Originally Posted by canklecat

I don't have a car, so I walk, ride or take public transportation or Uber/Lyft. That usually limits my bike shopping to Fort Worth where I live.

A couple of times when I was interested in an out of town bike or bit of gear I'd mention to the seller that I'd be arriving by public transportation or Uber/Lyft. Several friends do long distance group rides that often include taking the train for part of the ride, so it's no big deal. But this seemed to scare off sellers and they either stopped communicating or the item suddenly wasn't available. So I either don't mention it now, or just don't bother with sales outside Fort Worth.

I bought my Ironman and Univega from the same local bike flipper and I took a bus to his place, checked out the bikes to be sure they were ready to ride, and just rode them home -- although the second time he gave me a ride home since we'd already done business before and were acquainted, with some cycling friends in common.