Bike shopping

I've been to a few bike shops over the last week. I spend most of Saturday and Sunday shopping with Lyle, but still unsuccessful. First, it's very hard to find a decent bike shop around here. Some shops that I've found might have used to carry good bikes, but they have gotten so buried in unsold parts that you can't find anything, and everything is covered in a layer of dust. One shop I found yesterday had one good Specialized Stumpjumper, their top-of-the-line model, but it was a few years old and buried under piles of other things. Most of these shops seem to have turned to bicycle maintenance to make their money.

But I didn't give up finding a good shop, and after asking a few shops that sold only shopping bikes (single speed, step-through frame with a drum brake in back and baskets) I was directed to a shop in Asagaya, one station from mine, and about 10 minutes by bike. This shop was excellent! I really think it's the biggest shop that I've seen anywhere. There are 5 floors of bikes! The second basement floor is all parts, components, tools and bags; the first basement floor is shoes, clothes, and helmets; the second floor is lower end mountain, city and road bikes; third floor is upper end US bikes; and the fourth floor is upper end European bikes. But all this bike heaven in one building and they still didn't have a frame that fits me. I though I'd try out a 56cm felt, but it seems like there aren't any left in Japan unless some shop is hoarding them. So it's online for me I think.