I love REI, my friends and family refer to it as my mothership. However, when it comes to buying bikes, they get a big zero for knowledge and helpfulness. They want to sell the package on the floor. If you want to buy the best bike for you try a Performance bike shop.
My bike was stolen in May 2017 and I went to two different REI's and got the same result in each. They wanted to sell me something from the floor.
I was looking at the $3000 level and needing to replace accessories. They had no interest in working with me to get what i wanted. Basically buy what is on the floor. The flagship store sales person BS'd, saw my grey hair and felt he could talk down to me.
Actually it is the stock I like at REI, the sales people are not terribly reliable in Hiking gear or boots either. I have often waited until they walked away and helped customers (mostly women) make choices. I once overheard an under 5ft green hiker ask for a pack with lots of volume for her first hiking trip. The arrogant clerk gave her an 80 l pack with a large frame and left her to it. He was shaming her, not helping her. I helped her find an extra small and talked to her about capacity.
Performance bikes in Lynwood were very knowledgeable and helpful. I was a walk-in and they accommodated my request to try 5-6 different bikes starting with aluminum 105 components with rim brakes all the way up to ultra disc and telling me to buy the bike one day and coming back to buy the upgraded ultegras for membership points the next day as they did not have the exact package I had decided on. They also gave me free labor to put the ultras on! They bought a customer for life with their kindness and passion for getting a customer into the best bike for them.