You are able to demo a bike before purchase. Nothing like taking one out on the road to see what the bike is really like. A+ for this.
They let me upgrade to a better tire and I just paid the difference. I volunteered to make the trek from their Richmond store to the Kanata store to pick up a tire (the last tire they had in stock was damaged and would have meant a delay of a few days according to a member of the staff). Given it was the long weekend, I wanted to get everything taken care of while I had some time (get to learn the bike, test drive it, choose the accessories, etc.). Arrived at the Kanata store and noticed the person had laid out the wrong-sized tire...he said he was told that was the tire folks from the other store told him to put aside....a 25 when I needed a 32....big difference and especially given the customer, me, volunteered to make the drive to pick it up. Good thing I was paying attention).
A heads up if you are buying accessories. If you intend to keep the packaging, make sure the service people are made aware or they just discard /recycle it. I was told they do offer refunds even without the accompanying packaging. They had forgottenj to give me the allen key that came with the Mirrycycle...nor the box and instruction paper inside. When I returned to the store the guy just handed me an allen key that was hanging around. Yes, I realize an allen key is an allen key but would be nice to have the one that came in the box I paid for. I realize being a busy shop mistakes do happen. In hindsight, not too big of a deal but if you're the type of consumer that likes to keep the packaging (maybe you want to sell it down the road), just let them know up front.
Max pressure on my upgraded tires was 80 or something according to the sidewall. I found out after I left the store they were inflated to just below 60. When I enquired, the tech mentioned that it (tire pressure) depended on the condition/surface type....well, it's a hybrid and most hybrids are ridden on paved roads and bike paths. Looked up a great site on tire pressure and there's actually a formula which takes into account your tire width, your weight plus xx.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/346552-tire-pressure-formula?highlight=tire%20pressure%20formula
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tires.html#pressure
I knew the psi was under 70 because I had previously demoed a Trek 7.1 and 7.3. The Trek 7.1 was a harsh ride as expected but the 7.3 was a softer ride. The reason was the 7.3 tire pressure was at 30 psi. Bikes get taken out for demo all the time and they don't always have time to check the psi on all the bikes which is very understandable. Good thing i checked so I'm comparing apples to apples. After the tires on the 7.3 was inflated to the same pressure as the 7.1, the harshness of the ride was pretty much the same.
The new bike I purchased needed a slight readjustment to the gears as well. While one would hope/expect that a new bike would have all the gears adjusted right before leaving the store, given the amount of bikes that need to be worked on, maybe this isn't a realistic expectation? This may be normal as I ran into another customer (two weeks ago when I was demoing the bikes) who brought his new Trek FX 7.3 bike in for the same thing. Gears is something most customers will notice anyway...so, if it doesn't feel right, they will bring it back to get it adjusted. The mechanic explained the gears were just slightly off and performed the readjustment. Was quite friendly, taking the time to explain, etc.
I could have purchased the same bike....ok, a 2011 which is pretty much the exact same bike as a 2012...for a $100 less at another shop. But I was impressed with the service at Bushtukah when I went to demo the bikes. I also like the included 2 year servicing (one less thing to have to worry about) and 15% off accessories if you purchase the bike there.
Overall, I am a happy new bike owner. I miss cycling. Haven't done anything serious for maybe 15 years. Many moons ago I was an avid cyclist....having biked down to places like Vermont, Montreal to Ottawa and back in 2 days, Ottawa to Kingston, etc. Did all this on a cheap Peugeot 10 speed. First long distance trip was on an 80+ degree day where you couldn't properly sweat because of the high humidity. Took a break in an air-conditioned department store and the sweat just rolled down. The humidity also made the clothing in the bag much heavier due to the absorption. I made it from Montreal to Ottawa and back on adrenalin, determination and excitement of the adventure/challenge. Learn a lot about what you're made of. The mind usually starts to give up before the body. You have to be in shape but attitude is equally important. A necessity to know your bike well and ready for any mechanical issues that may come up. It's a long way from home. read more
