FAQ/Articles

Some people assume that because we carry some of the best bikes in the world that we either charge more for everything, or that we only want to sell the expensive stuff. Nothing could be further from the truth – for us, it’s all about getting more people out and enjoying riding at all levels. The bikes you see in our stores are priced exactly the same as the big bike shops, but we provide a much higher level of service with every customer.

Another angle on this is the cost of not receiving personal service. If you purchase a bike that is the wrong size it just won’t feel good and will likely sit in your garage and not get ridden – that’s a VERY expensive bike. We also have people that visit our service department after becoming tired of repeatedly paying $50 for a “bargain tune-up” at the bigger stores when nothing ever seems to get properly fixed. We’re not like that, and offer a much different experience.

A: Generally, our dealer agreements prohibit us from shipping overseas so we won’t risk our good relationships with them just to make a few extra dollars.  If you are visiting us in person then we can ship your purchase home for you.

A: We will gladly match prices with other local dealers, provided we can verify the quote either in writing or with a quick phone call.  We want your long-term business and don’t want a price match to stand in the way.

A: Sometimes.  We have a lot of respect for the high-quality service that online bike shops like Competitive Cyclist and Wrench Science, and we will match their prices whenever possible.  Please note that sometimes they buy closeouts that we don’t have access to. 

The second type of online presence are the pure discounters, many of whom don’t even offer a phone number for you to talk to someone and some even have a “zero returns” policy.  We believe we offer a significant value above this and we don’t offer price matching with them.

The third type are the “grey market” vendors who are either bringing in products from overseas distributors directly to their US warehouses, or shipping directly into the US from overseas.  Although we’ve heard that some of them are actually pretty reputable, bypassing US safety standards and voiding any US warranty doesn’t seem to make sense just to save a few dollars.  We definitely don’t match prices with these vendors, and in some cases our vendor contracts prohibit us from even servicing grey market components if they are identified as such.

A: Some of our brands have wonderful names steeped in history and mystique, and the pronunciation isn’t simple.  Our rule of thumb is that any way you pronounce it is fine by us, and no matter how we pronounce the name it’s nowhere close to how it sounds when the Italians/French/Belgians say it.  We think it’s all about having fun on the ride, not getting caught up in “Vil-ee-air” or “Will-eye-er” or silly stuff like that.

We’re asked this question a lot, and by people in a lot of  different situations.  We can only give guidelines and general advice here, and it’s only fair to mention that personal service is our goal and if you stop by the shop we can advise you on your particular situation.