Good place to buy a bike online?

One thing I've learned from watching these boards for the short time I've been here is that buying a bike online is not a great idea. There's no substitute for sitting on a bike, trying it yourself and getting it fitted to you. I've not bought my bike yet. (soon perhaps) But I will be going to my LBS and getting it fitted to me. Something that an online retailer can't really do.
Mind you I don't know what bike shops there are in the Duluth/Superior area. So I don't know how easy it'll be for you to get a good fit.
Ian

You can find lots of bikes on ebay, but I would have to agree that there is no substitute to having the bike properly fitted at your LBS. I'm tempted over and over to place a bid for a bike I think I want on ebay, but then the thought of parting with the cash and finding out the particular bike does not fit my frame stops me in my tracks.

Any good bike shops in min. like around the cities that have new or used tri bikes

go get fitted first! 

if you're looking for a good local shop, i would suggest going to twin ports cyclery in the west end of duluth. dennis is the owner and knows a lot. there's nothing like having a good relationship with a local bike shop. otherwise, 'the hut' (ski hut) in duluth also had a good reputation. i'm partial to twin ports since i used to work there.

there are tons of shops down here, but there are some good shops in duluth too (not sure about superior). see my post below...

you could certainly hit some of the shops in the cities and test ride a few. more likely that you will find a greater range of bikes in your size here than you will up there. i know freewheel in minneapolis carries felt, trek equinox, and a couple others. grand performance in st. paul specialized in tri stuff, but they tend to not have a lot of stock, since they are a smaller, more high end shop. i ended up buying my recent road bike from county and i would highly recommend them as a good shop in general, but i don't think they had a lot of tri bikes (if any) on the floor. there are other shops like now fitness, penn cycle, eriks that are also popular but a bit too on the 'chain' side of things for my taste.

Thanks autum i have looked there was lookin used for my first one,, Got a good realtioship with lee from superior sports though

I was in GearWest in Long Lake the other week and absolutely fell in love with the place.
http://www.gearwest.com

Ian

cool. i would come down here are ride some bikes. most shops are cool about helping folks even if they aren't buying the bike there. when i was shopping around, i was pretty open about the fact that i might be ordering a bike from twin ports, and people were still cool. you can say you're just getting ideas for now. buying online has other complications besides reliability though. you often have to pay a shop to have the bike built up or build it up yourself. things to check on. since lee knows you are looking for something used or online, i bet he would be willing to build up the bike, but check how much it will cost. my husband just ordered a bike online from rivendell (no tri bikes though) and it came semi-ready. he just had to install the cables, put on the wheels, wrap the bars, and stick on a saddle and pedals.

i actually typed out 'i hear gear west is cool' but then remembered you were the one who told me that! glad you posted. i'd like to check out that shop at some point.

Buzzyman- I used to live in the D/Superior area and am currently in Grand Rapids, I even did Brewhouse this summer. As to other shops have you checked with Superior sports yet? the guy there is even a triathlete. Last year when I was looking he had a Cannondale tri bike used for sale, although I doubt he usually has used tri-bikes. It was about this time of year and he even called the cannondale factory to see if we could get any late season deals. I also ditto the comment about Twin Ports cyclery they are great there. Good luck. Oh yeah don't go to Gear West unless you want a case of total bike envy they have great stuff. Al.

But if I already know my bike size, what are the best online dealers?

Ye ai am lookin to get that cannondale in the next couple of weeks. Lee is the guy and that bike is hot a cannondale mutisport 1000

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.