The most important thing to remember when buying a new bike is this: Buying a bike is not like buying a television or a stereo. All bikes, no matter if you purchase yours from Alpine Shop or some other store, are shipped un-assembled in boxes to the store. What happens after that box arrives depends on the store you purchase your bike from. [caption id="attachment_1240" align="alignright" width="300"] Do you know who built your bike? One of these fine technicians at Alpine Shop did if you purchased your bike from us.[/caption]

1. Do you know who built your bike?

If you buy your brand new bike from a mass market chain store, your bike will be built buy someone back in the warehouse who may or may not have any experience putting bikes together. He may have a pedal wrench to make sure your pedals are firmly attached to the bike - or he may not. She may know the correct way to make sure your wheel's tubes aren't pinched – and prone to blow out - when she installs the tires, or she might not. If you buy your new bike from Alpine Shop, your bike will be built by one of our bike shop technicians whose only job is to build and fix bikes. These people know what they are doing. Not only that, but they will also customize the bike for you before you ever leave the shop. Our techs will take various body part measurements that translate into a starting point for every moveable part on the bike. From there, they work with you to find out what position provides you with the most comfort and the most power.

As even Consumer Reports states in their Bike Buying Guide published in January 2012: Find a good bike shop You'll pay more, but we think you're more likely to be satisfied. Bikes from big-box stores might not be properly assembled or well matched to your body. If you don't like the pedals or seat on a particular model, some bike shops will swap components at little or no cost.

2. Every pound added to the bike is another pound you have to pedal

The lighter a bike is, the easier it is for you get it moving. Take a look at the weight of the bike you're looking to buy (if the mass market store will even provide it for you). Ask yourself if you really want to pedal an extra seven or eight pounds up the first hill you encounter.

3. You get what you pay for

It might seem like a good deal at the store, but what about when you actually use it? Mass market bikes have cheaper construction all around, from the frame to the components like the shifters, the tires, the handlebars, even the seat post. The biggest quality issue, and possibly most important one, is your brakes. Not only do many of the least expensive bikes have brakes that hardly work to begin with, if you're brakes are installed wrong, even the best ones won't work properly. Even our lowest priced bikes will have higher quality parts than what you can find at the big box stores. And the true measure of value isn't how much you spend, but how much you enjoy riding the bike.

Again from Consumer Reports: Avoid cheap bikes, except for very casual use Inexpensive bikes selling for less than $200 from brands such as Huffy, Mongoose, Roadmaster, and Schwinn may seem like good deals, but we advise spending $300 or more, if your budget allows. Why? Because you'll get a lot more bike for your buck. Mass-market bikes have cheaper construction than higher-priced bikes and can weigh seven or eight pounds more. They come in only one size, so you're not likely to get a great fit. And mass merchants can't match bike shops for quality of assembly, expert advice, and service. Adults should consider inexpensive bikes from a department store only for the most casual use, and stick with a front-suspension model, which is likely to be better than an inexpensive full-suspension bike.

4. Support and Service

Simply put, bikes are complex, mechanical pieces of equipment exposed constantly to dirt, water, oil, potholes and just plain bad roads. More than likely, your bike will have some sort of issue come up while you own it. If you purchase your bike from a  discount chain, don't expect them to be able to fix the problem. Their only option may be to replace the bike, if they'll even do that. But do you really want a new bike that may have the exact same problem as the bike you just brought back? Our bike techs work to make sure that your bike - you know, the bike you've worked to set up just the way you like, that you're used to and trust - will be fixed to not only your standards but to our standards. Alpine Shop also offers free maintenance on every new bike we sell.

5. We want you to know what you're doing

We don't assume when you come to talk to us that you're an expert cyclist. We don't assume that you'll understand everything we can tell you about a bike. That you'll know the difference between disc brakes and rim brakes. That's why we make hours of instruction available to you at our Kirkwood location for everything from changing your tire to the basics of maintaining your bike at your home. We're not just in business to sell bikes. Our mission is to see "Generations Transformed by Discovery Outdoors." What that means to us is we want your time on the trails or on the roads to be a potentially life-altering activity. We want you to discover that you can do things you never thought possible. And then come back and tell us all about it. Come visit the Bike Shop at Alpine Shop Kirkwood. Discover what makes us different. And why buying a bike from us just makes more sense.