rearviewmirror
Likes Dirt
Being part owner of a bike shop I'll give you my perspective. We run across as many people who have no clue what they're talking about as those who do. Meaning we have guys coming in who want a DH bike because of the way it looks, but then tells us that their mates only ride on flat singletrack. In those cases we would say that it's not the right bike for them. If we let them buy a 45 lbs DH rig and they're only XC riding they'll be pissed. Telling someone who is in the know what not to buy is bad practice and generally doesn't happen. We ONLY sell the bikes and brands that we ride and race though. So we might also push someone to a bike that we think will meet their needs better based on what they've told us. I am the powerhouse rider on the team, we have some guys who use finesse, we have differing opinions for bikes on the same race courses so naturally we'll steer people based on their expectations.