Bike Shops Frustrate Me Cause They Don't Sell What I Want!

Bike shops frustrate me. They frustrate me because you walk in there looking for a nice utility bike (aka commuter) and they want to sell you some fancy road bike or some monster mountain bike. Some of them may actually try to pass off some mountain bike with skinny wheels as a utility bike but it's not. It's a mountain bike with skinny tires.

I tell them their bikes are nice but I want to ride my bike to work and I don't want to get grease on my leg. They say, no worries my brother, just roll up your pant legs. Then I say, what do I do when it's cold out or when I want to dress nice. They laughed. Nice response - laugh at me. :(

Am I asking for too much when I ask for a full covered chaincase, front and back fenders, and at least one carrying rack! I can always add the lights and bell later, but come on - don't laugh at me because America is caught in some weird time warp where bikers have to wear Lycra and count their cadence to be "bikers".

Some of us don't mind going slow, only need 3 speeds, and can thank their lucky stars they own NOTHING made of Lycra. I bike in jeans and flip flops (which my girlfriend detests and bemoans as extremely dangerous). I carry a jug of water on my back rack, and ring my bell liberally. Apparently, in the US few bike shops care to cater to my needs.

So what is my alternative? To scour the Craigslist or eBay ads looking for some sorry soul in the process of losing his most prized possession - a European commuter bike.