The Bike Fit @ The Bicycle Dr.

Ken's back on two wheels again after Friday's drive and scheduled bike fit at the Bicycle Dr. in Dousman, Wis.

The Bicycle Dr. has a great trailside location, setup next to the Glacial Drumlin Trail, a 52-mile trail connecting Cottage Grove to the Fox River Sanctuary in Waukesha, Wis. Official DNR map here.

The shop had a fun yet relaxed feel to it and friendly staff. Some bike people drive me nuts, but the guys I met at The Bicycle Dr. were funny, smart and ready to help.

A man with Edward Cullen-ish hair (Joe) helped Ken with the fit. I sat on a picnic table outside enjoying one of Wisconsin's recently rare perfect afternoons.

A wide mix of riders rode past on the trail in front of me:
  • three 10-year old girls on bikes too big for them and no helmets (buy a helmet!),
  • several couples riding comfort or road bikes,
  • several lonely riders pushing 18 mph,
  • two black Great Danes and their owners pushing a baby stroller.

Multiple groups stopped in for a snack or drink at Doc's Cafe & Energy Bar.

The Bicycle Dr hosts two weekly group rides:
- Drop the Doc ride, 40 miles at fast pace, show up at 8 a.m. Saturdays
- Wednight night ride, 28 miles, A & B pace leaving at 6 & 6:10.




We're very pleased with the Bicycle Dr.'s service, responsiveness and topnotch manner.

For more on bike fit read my favorite bikefit articles:
Bikesport Michigan's Kama Sutra of Bike Positions
active.com's 3 Principles of a Successful Bike Fit.

Questions for you:
- Describe your ideal bikeshop salesperson.
- What's most important to you in a bike store person?

photo credits: photos taken by me during our fun date @ the bike shop! More pics of Ken & the bike to come.

4 comments:

ShirleyPerly said...

Great to hear he was able to get the new frame in time for his race!

As for bikeshop sales people, I think it's really important that they understand their customers and listen to what we want, as opposed to telling us what they think we ought to have. This is especially true when ordering custom bikes where the customer usually already knows pretty much what they want. For that reason, we actually flew out to Tucson deal with TriSports rather than deal with the local shop who could build us the same bike. It was absolutely the right thing to do.

Meredith said...

We love the people at WheelieFun in Mason, OH. It's two hours from our house and we've travelled down there twice for bile fits. They stayed open super-late for us since we travelled so far. I'll never go anywhere else.

Unknown said...

I think the ideal salesperson at a bike shop is someone who 1. rides and understands people who ride (duh! but believe it or not, it's not always the case) and 2. will let you walk out the door instead of sell you something that doesn't work for you. Hope your husband's final taper for IM CDA goes well!

Velma said...

You will have to ask Ken to write a race report. BTW, I have a Garmin 305. It works just fine, but I really like the new models that are water proof.