"Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote in message
. com...
I discovered a real Bike Shop in my area. After so much reading on
this Newgroup I actually realized that the bike shop I was going to
was not the same kind of bike shop you all were talking about. So I
found one in Montclair NJ. I am very familiar with this town...yet I
did not know anything about this shop. I saw the TREK bikes you speak
of, and all the equipment you talk about. I talked to a person who was
on a team. It was fascinating. I also realized that bikes can cost a
freakin' fortune. It was a real education I'll tell ya. Now maybe I
will understand a little more when reading these threads.
BECAUSE.......Sometimes while reading I feel like I am lost in space.
I never try to comment on things I do not understand. I let go of
trying to be a pompous idiot years ago. I plan to visit the shop more
often just to talk to people. The cyclists in there were fascinating.
Just like this newsgroup. ;-) I am really glad I found the shop.

A "real" bike shop isn't the one with all the fancy bikes and cool
displays
and perhaps especially not the one frequented by team folk (it could be,
but
it's often not).

A "real" bike shop is the one whose primary mission is to get you out on a
bike, an appropriate bike for the opportunities in your area.

A real bike shop is more interested in understanding *your* dreams than
yakking about their own recent accomplishments.

A "real" bike shop wants to make sure that, whoever you are, the most
painful thing you can do is walk past your bike and not be able to ride
it.
Maybe something's not quite right with it- a little gear adjustment,
perhaps
the stem's a bit too long, whatever.

A "real" bike shop tries to make sure you're as comfortable as possible
bringing it back into the store when something like that is the case,
because they find it terribly painful when a customer brings a bike in
four
years after they bought it, with virtually zero miles on it, because some
little, easily-correctable thing made it no fun to ride (and they worry
about how many other bikes sit in garages, unridden, and not known about,
for the very same reasons).

That, to me, is a "real" bike shop. It's not easy trying to be that shop,
but it's a lot more rewarding. I often wish I could do a better job being
that kind of shop, but just defining it once in a while (like now) helps
me
to keep focus.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Excellent description of a good bike shop, Mike. I feel I've been lucky
enough to find one like this in my area. I had a ton of question when I
purchased my first road bike this year. I had never owned a bike with
Presta valves and they took the time to show me how to put air in them, how
to use my clipless pedals and shoes, etc. They've made the experience a
very pleasant one.

Beverly