on frame as there is top tube length- Bar width- crank length and plenty more that you will soon find out about.

After 16 years of serious mountain biking- I decided to give these road things a try. Went to the LBS and they gave me a bit of advice that worked- Buy Cheap but buy above Crap. They put me onto the Giant OCR and suggested the cheapest in the line in the OCR3. A good enough pedigree to re-sell in a few years and even in the cheapest Groupset of Sora- was going to give me a good insight of what a sensible road bike was going to feel like.

Wasn't long before I found out that I had bought a size too small and that going into the drops hurt. Size I adapted with a longer stem that also raised the bars to help in the drops. The drops still hurt so I practised going into them. Took a couple of months but I found that position very usefull into a headwind- going downhill and on the odd occasion when I did want to chase down the rider in front. The Sora group was fine but the wheels weren't so an upgrade to hand built wheels and tyres improved the ride no- end. And wheels can be kept and changed from bike to bike.

1 year after getting the bike and several centuries- a couple of climbs up Mountains and just general riding and I decided that I was above the quality of this bike so n+1 in a top rate bike came in. I decided that the OCR was going to be a wet/ foul weather bike but 5 months later and a wet and windy trip to the LBS on it and they offered me a good deal on an MTB. i told them that if I were going to get a new bike- It was going to be a road one. 1 hour later and I had ordered the TCR-C frame and the bits to go on it.

I still enjoy Mountain biking but I am getting too old for the type of riding I used to do. Going road has been a big change and it is different- but just as enjoyable. I know the others have seen these pics plenty of times before but The OCR was a good starter bike. It gave me an insight as to what I wanted in a road bike and that came in the 2nd and 3rd bikes. But you can see the difference 1 year and about 6,000 miles did to me on the what I decided was going to bikes that were set up for me.



The OCR was too small- I raised the bars to what I thought was going to suit my body and back and was a good bike.


However once I got into Road- These were what I got to suit me. Boreas is still my favourite bike but the TCR is not far behind

overthehillmedi

To the OP, I'd just like to point out the negative connotaion of the term "old farts" to the members of this forum, we might look to be old to some people and we may produce farts, some very stinky(self included), But we are not old farts, we refuse to get old! There is no way that you can make me grow up and get old. I refuse to do so! I still, like most here, see myself as a young matured individual, contary to the outside appearence. So there! Now go out and buy whatever bike your young heart desires and not what some young whippersnapper thinks you need!

gcottay

Some of the bike shop employees may have just been making the mistake of assuming you are a cycling novice. When you are in an unfamiliar shop they have to make quick assessments of skill and fitness levels.

UADave

I'd like to thank everyone for their replies. I really appreciate it. I've worked hard with running and mountain biking to get my BMI below 25 and now I'm there. In my eyes I'm late 30's
I'm going to take your advice and go entry level trek, jamis, giant, something and then upgrade later when the kids out of school. I'm going to a different store too. I've been to some for odds and ends that are only 70 miles away and I'll check them out. I'll probably blow the budget but oh well. I'm ready for some speed.

treebound 

I'm curious what sort of bike and riding that shop guy rides and does, I'd make an assumption and offer a wager but then I'd be guilty of his offense.

If that is the most convenient shop then give them a second chance and talk to a different employee. Worst case is you waste some time and confirm your impression of that particular shop. But if you do get something elsewhere then I'll make a suggestion, wait until you've done a few road centuries, then some Saturday afternoon head back to that shop for a spare tube or tire levers, then track down the kid and ask him to guess how far you just rode on your road bike, and tell him you want 1% off your purchase price for every mile (or for every 10 miles) he's off, and see how cheap you can get a tube or tire lever for. I'd wager you'll get at least half off if it's the same kid with the same attitude.

Lifestyle beats chronology almost every day.

ps, if your farts are old then you're holding them in for too long. Set them free, and downwind of me please.

pps, I think I'm 56 or so, I don't really keep track.

BlazingPedals

The way I see it, growind old is unavoidable. But growing UP is optional. I may get around to it someday, though.

dwwroadking

I am 62 and just got my first road bike (Trek 1.5) since I was in my twenty's. I was riding a hybrid and now it sits in the corner. It took a few adjustments from my LBS but it is now more comfy and it flies. About 2-3 mph faster..Get your road bike and enjoy.

Wogster

Actually most of the riders I see with drop bars, are older riders, because we remember the '70's bike boom, when nearly all bicycles made for adults had drop bars. The only issue is that some of us like the bars a little higher then the typical 1 foot drop that is common in racing. I've seen touring riders with the bars as much as 2" above the saddle, we get a lot of touring riders come through here. For recreational riding, you kinda want them somewhere in between those two extremes. If you get a bike with a threadless headset, then ask the shop to put the bars about 2" above the saddle, with a variety of spacers under, you can move spacers from below the stem to above, allowing you to select the proper bar height, then get the shop to cut it off.

