What do you expect of a good bike shop

[allisons]

I think the most important thing is female employees.

I'm sure there is such a thing as a truly knowledgeable and empathetic male bicycle shop employees - I haven't met any. My super-serious, bike-evangelist boyfriend doesn't do a great job empathezing (although he certainly tries). I want a bike that's actually scaled for me, I want a saddle that's actually wide enough for my sit bones. I feel like I'm trying to force my body into a man-shaped hole and I just want a person who has gone through that and figured out ways around it.

[tinaaj]

My comments are not gender specific.
I don't know what your space contraints are, but a larger, more spacious shop with the ability to walk around and look at biking accoutrements (i.e, "shop" as opposed to "pick up and get out") may be more appealing than a tiny shop with gadgets and gear hanging literally floor-to-ceiling, every square inch accounted for.
It's not that I have anything against space efficiency, but it's that if you aren't looking for something specific, (if you are just shopping) then you find yourself doing so without walking around. You can "shop" in citybikes repair shop, for example, by just standing in one spot, looking up and down slowly and rotating 360 degrees. It would take you an hour though!
But almost nobody, woman or man, would do that without feeling a little awkward, and probably stopping shopping that way faster than they would if they could walk around while doing so.

Best of luck!

[allisons]

It's interesting that you say that and label it non-gender specific - consumer studies of how women shop versus how men shop show that successful retailers selling to women allow a certain interaction between shoppers and products. Touching, looking, browsing, etc. There's a relationship with how long a person (and especially a woman) spends in a store to how likely they are to spend money there and the longer a person spends there, the more money they spend there - a shop designed to get women to linger will sell more to women.

[tinaaj]

Originally Posted by allisons

It's interesting that you say that and label it non-gender specific - consumer studies of how women shop versus how men shop show that successful retailers selling to women allow a certain interaction between shoppers and products. Touching, looking, browsing, etc. There's a relationship with how long a person (and especially a woman) spends in a store to how likely they are to spend money there and the longer a person spends there, the more money they spend there - a shop designed to get women to linger will sell more to women.

I have heard this too, and it might be right.
Personally, though, I do not "shop" at a bike store - I always have something specific I need when I go inside one.
Once inside, I might begin "shopping" (i.e., browsing, looking around, seeing if something is interesting) but usually I don't get that far because I've already been asked what I need; I have said "actually yes, where are you tire levers?", been shown the levers, and then at that point feel like shopping is done.

Somewhere deep inside, maybe I know that if I stay I might spend money unnecessarily, so I'm happy to hit the register?

End result - I don't shop at bike stores, and when I do I get such great service that it basically prevents my lingering.

make sense? anyone feel the same? I think studies also show typically consumers like being helped and quick service is a plus... but for me, it's not that way. I will ask if I need something and can't find it.

[jami]

mega-dittoes on haven's gear worth buying suggestion. i don't know if this is specific to women, but even shops that have lots of bike gear rarely have anything stylish. i'd love a store that sold some of the cool, stylish local gear featured sometimes on bikeportland.

second suggestion is: employees who strike the right balance between being helpful and letting you have some alone time to think about what you want. again, maybe not woman-specific, but sometimes bike shop employees seem to think you can't make simple purchases without their constant assistance.

[jami]

i second cruizer, too, on the size thing. i'm tall, so i was size 8 when i ran and biked every day. some knee trouble later, i'm size 12ish and still riding. i've stopped even looking at the overpriced spandex in bike shops, but i do remember it being too small even back in my size 8 days.

[greycoral]

a professional fitter that is either a woman, or knows how to fit a woman's body. I just wasted a could hundred bucks at another bike shop with a guy who had no idea how to really fit a womans body. My husbands fitting was perfect. I have been left with more problems than when I went in.