Skirack — Local services in Burlington

I went to Skirack to purchase a Specialized Tri-cross because they carried that make and model. I could have purchased it on-line but decided instead to support a local business. This is what I got from Skirack for my efforts.

I had a few questions about the bike, one of which was if the manufacturer had corrected the shudder in the front fork during braking that had been reported by other owners. Tom, the sales person said “Oh, no. I’ve never heard of that being a problem.” One of the repair techs who happened to be standing there said that the shudder issue did sound familiar. Tom promptly interrupted and said “I’m sure they’ve addressed it.” That was as much definitive information I could get out of him. The shudder didn’t exhibit itself during my test ride of the bike so I figured that it had been addressed. As I discovered much later, the forks do shudder occasionally when riding with loaded panniers. It seemed that Tom was much more concerned about getting the bike out the door than in setting me up with a bike I would be happy with.

I also wanted to purchase a handlebar-mounted mirror. The model they had was not what I was looking for but Tom said their other customers had been very happy with it and said that I could try it and return it if it didn’t work out. When I said that I probably wouldn’t be able to get it back to the store within the 30 day return limit he said that that wouldn’t be a problem and that they would honor the return. I purchased the mirror, tried it twice, and when I returned it a couple months later in perfect condition with the receipt and un-damaged, original packaging, they would only give me store credit. I explained what I had been promised but it made no difference. Only after I got testy and started to raise my voice on the crowded sales floor did they refund my money.

The last straw occurred just after returning the mirror. When I purchased the bike I also paid for the installation of narrower tires. When Skirack installed those tires they didn’t bother to user smaller tubes. The oversized tubes got stuck between the tire bead and rim when they installed them resulting in a blow out of both the front and back inner tubes in the same week. Apparently, doing it right the first time seemed too much to ask.

It’s hard to believe that in a small community like Burlington, Skirack seems so dismissive of customer satisfaction. I will never set foot in that...

Having been born and raised in Burlington, VT, Ski Rack has always been a go to for me: getting my bike tuned, buying bike racks for my automobiles, purchasing accessories and winter gear. Last time I bought a Thule rack from Ski Rack, I was very dissatisfied with the inadequacies of the installation. BUT, that's not what this review is about. Yesterday I parked in the lot behind Ski Rack. Apparently, and unknown to me, I parked in a spot that isn't owned by the business, but rather for people who live somewhere thereabouts. I popped into another shop before I was going to go into Ski Rack. The owner, Zandy Wheeler, followed me, approached me, and told me I was parked incorrectly. I said ok and I'd move my car, but that it made me uncomfortable that he followed me, and that my plan had been to shop at his store. He wouldn't let it go, followed me as a I was walking to my car, talking on and on about the parking, telling me to read the signs, etc. Finally I stopped and said ok, please leave me alone, I got it. He would not leave. I got upset, and started yelling at him to get out of my face, as I was feeling attacked. His son, John George Wheeler then also came over and started yelling at me about the parking, and threatening to get the car towed, etc. They were both way too close to me, yelling at me, and standing between myself and my car. Here's the thing-I understand that there's a parking issue in my hometown, but the world needs less stress about the little things, and more respect for women. In the end, who the F cares about getting all angry about a parking spot. I do however, think that two men cornering and yelling at a woman, should not be ok. And it's not ok with me. I feel that the proprietors of Ski Rack crossed a line, and left me feeling unsafe. 50 years of business doesn't give any business owner, anywhere, the entitlement to treat people the way they treated me. So, if a woman's right to feel safe in our cities and towns, matters to you, please consider this before you offer your patronage to...

Color me impressed by how good Skirack is at fitting running shoes! I told the shoe-fit specialist all my various foot, knee, & running issues to give her a jumping-off point as to what my needs might be in a shoe. Then she carefully measured my foot--and not just with a Brannock device: She observed it from a variety of angles, and even watched me walk.

Based on that information, Alison brought out her first couple of best ideas as to what just the right shoe would be for me. I tried each pair on, and each time she had me hop onto the in-store treadmill for a test run. She filmed my stride at heel level from behind. Then she played the recording of the test run back in slow motion, enabling her to do meticulous gait analysis. Alison spent a good amount of dedicated time with me, fine tuning her shoe selections based on the video of me running in each pair, & then moving on to the next pair until, together, we got it just right! It's no coincidence that the correct shoe from her standpoint of expertise on studying my stride was also the one that felt the best to wear. I exclaimed during the test run in that particular shoe, "It doesn't even feel like I'm wearing anything on my feet!" Mission accomplished.

It just so happened that the shoe that felt & ran the best for me happened to be last year's model, which was discounted at 20% off. So it's not a high-pressure or upselling vibe there. Skirack simply fits you in the best shoe FOR YOU, whichever product that may be.

Skirack also has an insane exchange policy--at least for the brand I purchased--whereby, if AFTER FULLY USING THE SHOES, outside, running in them, etc, you're not satisfied, you may bring them back & have the money you paid for them put toward a different pair!? (Try pulling that on Zappos.) When you take all this into consideration, it really is not worth buying running shoes online, only to have them arrive in the mail & not be quite right. Put yourself in Skirack's capable hands just once, like I did, and I suspect you'll never buy running shoes...