.: What’s Bruin :.

So I rode with my new Garmin Edge 705 for the first time today. I really like it. There is one thing that bugs me, and that is the calories that it states that I burned.

The bike shop where I bought my bike set up the unit and mounted it for me, and they entered my profile information correctly. I weigh 176 lbs, and my bike weighs 22 lbs. For the first leg of this morning’s bike commute to work, I wore my Polar F5 HRM in addition to the Garmin. Granted, I know the Polar does not account for the weight of the bike, and maybe other things the Garmin does.

But typically for my morning commute (about 11 miles, 45 minutes total), the Polar tells me that I burn about 375-450 calories. The Garmin, on the other hand, says that I burned 948 calories, which is a little more than double what the Polar indicates.

I know that I probably do burn a little more with the additional weight of the bike factored in, but it seems unlikely to burn double the amount.

I’m tracking calories because I’m manage my weight with a calorie/food/exercise database called MyFoodDiary.com. (I’d like to lose four more pounds.)

I’m going to use the Garmin measurements for a few days and see if my weight management is significantly affected. With more calories burned, I have a larger allowancce for meals, etc. so I imagine that if I tend to eat a couple of hundred more calories than normal, it may retard my weight loss.

Any thoughts about the Garmin HRM feature? I had a similar experience with the Garmin Forerunner 405, and ended up returning it for a refund.

I’ll probably keep the Garmin regardless because I like the other cycling computer features, but I think the HRM feature is probably one of the weakest features this unit offers.

Gerry

Tags: Cycling, Fitness, Life

To Whom It May Concern:

I’m writing to comment about the poor customer service I have experienced a few times in my visits to Trek Bicycle Superstore in Vista, California. The latest occurrence was yesterday, April 23rd, specifically with one of your employees, Andy, who was working at the main counter (I visited the store two times during the time period of 4:30 – 5:30 PM).

I visited the store yesterday to purchase a Niterider headlight. At first, I was interested in a helmet-mounted model, but became disinterested in the model because the price was too prohibitive. As Andy was helping me explore headlights, he was fiddling with something that he was working on. Multitasking is fine with me, but his body language and verbal communication told me that he was too busy to help me. I wanted to ask more questions about the other kinds of lights, which I did ask. However, because of his “too busy” attitude, I felt this non-verbal pressure to hurry up and leave him alone so he could get back to what he was doing.

I had finally decided that I wanted the Niterider MiNewt headlight, and asked Andy if it could be installed if I brought my bicycle in. I asked him what the latest time was that someone could help me with the installation. Andy said 4:30 PM, even though he knew it was already 4:45 PM. I had some other questions, but he brushed me aside saying, “Go get your bike, and then we can talk about it.” I then asked if there was a quicker way to get back to San Marcos where I live without having to get on the 78 freeway, which was traffic-congested at the time. He replied, “Not really. Good luck.” I thought he was extremely rude.

So I found an alternate route back home, and made it back to the store with my bike. I decided to purchase the headlight system, and try to install it myself, even though I had the bike with me. I still brought my bike into the store when I made the headlight purchase to see if it could be installed for me anyways. The time was about 5:20 PM. Andy said there was no time to install the headlight, and that it would cost $25 to install. And yet there was another person sitting in a chair behind him doing nothing.

It’s hard to believe that such an “easy” installation (according to Andy) would take so long since it was only 5:20 PM and the store closes at 7:00 PM. Furthermore, if employees can afford to be sitting around doing nothing, it’s even more difficult to believe that there was not enough time remaining to install the headlight system.

Ultimately, I went to Sport Chalet in San Marcos where they installed the system for free.

I can’t say that I won’t visit Trek again to throw a few dollars here and there for supplies and accessories. But as far as major purchases of bikes and such, I will never spend that kind of money there. I don’t care how many Tour de France winners ride Trek bicycles. That alone does not make the poor customer service a non-issue that can be ignored. I find many of the employees there to be rude, condescending, and arrogant. The Trek web site slogan is “Improve your life. Ride a bike!” It calls people to get into cycling. As a novice and new bike rider, I have to say that the slogan and the attitude of Trek employees do not match. I’ve spoken to a few other cyclists in the area. When they have visited your store, all have experienced this attitude to which I’m referring.

I’ll be sure to spread the word to all my family, associates, and friends. Don’t buy Trek. You’ll be treated poorly when you go into their store.

Tags: bike, Cycling, Rants, Trek

To Whom It May Concern:

I’m writing to let you know how pleased I am with the new road bike (2008 Specialized Allez Elite) I purchased from the Solana Beach Store.  Additionally, I want to commend the efforts of one of your employees, Dan (sorry, I don’t know the last name, but he works on the sales floor).

My first experience with B&L was last week at the April 14th Triathlon 101 meeting.  Dan greeted me when I came in the store.  I must have looked a little nervous and timid since I don’t know much about bikes.  But Dan made me feel welcome, and immediately I felt comfortable as I waited for the meeting to start.

Even though I decided not to pursue getting involved in triathlons, I went back to B&L on April 19th to have a used bike checked out that I was considering for purchase.  Dan again helped me, and provided a fair and objective assessment of the used bike.  He did not give me a sales pitch for a new bike, and even said that the used one would probably work well as a first bike for me for a few years.  Dan also spent a considerable amount of time helping me select and fit cycling accessories like shoes, pedals, and a helmet.  He worked patiently with me, explaining things.  As a novice, I never once felt talked down to or like he was too busy to help me learn more about all this cycling stuff.

Ultimately, I decided not to buy the used bike, and made up my mind to dive in to cycling and get a new bike.  Trek Bicycle Superstore in Vista is about 10 minutes from my home.  But I have to tell you that they are very rude and arrogant.  They act like they are always too busy to help (even though many times there are personnel just standing or sitting around doing nothing).   Every time I walk into that store, I feel like a moron for asking questions because their body language communicates to me that they have to condescend to answer my “lame” questions. 

So ultimately, based on my experience working with Dan, I chose to drive to Solana Beach, which is about a 45-minute to an hour commute from my office downtown to choose a bike from your store.  And of course, I wanted Dan to help me.  My fitting appointment was at 4:30 PM on April 22nd, and Dan patiently finished helping me complete the purchase of the new bike and assorted accessories at 6:30 PM. 

Since my purchase only two days ago, Dan has helped me on the phone numerous times.  I seem to have a million questions that pop into my head.  His customer attentiveness and service are exemplary.

I can’t say that I won’t ever go to Trek again since it’s so close to my house.  But it would only be to throw them a few dollars here and there for assorted things.  As far as major purchases of bikes and such, I will keep my business with B&L in Solana Beach.

Thank you, and please extend my praises to Dan at the Solana Beach store.

Sincerely,
JoeBruin88

Tags: B&L, bike, Cycling, Fitness, Life, Trek