Subject: RE: Good place to buy a bike online? I just got an Ibex Vantage 6500, 2004 model for just under $1000, full ultegra, compact geometry. I love it. Ibex is an entirely on-line company.
I'm going to chime in on th LBS get fitted thing. First I'm going to say that the following flies in the face of what everyone else has to say on the subject. My experiences with bike shops has been Ifie and best. They seem no better than a car dealership. There were certain models in certain brands that I wanted to try out. If the LBS didn't have it they would (1 ). try to steer me toward what they had in stock, usually at ahigher price point than I was willing to spend, and (2 ) say they could order the bike I was interested in. To me that didn't seem any different from buying on line.
Jack at Ibex was great, the fitting on a compact frame is far easier than with traditional geometry. I got an entry level bike for under $1000 with full ultegra group. The bike had a 30 day 100% satisfaction gaurantee, so there didn't seem to be any down side. For me the closest LBS is 55 miles away and the closest large bike shop is 108 miles away. I ordered the bike on a Tuesday, it was shipped on Weds. and arrived the following Monday. I had a mobile bike shop assemble the bike and he was very impressed with it. His quote was "It's not a Ferrari but it's a real nice Corvette." For an entry level bike I don't think you can beat Ibex. Take a look at their site they are still running specials on the 2004 bikes. |