ABOUT US
There are over 4,000 brick-and-mortar bike shops in the United States, and a handful of internet bike retailers of note. So why shop online at Competitive Cyclist? It's because we offer the best of both worlds. Even though we we're an online store, we sacrifice none of the personalized service of a local bike shop --
Would you like to buy a new bike and have it arrive 100% assembled? No problem -- with our Ready to Ride shipping program, UPS brings you your bike completely road or trail ready. You simply remove your bike from the shipping box and off you go. You won't need to turn a single bolt or make a single adjustment.
Would you rather try on clothing in the privacy of your own home? For that matter, would you rather try a new saddle (or handlebar, or pedals…) on your own bike? With our Unconditional Lifetime Returns policy, you can buy with complete confidence. If you don't love something -- no matter how hard you've ridden it -- you're welcome to return it to us for a full refund in three weeks or three years.
Do you want to shop with the confidence that comes with touching and feeling merchandise before you buy? With our CZoom photo technology you can inspect almost every item we sell with exacting detail.
Do you want to shop with the confidence that comes from insider product knowledge? Our product descriptions aren't just marketing puffery. Instead you'll find thoughtfully-written information that gives you the story behind the story on the technology, fit, and purpose of the goods we sell. And we have years worth of text & video reviews that go into even greater depth.
Even though we strive to provide you with the sort of personalized service ordinarily only found at America's finest brick-and-mortar shops, we sacrifice none of the dynamic and interactive experience you get by shopping on-line. We fully harness the power of the web to put you in a position of knowledge and confidence about every product we sell. We understand that the more knowledgeable and confident you are, the more likely you'll be pleased with your buying choices: Every bit of web functionality we've developed has been built with this first and foremost in mind --
Our Fit Calculator is the most advanced interactive bike fitting system you'll find on the web. Other sites rely on decade-old formulas to provide you with a thumbnail sketch of your ideal frame size. When we made the decision to develop the Fit Calculator, it was specifically an effort to address the limitations of boilerplate solutions. We made the pilgrimage to upstate New York in numerous occasions to attend the standard and advanced Serotta Bike Fit Certification seminars; we got our Slow Twitch FIST-certification; we logged countless hours fitting people on our Fit Cycle; we analyzed systems such as the Fit Kit inside and out; and we worked with the cycling consultants at the Australian Institute of Sport. We expanded the scope of biomechanical variables taken into account by time-honored sizing methods, allowing us to achieve a new level accuracy for an automated system.
Our Kit Calculator is the most advanced custom bike configuration system you'll find on the web. It's an interactive tool that allows you to compare and compile detailed price and weight information for any of the bikes we sell. You can explore your various component options all the way down to chainring configuration and bar tape color. Revise your selections as often as you'd like, and once you've finalized your choices, you can submit your bike build specifications directly to us. Likewise, we offer a similar solution with our Build Kit Calculator. It offers the same functionality as our Kit Calculator, but you use it to configure a component package for a frameset you already own.
We hope to become your resource as you shop for a new pro-quality bike, or any of the componentry, clothing, or accessories you need. We don't have order-taking meatheads answering the phone. Every member of our staff has a grasp of technical detail that's, well, awesome. And we know that the most effective way to share this knowledge is as unpretentiously as possible. We take much pleasure in demystifying jargon. Call us with a technical question, and we'll talk your ear off until we're sure that we're being clear and well-understood. Send us an e-mail and you can expect a reply within hours, not days. And while you'll find our prices to be sufficiently low, you'll quickly see that what elevates us above our competition is our ability and willingness to communicate with our customers. Whether it's a technical or practical matter -- "What's the difference between SRAM Red and Force DoubleTap levers?" "What's the status of the order I placed last Tuesday?" -- no other site does more to convey the vital information every serious cyclist desires.
You can be assured that we'll build your bike with incredible care -- we receive feedback time and time again lauding us for our ability to make new bikes sing. Beyond this, we'll pack your purchase professionally, we'll ship it promptly, and we'll provide you a tracking number. When it's all said and done, our central purpose is to give you world-class service in an effort to give you total satisfaction with every purchase.
