[ebarker9]

I just went to my not local bike shop yesterday, JRA cycles in medford. My Kali knee pad had broken, and I hadn't had any sort of an impact that would have caused it. It split right down the middle, and that's the kind of thing that you don't walk away from. I walked in, explained myself, and though the person waiting on me was initially going to call Kali and figure out what to do, another person walked over and told her to just give me another set. So, I walked out with a brand new set of pads, and they're going to send the old set back. They even let me pick up a smaller size as the larges were floppy on me.

I paid retail for the pads there, as when I went in to see what they had, they had a HUGE selection and I got to try on multiple sizes of multiple brands. I'm glad I paid retail, because otherwise I would have had to send them back to Jenson/Etc, then wait for a return, and in all likelihood I'd be out $20 on shipping.

They also carry a whole bunch of other stuff, direct mount stems, body armor, more Ibis Mojos than you can shake a stick at...even an intense 275. And their prices are pretty reasonable too.

I think for the modern bike shop, it's all about finding a niche. There's the crazy hoarder guy's shop, the "we cater to everybody, just don't ask for help" shop, the ultra roadie shop, and now JRA is capturing the AM/DH rider shop. I still use other shops for service, crazy hoarder guy for shimano bearings, roadie shop for headset presses and spoke cutters, but it's nice to have someplace where people actually seem to speak the language.

I was up in Mass last week and checked out JRA last week on the basis of this recommendation. Completely agree, great shop. Very friendly, great selection. It's shops like these that make paying a premium vs online worth it.