The Italian heart is racing...
Strada: street or road.
There's a new concept road bicycle store situated on Powell at Main Street, here in Vancouver. It's called, Strada Cycles.
I was invited, Thursday evening, to the Grand Opening. So, Carolle and I went over to check out the new bike store. We walked into a very clean, up scale store selling a special mix of brand and cycling products. General Manager, Ryan Kennedy introduced himself to us and he explained to me, enthusiastically, about the new store carrying some of cycling's top brands: Cinelli frames (they have most of them here), Assos & Castelli 3T race wear, Sidi shoes, Selle Italia & Prologo saddles. Quite a line up.
Ryan is sure that his unique store can carry one brand of frames and he feels that there is a growing market here. The Gran Fondo is big and getting bigger and this store can definitely supply that special product for the brand conscious cyclist. Consultation is paramount where one can come in, in a friendly relax atmosphere, and enjoy a coffee and talk about acquiring a Cinelli complete bike or gear. I've placed Cinelli up there in my wishlist and more often craved their supercorsa model.
I also met friendly, Joey-Lee Kennedy, in charge of apparel & footwear, who graciously gave us a glass of wine. She said to me that she ordered a Cinelli and will start to ride. And she wanted to encourage women with the same abilities to ride. We talked to service mechanic, Zach Van Hennort. He mentioned that they are planning to have group rides for all casual riders. And he's a firm believer in Assos bib shorts. He has a pair and he speaks highly of it and he claims that he would never go back again. I had a look at the expensive and well made Assos bib shorts and I was struck at how thick the insert pad is. I would be interested to try these on.
One person, I didn't get the chance to meet is Jason Kennedy. Ryan says that he's the cyclist brother. That means I'll definitely have to go back, have a coffee, and meet him.
If you're serious of what Cinelli bikes is all about and also high quality apparel... drop on in and chat with the friendly folks at Strada Cycles!
If you're serious of what Cinelli bikes is all about and also high quality apparel... drop on in and chat with the friendly folks at Strada Cycles!
Comments
I've been using Assos bib shorts for a couple of years now and find them to be the most comfortable and durable I've ever worn. Definately worth the hefty price tag since they just last and last.
Might want to do some shopping around first...
I have been in email contact with their store, found out about some of the bikes they have, thought I'd show up in person to test ride some of their bikes since I was in the market for a new road bike. I showed up at their store a week or so ago, and they have none available for testing, because their mechanic had the day off, and I didn't make an appointment or give them any forewarning. That is fine, they did suggest I make an appointment in an email. I get it; they are a smaller store that builds up custom bikes; that is labour intensive. I can understand that.
A few days later, I emailed them about setting up a time to test out the two bikes they told me about while I was there. They emailed back saying Tuesday morning would work. I emailed back saying Tuesday morning would work for me too. I didn't get any emails confirming a specific time, so I assumed Tuesday would work and any time should be okay. I show up Tuesday morning, albeit a little early than their store opening time, and this is what I was told:
1. They don't have one of the bikes in my size. (They already knew my size since I have been in email contact and have been there physically two other times now.)
2. They can't let me test ride the bike at 10am, their store opening time, because a) the bike is not ready and b) someone is coming in with a broken $10K bike that needs to be fixed. (The former means the mechanic needs to set up the bike still, and b) means that their one and only mechanic is going to be busy.)
My questions are the following:
1. Why didn't they tell me ahead of time that I will only be able to test one of the bikes?
2. Why wasn't the bike prepped the day before if they knew I was coming to test it the next morning? What's the point of making the appointment if the bike wasn't going to be ready anyways?
3. There are only two hours to 'the morning', based on their store opening hours. Were they expecting me to show up at 11:59am?
4. What is going to happen to a broken bike that isn't immediately looked at? Will it get more broken?
5. Are bikes like humans? Do they need to be triage, like in the emergency room? If so, do more expensive bikes get priority because they hurt more?
6. If the $2500 bike I was going to test and potentially purchase isn't worth their while, then why are they selling bikes at and below the $2500 price point?
I will let you be the judge of this particular bike shop.