ModeratedUser150120149

Find another shop.

When I got started in biking the local store sold me a hybrid and I bought it because I didn't know any better. Next spring I bought a road bike from the same people. Difference? I knew what I wanted and was able to deflect the age and size thing.

Attitudes are very store specific, even wiithin the same chain. I went into one store of a chain and couldn't even get a sales person to say Hi. Went into a different one and the staff, sales and service, couldn't do enough for me.

I now own two road bikes and the hybrid. Guess which ones I ride?

Find another store. In fact, find a couple.

Nightshade

Don't beat this kid up to bad since he has no idea how limber you are nor how much arthritis you have in your joints.

He is doing the right thing in choosing a bike that he knows will not cause you pain on a longer ride which is what Crusiers & Hybrids are all about.....comfort first.

The last thing any LBS wants is a customer complaining that they sold them the wrong bike when they can't ride it due to pain. IF you buy a bike that's wrong for you over the LBS advice the pain is on you!!

jim hughes

59, still ride drops sometimes, but I've really gotten to like moustache bars and that's what I use most of the time.

UADave

I'm not going to hold it against this kid. He seemed genuinely nice and now that I think more about it he probably meant well. Maybe he was just trying to sell what they had. This was a small place and it could be that cruisers are what they sell. Similar situations at two other places just got me touchy. When I heard the "folks your age" it didn't sit well. I am going to a larger place with more inventory in a couple of weeks when I get time.

I've scratched the online option for now. My last road bike had bar end shifters so the technology has definately changed. I don't mind paying someone for their know how, just got to find the right people.

UADave

I'm 100% sure I want a road bike now.

stonefree

I like em both, road and mtb, and have 3 of one and one of the latter, but I'm looking to upgrade the mtb now. Get one of each, that way you won't get bored.

Don't be so sensitive about your age. I just encountered the same d**m thing at a LBS. A sales tadpole with a hipbreaking joke, and it was funny, but I just don't care anymore.

trackhub

I'm 54 and ride a fixie, with drop bars. Tell 'em that at your LBS. That should really mess with their heads.

My own LBS is Harris Cyclery. Nothing seems to phase them much. If an 80 year old were to come in and wanted a broken spoke replaced on his fixie, it wouldn't phase them.

If someone came in with a nice old 3-speed Raleigh that they had purchased at a yard sale, and they wanted it totally overhauled, they'd do it. They have a large inventory of parts for those. That customer would never hear excuses such as "Oh, no one uses those anymore". Sorry, I digress...

Heck, one of the co-owners of Belmont Wheelworks is John Allis. The gentleman is in his late 60s (I think) and I believe he rides bikes with drop bars all the time.

I think it all depends on the LBS in question.

wnl256

I bet they'd faint dead away if you told them about my friend, age 52, who is currently riding the Paris-Brest-Paris brevet: 1200 kilometers in 90 hours. And this is the fourth time he's done it. And yes his bike has drop bars.

NOS88

The kid is simply behaving in a way consistent with what his culture has taught him. Damn shame IMHO. On the other hand, the use of the term "old farts" doesn't help much with this.

DnvrFox

The more we reinforce the use of those words and the images they conjure, the more people see us in those terms.

Are we our own worst enemies?

As my wife and I get into our 70's (I'll be 72 in November, the wife 74), we are the victims of more and more stereotypes about older folks, and how they are treated, etc. My wife gets called "Dearie" by folks such as medical clerks, I get offers of help where it is not needed nor wanted, etc. People start to worry that I might fall, when I am perfectly steady. Exercise becomes classes mimicking children's play, but supposedly for adults. Our society promotes these stereotypes, as do we, even in this forum.

JohnDThompson 

I hear they make some really nice carbon fiber caskets these days!


But seriously, I'm 56 and for the past few years most of my miles have been on this bike:

DnvrFox

I've ordered one for you.

jdon

Whining about the youth also solidifies those stereotypes.

I bet 80% of all unknown 50+ers that enter my LBS to buy a bike are after a "comfort" bike of sorts. I don't blame the kid for making that assumption. I think he is only wrong about 20% of the time. He really ought to check what people want rather than making an assumption though.

NOS88

Who was whining?

BluesDawg

We'll have to agree to disagree on this.

Words only have the power we give them. I'm with Lenny Bruce.

DnvrFox

Yep.

Words have tremendously more power - especially words in writing. The Declaration of Independence, the Bible, "Four score and seven . . . .," etc., etc.

So, I think words are critically important and convey meaning to others no matter what importance WE give them - or not.

Agree to disagree.