bike shopping
Sat Oct 25 16:56:27 EDT 2014
I'm still shopping for my next bike.
I rode out to bikes@vienna. Their website didn't look promising, in terms of the brands and models they carry now, but it was a really nice day for a ride (72°F/22.2°C, 16mi/26km round trip), and I bought my current bike (Vision R40, long wheelbase, underseat steering) from them. They carry some of the brands I'm considering, and they'd be glad to order one of those for me, but I'm going to have to look elsewhere for test rides. Everything I'm looking at is expensive, and stores don't want to stock things that don't turn over for them. B@V had a HP Velotechnik Grasshopper fx (possibly my top choice at the moment, but it's all very fluid yet) and it took them more than a year to sell it. They're not going to stock anything like that again unless they know someone wants to buy it.
The other "local" recumbent shop is Mt. Airy (MD) Bicycles, 39mi (63km) that takes about an hour to drive. They're not open Sundays, but I didn't feel like going that far (or driving at all) today. Whenever I've been there on a weekend they've always been too busy to give anyone much time. (I've never gotten their attention.) From their website, they're not likely to have what I'm looking for either, but they might have something somewhat similar (e.g. short wheelbase with rear suspension).
I don't feel much connection to either of these shops. B@V changed owership a few years ago, and the original owner moved (back) to the mid-west.
There's a "store" in NYC (New York City Recumbent Bike Supply - a one-man operation out of someone's apartment) that has a more focused market, and that might be the place to look. I'm pretty sure I could get a test ride there, and there's cheap bus service to/from NYC from DC; I wouldn't have to drive. The downside is his demo sessions are $100, but that can be applied to the purchase. I'd have to have a pretty specific interest in the models he carries, be willing to buy from him, and be ready to deal with transporting the bike back to VA! But I'm not ruling it out....
As for today's ride, most of the route is on the Washington & Old Dominion rail trail, and the ride to the trail is an old work commute. A couple of the roads have new bike lanes painted. One of the parks in Falls Church has a lot more kids' playground equipment. Some houses have been McMansion-ized. The trail has a new bridge over I-495, which was widened to add variable-toll lanes. A chunk of what used to be wooded land along the trail is now a McMansion subdivision. (I wonder how many of those people actually use this premier trail in their back yard?) There were a lot of people out on the trail today; many pedestrians too, not just cyclists. Families, people walking dogs, joggers. But none of the rudeness and stupidity mentioned earlier discussing the Mt. Vernon trail. And several busy street crossings have an established culture of cars stopping to allow bikes to cross.
While I was at the shop I started noticing that scratchiness in the back of my throat that means I've caught a cold. ☹
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/703983.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]
I'm still shopping for my next bike.
I rode out to bikes@vienna. Their website didn't look promising, in terms of the brands and models they carry now, but it was a really nice day for a ride (72°F/22.2°C, 16mi/26km round trip), and I bought my current bike (Vision R40, long wheelbase, underseat steering) from them. They carry some of the brands I'm considering, and they'd be glad to order one of those for me, but I'm going to have to look elsewhere for test rides. Everything I'm looking at is expensive, and stores don't want to stock things that don't turn over for them. B@V had a HP Velotechnik Grasshopper fx (possibly my top choice at the moment, but it's all very fluid yet) and it took them more than a year to sell it. They're not going to stock anything like that again unless they know someone wants to buy it.
The other "local" recumbent shop is Mt. Airy (MD) Bicycles, 39mi (63km) that takes about an hour to drive. They're not open Sundays, but I didn't feel like going that far (or driving at all) today. Whenever I've been there on a weekend they've always been too busy to give anyone much time. (I've never gotten their attention.) From their website, they're not likely to have what I'm looking for either, but they might have something somewhat similar (e.g. short wheelbase with rear suspension).
I don't feel much connection to either of these shops. B@V changed owership a few years ago, and the original owner moved (back) to the mid-west.
There's a "store" in NYC (New York City Recumbent Bike Supply - a one-man operation out of someone's apartment) that has a more focused market, and that might be the place to look. I'm pretty sure I could get a test ride there, and there's cheap bus service to/from NYC from DC; I wouldn't have to drive. The downside is his demo sessions are $100, but that can be applied to the purchase. I'd have to have a pretty specific interest in the models he carries, be willing to buy from him, and be ready to deal with transporting the bike back to VA! But I'm not ruling it out....
As for today's ride, most of the route is on the Washington & Old Dominion rail trail, and the ride to the trail is an old work commute. A couple of the roads have new bike lanes painted. One of the parks in Falls Church has a lot more kids' playground equipment. Some houses have been McMansion-ized. The trail has a new bridge over I-495, which was widened to add variable-toll lanes. A chunk of what used to be wooded land along the trail is now a McMansion subdivision. (I wonder how many of those people actually use this premier trail in their back yard?) There were a lot of people out on the trail today; many pedestrians too, not just cyclists. Families, people walking dogs, joggers. But none of the rudeness and stupidity mentioned earlier discussing the Mt. Vernon trail. And several busy street crossings have an established culture of cars stopping to allow bikes to cross.
While I was at the shop I started noticing that scratchiness in the back of my throat that means I've caught a cold. ☹
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/703983.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]