Wichita Bike Shop Review ~ Heartland Bicycle

In my quest for a new bike and to learn more about the local bike shops I stopped into Heartland Cycle today.  I had my 3 year old with me, it was getting late in the day and she was getting pretty antsy, but wasn’t being obnoxious.

Heartland Bicycle
111 N Mosley ~ 316-682-4144

When we stepped into Heartland Bicycle we were greated at the door by Byron. He asked if he could help us find anything or help.

Here’s what I told him:

New to biking. Looking to upgrade. Have 1/2 mile of gravel to drive over to get the road. Planning on doing longer rides and eventually in 2011 I’d like to do Bike Across Kansas. I then asked him what he would recommend for someone in my situation. (All the while my three year old is squirming around and getting excited about all the bikes)

He immediately offered up a hybrid.

I mentioned I was not really interested in getting a hybrid, and instead of taking me to the fitness bike section or the cyclocross section he told me.

I wouldn’t let 1/2 mile of gravel get in the way of your goals. I’d go for a road bike.

No WAY! I was a little leery at this point. NO ONE has even mentioned to me the option of getting a road bike (which in my heart is really what I want). I was a little worried he was just trying to sell me an expensive bike.

However, we talked for a while and he told stories of people who had done Bike Across Kansas with a fitness bike and came back and wanted a road bike. They said they would have enjoyed it much more if they had had a bike better equipped for the road.

So I let my guard down and let him show me some road bikes.

He was very patient with all my questions, and showed me the new 2010 models from Giant. He showed me new Dash series that is coming out soon and I asked a lot of newbie questions ~ he never made me feel stupid, or acted like I was wasting his time. I was pretty excited about this Giant bike because it has straight handlebars ~ he said that would help me have better control over the gravel.

He explained how the gears worked differently and what exactly made up for the difference in price between the Dash, 3, 2, 1 and 0. In the end, he recommended I would probably be happiest in my situation with the Dash 2, which is the second lowest priced bike of the series ($925).

I asked him about pulling a bike trailer and he didn’t bat an eye, he did decide wholeheartedly on the Dash 2 when I mentioned that though, saying the way it is made would make it better for what I need it for.

At the beginning of our conversation he talked about me driving my bike to the end of the road to start my ride, which is really, let’s face it, not gonna happen, but at the end he was talking about me driving the Dash 2, pulling a trailer over the gravel, so I think I’ll be able to just ride out on the Giant Dash 2.

He gave me his card, and wrote down the bike model we were talking about as well as the Giant website. He also mentioned he would have a couple very similar bikes coming in this week and they should be on the floor so I can see the different components and mechanics of the bike and how they work by Saturday if I wanted to check them out.

I told him I was thinking I’d like to get my bike around Christmas time and he quickly offered up that I could ask for gift certificates and use them toward my new bike. (good idea) He quickly added “If you decide to buy at Heartland, and we do hope you decide to buy here”.

At this point Hanna was getting seriously antsy, and I was getting really HOT (the AC could have been a little colder) so we grabbed a couple pamphlets and headed out.

How does Heartland Bicycle rate from my experience?

Friendliness: Excellent
Intimidation factor: High in the beginning, quickly down to nothing
Impatience with beginner Questions: None
Overall: Excellent

I will definitely be going back to Heartland, I wish they had more clothes though.