- ONLINE RETAILERS who service the tri-specfic community.
- F.I.S.T.-CERTIFIED tri bike fitters.
- CONTACT INFORMATION for the dealers below.
- GUIDELINES for these pages.
- INDEX of all retailer profiles.

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Bicycle World & Fitness (Apr, 05) is a shop that came upon its triathlon market with marvelous serendipity. Expecting simply to open and manage a family shop, former industry rep Chris Holmes was surprised by a triathlon clientele walking in through his front door. Accordingly, Holmes has invested in an inventory of Guru, Giant, Litespeed and Felt bikes, with the appropriate accessories and knowledge base. (Contact information for the above dealer).

Pros: Holmes has good bike lines, he sponsors 5 triathlons in his area, invests in continuing education (notice the F.I.S.T. certification), and is committed to the multisport market.

Cons: This is not a shop that is steeped in triathlon culture and history—yet. It's got to build its own history, and backfill with knowledge and a foundation it did not build over the long haul. It's got to get itself up to speed.

Austin Tri Cyclist (Apr, 05). Don and Missy Ruthven are among the faster AGers in the multisport-rich town of Austin, and that's a good base upon which to build a successful franchise. You walk into this shop and you can tell, right off, this is one of the premier brick & mortar tri shops in the country. A 150-plus tri and roadie ride leaves here every Saturday morning. And one more thing I like about it: its impressive rows of Cervelos all have their seat post clamps facing forward. This shop gets it.

Pros: Nice lines, whether in bikes (Cervelo, Kestrel, Ridley, Elite), wetsuits (T1, XTerra, Nineteen), nutritionals, apparel, or accessories. This shop lacks nothing. It's even got a double Endless Pool on the premises: bring a friend and you can both test-drive wetsuits side by side. And, they've got FOUR (count 'em) F.I.S.T.-certified employees on staff).

Cons: This shop is stylized, with a personality. And, you've got to like the personality, or you might not like the shop. Me? I dig it. So, I'm happy here. You? Come in and find out for yourself. Also, it should be noted that as of this writing the entry level road race offerings could be stronger. We'd like to see (let us say) Giant or an equivalent here.

Jack & Adam's was originally a John Cobb Bicycle Sports licensee, and as has been the case Cobb has done well at finding, likeable, energetic, knowledgeable folks with which to partner at the retail level. Jack & Adam, the two front men, have established themselves as the co-place to go if you're a triathlete in Austin, and while it isn't yet of the stature that Austin Tri Cyclist's years in existence give it, Jack & Adam's has gotten itself some very good lines in a surprisingly short period of time.

Pros: The two most important assets at Jack & Adams are Jack & Adam, both smart, clever, young, likeable fellows. These two guys have also gotten for their store Felt, QR and Guru bikes, as well as QR, XTerra and Ironman wetsuits. Further, Jack Murray has a background of note. He was of principal utility in the original building of Austin Tri Cyclist under its original owner, Jon Hill, and he's USAT's head mechanic, which means he selects the mechanics for Team USA world championship trips. These guys are also good citizens of the community, putting on 4 races each year, including a beginners and a couples triathlon.

Cons: What they lack in tenure they make up for in exuberance. But, they lack tenure. No denying that. So they'll some bumps to negotiate as they grow. And of course there's the lines they don't have, namely Cervelo, Trek, C'dale, Specialized. But they have enough to fill all the important categories. The world is their oyster.

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Bike Lane, the thing about this north side of Houston store is, it's busy, it's got a lot of inventory, but what I hear a lot is that it's occasionally too busy. That is, it's folks are pretty constantly running to take care of all the business there is to do. Go ahead, call this shop. You can even fell it on the phone. This isn't a plus or minus, it's just an acknowledgement of this shop's frenetic pace.

Pros: Lots of bike experience here. Ken is manager and head wrench, and has been for 17 years. Good lines with Colnago, LeMond, C'dale, Quintana Roo, and also QR and C'dale apparel. They sponsor the Woodlands Cycling club, which has triathletes, and the club has a ride that leaves from the shop.

Cons: Maybe a tad on the busy side, for those who like to lounge around on the shop divan and talk about who was a better rider, Roger De Vlaeminck or Lucien Van Impe.

