New Gear for Genine

Well Genine posted that she wanted a faster bike. I couldn't pass that up. It would be great for her to have a bike so she can keep up with the rest of us on our road bikes.

She tried some Specialized bikes and some Treks the other weekend. The Trek '08 Pilot 2.3 WSD was the winner last weekend but the price tag was $1700 I think. So I spent some time looking for Closeouts online and found a shop in Broomall PA that had a few bikes for her to try out.
Trek '06 Pilot 2.1 WSD 51cm (Womens Specific Design). I thought this was very likely to be what she would feel the most comfortable with seeing that she liked the WSD last weekend. Problem was the "Flight Deck" (brake/shifter levers). They were less than Shimano 105 quality. I think think they were Shimano ST-R700 STI. She was on a trainer spinning on this bike and having a heck of a time switching between the 3 front chain rings. I really thought the sales guy would have taken the bike back to the mechanics and have them tune it up for her because it was obvious we were unimpressed with what we were seeing. Instead he setup the other bike we were interested in. Which was $50 cheaper.
Trek '06 2100 50cm Triple. The specs on these links are never quite right. This bike had the 105 Flight Deck, 105 Front Derailleur, and Ultegra rear Derailleur. It's also a 9 speed. Oh and the carbon is OCLV which many prefer over the newer TCT.
The shifting on this bike was very good. So I knew Genine would say this was better but I wanted to make sure that the fit was right, shifting issues can be fixed. The WSD bike has a few key differences. Narrower handlebars, shorter reach to the handlebars, easier reach to the shifters... She didn't find any of those things an issue with this "Mens" bike. Which is cool because she was in a more aero position on this model compared to the other. Also the big ring is a 52 instead of a 50. I think she will be able to power the 52.
So she took it out in the lot for a test ride. Then ended up going down the road into the neighborhood for some hills. She did have bike shoes which were compatible with the pedals they had. She came back and said all was good.
So last thing to do was to ask them how to make the price better that it currently is. You always have to ask for a better deal. Just think to yourself, it never hurts to ask. I was willing to work a few different ways. Cash or Check because they lose a small % on credit card transactions. Because I out of state, maybe they could save me tax if they listed it as a shipment out of state?
Well they kept it all very legit and offered me a discount which overall cut the price about $120 from what I expected to pay. (it never hurts to ask).
So we celebrated at one of my favorite Chinese restaurants "Peking" at the Granite Shopping mall on Route 1 in Media PA. (Thanks to Scott and Kryste for brining this place into our life).

Here is Genine with her new ride!