This weekend I bought my first bike since...well, since my favorite accessory was pom-poms for the handles. I shopped at several shops, including REI and Gregg's, but ended up buying from Bothell... More

This weekend I bought my first bike since...well, since my favorite accessory was pom-poms for the handles. I shopped at several shops, including REI and Gregg's, but ended up buying from Bothell Ski & Bike. A lot of the decision had to do with the bike itself; it was more comfortable and rode better than the others, but I was much more able to determine that at the Bothell shop than anywhere else I'd looked, because the shop is just off the Burke-Gilman trail. They just traded the bike for my car keys, and said, "Go ride!" The trail provided hills and straight areas, and I didn't feel any pressure to return quickly. In contrast, testing at Greggs involved filling out a form, handing over a credit card and my driver's license, and navigating the car-heavy streets around Greenlake. For a new cyclist, that's intimidating. And testing at the other shops was just a matter of two or three turns around the parking lot. I suppose REI might have been better, if there had been even a single staff member around to help and answer questions about the bikes. But at the Bothell shop, the staff were friendly and helped with every question, and I felt like I was buying from knowledgeable folks who cared about more than selling the most expensive item.
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Bothell ski and bike was a great find! They had a huge selection of bikes and they were priced under the other shops I had been to. The staff was knowledgeable and helped me make an informed... More

Bothell ski and bike was a great find! They had a huge selection of bikes and they were priced under the other shops I had been to. The staff was knowledgeable and helped me make an informed decision on my bike purchase. Thanks Bothell Ski and Bike.
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I like to bicycle and am interested in skiing so i went to bothell ski and bike.. They do have a pretty normal sized amount of bikes (not as much as a total bike shop though) and a fair amount of... More

I like to bicycle and am interested in skiing so i went to bothell ski and bike.. They do have a pretty normal sized amount of bikes (not as much as a total bike shop though) and a fair amount of skies! granted I don't know much about skies, they had usual stuff from k2 and other ski makers, and even snowboards. The staff was knowledgeable, and the prices on the bikes seemed a little high, but they had sales and specials which made them more around the regular price you'd expect. They told me when i was ready to buy some ski's i should come back and they would set me up at a reasonable price since i was a beginner! :) Thanks Bothell ski and bike!
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