The Best Bike for the Bucks - shopping for a bicycle means finding good shop - Buyers Guide

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, March, 1999 by Jane Bennett Clark

SIZE DOES MATTER. My husband, Chris, browses with me at the next stop, a boutique that's a smaller version of the stores in the Bikes USA chain. The salesman, Luke, grills us about our riding plans, which in Chris's case include weekend riding and twice-a-week commuting. I'm still looking for an armchair that can handle hills.

Luke points me to the Specialized Globe ($369), a mountain bike with hybrid features: It has 21 speeds, an aluminum frame, a suspension stem and a suspension seatpost. "It's a rolling couch," he assures me. For Chris, Luke suggests the Specialized Crossroads Sport hybrid ($375), whose lightweight wheels and slick tires should make getting to work a downhill proposition.

Chris eyes the sleek silver Sport longingly, but it turns out the showroom doesn't have one in his size. Instead, Luke offers him a Globe mountain bike like mine for a test drive. He stands each of us over the frames to gauge the fit, hands us two helmets and sends us out onto the busy Georgetown streets.

Rolling couch? My bike feels more like a rolling surfboard as I stretch out to reach the handlebars, which Luke has already guessed are set too far away for my arm length. The derailleurs--the mechanisms that move the chains--clank alarmingly when I shift gears, and Chris and I both find the grip-shift mechanisms to be stiff.

Although we admire the bronco-busting suspension, the Globe is clearly not our dream machine--and the store's inventory is so small that we're not likely to find a better candidate on the showroom floor. (A subsequent trip to a larger Bikes USA outlet yielded a much bigger selection and a dandy tutorial by the salesperson on bike components.)

FINE-TUNING THE FIT. A day or so later, I travel to College Park Bicycles, a local store known for its service and approachability. "It's very bikey, but they don't mind talking to the average Joe Shmoe who doesn't know the terminology," a friend has reported. Indeed, the salesman, Chris, seems tolerant of my attempt to sort through the specs. But, he informs me, "the only thing that counts is comfort."

He asks a few questions and proposes a 1998-model Bianchi Strada ($239), a men's-style hybrid with upright handlebars and 21 gears, but no shocks. He puts me on the bike to check the fit, and a technician adjusts the various mechanisms. Off I go for a test ride.

This bike seems a little big--not surprisingly, since the frame, at 16 inches, is larger than those I've been trying. Because the seat is high, I have to hunch to reach the handlebars. Plus, I'm worried about hopping off a man's bike. Any stepstools available?

Safely back at the shop, I look over another bike the salesman suggests, a 24-gear Trek hybrid. The 7300 model, for $440, has an adjustable stem that puts the handlebars closer to my reach, a squishy gel saddle and an adjustable seatpost with a shock-absorbing spring. On the test drive, I marvel at the airy feel and easy handling. Still, there's a problem. This particular bicycle has a 17-inch frame, which is too big for me. I could have the shop order the 15-inch one and come back for a tryout, but I decide to continue looking.