I moved to Pittsburgh a few months ago..I see lots of folks riding bikes
I see bikes for rent
I see roads clearly marked for bikes
I see bikes being put on the front of buses to help bikers get around this great city
I see in my garage my old bike ...its over 14 years old
ok I say its time to get myself a new bike for my new city
I am ready to take on some trails
there are lots of bike stores in the city and of course the big chain stores have bikes.
I am a believer if your going to get a bike get a good quality fitted to you by folks that know what they are doing and can service the bike in the future
you won't find that at the chains
I visited a bike store in another part of the city where I was totally ignored yeah ok thanks.
One day I asked my phone "where is the nearest bike store"
and up came Kindred
I head over where I am warmly greeted by Katherine (who is one of the owners) I tell her I decided I am going to ride again. I am shown a few different bikes including Kona, Fairdale and Norco after almost falling over trying to try one I realize climb overs might not be for me ...
I leave come home I look at my old trek and say ok I am going back
my 2nd visit warmly greeted by Katherine and Aaron who actually remember me. I am ok ready for a step through Aaron clearly knows his bikes and their styles and features
we watch a video of Norcos and we discuss the Fairdales
long story short I decided on a lovely step through clearly not even close to the most expensive bike in the store 5 stars for selling me the right bike.
I also saw another customer fully try out a bike say he wasn't sure and left NO pressure
I return with my trek to get it tuned up for my friend to ride during the apocalypse (thats a story for another day)
now I have two bikes to get home
my old trek is looking mighty spiffy with a new tire, new chain and now the brakes work. The price was very reasonable how about the repair being less then what I was quoted.
Aaron was more then happy to discuss all the racks his shop offers he even put my new rack on the car
off I went with a map of bike trails (provided by the shop)
this is a great store for repairs, tune ups and buying new bikes