Bike Shopping.

Bike shopped. Like, all day.

I test-rode a men's Cannondale at one shop. It was the Trail F5. Very difficult experience to describe, and absolutely the wrong bike for me. It was pretty, though, and the people at the shop were kind of great.

Then we went to a Trek shop. I'd never really test-ridden a Trek. It wasn't too bad. It felt pretty normal compared to the Cannondale, which encouraged me about the process of shopping. I liked the saddle a great deal -- I think it was a Bontrager. But I hated some component-related things about it that are pretty hard to describe. I disliked the crank and the pedals. I'm not super sensitive to differences among shifters & derailleurs, but they didn't respond in a way that suited how I ride. Color does matter. My metallic red Bridgestone cries out 'Ride Me!'; that's certain. Even so, if the Trek ride had been a slam-dunk I'd have gone for it. The people at the shop were great, too. That doesn't happen all that often.

Then I rode a Gary Fisher Tassajara. That frame was too big. The standover height wasn't right and it was quite reach-y. Trek hadn't even been on the list, but the ones I'd been trying were so close to right, I stayed on that path. I rode a 4800 -- still not the one. It fit great, but felt cheap all over. Good for one who rides hardly ever, or maybe a spongey kid who doesn't need to worry about injury; but not the bike for me. The last bike I rode at that shop was from the 6000 series. That one felt 'ok', but wasn't a slam-dunk either. Very possibly I was to the point of burnout on test-riding. That specific 6000-series bike was about to go back for a warranty repair, so that could have had something to do with it.

I didn't make a decision. but the shop gave me the Fisher and Trek catalogs.

We got into the car and went to grab a coffee. Then we did what anyone should do who is burned out on bike-shopping. We went to another bike shop.

It was a shop much closer to home, and it's a funny place. I don't like it, but eventually they get around to doing all the right things. They had a set of bearings we needed last fall when no one else did. We were in last Thursday, but all of the current bikes felt so funny to me after having ridden my Bridgestone for 17 years, that I couldn't really judge. The other complication was that the guy at the shop just kind of assumed that I was looking for a $350 mountain bike. I need more bike than that. My old bike is way more bike than that.

While there I rode the Gary Fisher Wahoo in two different sizes. They were just a little bit wrong; but differently wrong in the two sizes I tried; so I asked about the Gary Fisher women's frames. I learned from the bike shop guy that the only difference between the men's and women's Gary Fishers, is that the women's are painted in girly colors. Wtf!? So I asked about the Trek 6000 WSD.

The closer-to-home shop is ordering 6000 WSD for me to try. Pleaseohplease let this one be the slam-dunk. The Trek-shop guy compared the specs of a few bikes I'd ridden and more or less liked, did a little arithmetic, and figured out that the 16.5" ought to work. That model has better components than any of the others I rode, it's in my price-range (weirdly, everything I've been riding has been hovering about $100-$200 less than my ballpark range for the frame material and component level I want - and has not had the frame material or component level I want); and now that I've had time to get used to the idea of the color it comes in, I'm hopeful, and looking forward to the test-ride. I just want this to be the one.

I have no idea how long the usual bike-quest is; but I can now say that I've ridden pretty much everything I was at all interested in except Jamis (for which there's no nearby dealer), and it looks like in just a few days I will be test-riding what will become my bike.

I am seriously not wedded to the idea of guy-bikes, or girl-bikes per se. As it happens, the Trek that I may end up with this time around will be a women's, on account of the geometry of the women's 6000. Offhand, though, I would say that regardless how Trek slices & dices their different lines, where they have clearly succeeded, is in offering a wide range of frame-sizes, and several different geometries. It had really never crossed my mind that I might one day own a Trek. The only other time I rode one, was when I was out studying (and drinking beer) with my friends Doug and Phil in Milwaukee, and I grabbed Doug's Trek mountain bike and took off. That wasn't a real test ride. It was just me taking off on Doug's bike because I could. We'll see if this happens. I'm knocking wood, because if this isn't it, all I really have left are Giant, Jamis and Fuji. I guess I haven't really *ridden* a Specialized, either.

As I said to a little kid today in one of the shops; bikes are like shoes. You can't buy it if it doesn't fit.