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Roger Soler Sports, started life as a running store, apropos because Roger Soler is a 2:17 marathoner and a 1984 Olympian in the 1500m (representing Peru). Soler is in his mid 40s and can still win footraces overall in San Antonio, so he can back it up. How did this store branch out into bikes and tri? They apparently sensed and underserved market.

Pros: Running the tri and bike side of things for Roger Soler is Jay Williams, who worked at Austin Tri Cyclist for a number of years. He's got a Masters in Ex Fizz from U of Texas, and brings quite a bit of expertise. The shop carries QR, Guru, Argon18, Fuji and Quintana Roo Bikes. Both rides and runs leave from the store.

Cons: It's young, as a bike shop, and will need some seasoning before it can boast all the full-service amenities of, say, Bike World or Bicycle Heaven.

Plano Cycling & Fitness started its life in 1973 as Plano Schwinn & Mower. How times change. Owner Rick Gurney has literally grown up in the biz, buying this shop from his dad in 1992. Along with Richardon Bike Mart's Jimmy Hoyt, Rick is probably the most involved cycling advocate in the Dallas area, sitting on the board of the Texas Bike Coalition. "Schwinn & Mower" exited in 1992 as the shop got out of lawn & garden biz. The flagship bike lines are Cannondale and Specialized. Kuota, Felt, Litespeed are the tri-specific lines. Orca is the wetsuit, Orca, Pearl and C'dale the tri apparel.

Pros: This very strong, established shop just finished its 4th renovation, growing by 6000' to its present size of 20,000'. Kyle Carlson is the general manager, and is well-known and well-regarded in the industry, chiefly from his service department roots. Additions along the way of Sean Thomson and Brett Hydrick mean there are several mechanics with pro cycling team experience here. This shop is probably as wrench-rich as any anywhere. Get your service done here.

Cons: With Bike Mart in town, the certain lines are unobtainium. It would be nice to see QR and/or Cervelo here. But it's got Felt, which fills the gaps nicely.

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Richardson's Bike Mart is owned by Jim Hoyt, a dynamo in the Dallas bike biz. This was originally one of five "Bike Marts" each independently sold in 1980, one of which Hoyt bought. This is the one that really "took" and Hoyt himself added two more locations of his own. This is a full service shop, but is very strong in the pro bike arena. Triathletes would want to go to the original flagship store.

Pros: Hoyt is an avid cyclist, and is quite a cycling advocate in his area. He's also a good citizen in multisport, sponsoring among other things Jack Weiss' schedule of multisport events in the Dallas area, and the local TNT chapter. The shop carries Quintana Roo, Trek, Specialized, Griffen, Cervelo and Litespeed bikes, Ironman wetsuits, and Zoot, De Soto and Garneau apparel. Tom Ernst is a FIST-certified fitter.

Cons: The category of multisport is serviced, but as of 2005 Bike Mart sold more Trek units to triathletes than it sold Cervelo (according to Bike Mart). Here are the 2005 IM USA bike breakdowns of these two brands: Cervelo 268 (248 tri, 20 road), Trek 235 (56 tri, 179 road). To its credit, Cervelo is this store's #2 tri brand. But, the Bike Mart needs keep pace with this shift. Dallas triathletes ought to be buying Cervelo and QR tri bikes two-thirds of the time (newbies the obvious exception), at least until the Equinox TTX is in full production.

Bicycle Heaven is that enclave every triathlon town needs. Yes, Soler Tri Sports is the upstart trying hard to get this business, and Bike World is the established Trek shop in town, but Bicycle Heaven is, and has, just enough of everything to be solve most of what ails the typical multisporter. This is Matt Hamlin's store, and it hosts what might be San Antoni's best weekend ride, a 50-or-so group that splits into three groups each going its appropriate distance.

Pros: The shop carries Cannondale, Cervelo, Felt, Kuota, and also Raleigh for the fat of the market and Independent Fabrications for those who require custom or culturally cool road bikes. Also Zoot and T1 wetsuits and Zoot and De Soto apparel.

Cons: As of this writing Soler Sports seems to be the more aggressive shop at tri-specific product knowledge and continuing multisport education.