Toga Bike Shop
New York, NY 10023-6340
Phone: (212) 874-8057
06/22/2006 Posted by bosco95
I just finished buying my first new bike in 12 years at Toga , I had been shopping around for quite some time and experienced what can only be described as Boy's club mentality at every shop I had been to. I walked into Toga on Saturday and I was admitedly nervous about all the people mulling around and asking questions of the Sales staff. They were very busy but they seemed to take it in Stride. I took a walk around the neatly arranged store and was greeted with a Hello and How are you by at least 4 different people who were involved with customers at the time. One of the salesmen "Hobie" was tending to a customer and he very calmly acknowledged my admiring the bikes hanging up on the ceiling and asked if I was being helped. I replied no and he then said that he'll be right with me rather than avoiding eye contact like in other shops I had been to. After about 5 minutes he came to me with a warm smile and started to ask me why I needed a bike, sounds silly but he was geniuinely interested in what I had to say and waited through my condensed version of my life story and we came to a conclusion as to what kind of bike best suited my needs. He brought out two bikes for me to test ride, telling me to really zone into what I felt on either bike while I was testing it. The first bike was a Giant Cypress (I think) , the second bike was a Specialized Sirrus (the bike I bought). I reported back to him what I felt on each bike and he disected the info like a mad scientist of bikes, and we both agreed the Sirrus was the bike for me. He then recommended I buy a bicycle computer with cadence, He told me it was the only way I would ever learn how to use the gears and enjoy the bike. He gave me a quick lesson on how I should be pedaling and after a helmet ,some shorts , a water bottle I was on my way. Big Love and gratitude goes out to Hobie and the people at Toga bikes for treating me like a Pro.
Pros: Great atmosphere, Not intimidating, great music playing.
Cons: Need Hobie clones !
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