wheelnuts bike shop… alexandria, VA. though they cater more to the weekender/bike path/commuters than anything else, it’s a little shop with some really good people. i mostly buy consumables there, but have bought a few larger items, too. recently i sent a n00b commuter in with a list of things he’d need. he could have bought it all elsewhere and saved a good chunk of $$ but i wanted him to build a relationship w/ the shop and be sure that everything fit/worked proper before he started commuting FT.
If you could include the city of your LBS that would help!
The guy is definitely milking the fixed gear trend, but I think you’re thinking of someone else. He used to just sell beach cruisers and old used bikes. I bought a decal-free road bike there before it was all fixed gear oriented, and he tried to tell me it was built by Chris Kelly, when it obviously looked nothing like something Kelly would build and he had nothing to back up his claim with. I talked him down to 300, because that seemed legit for a lugged steel bike with Shimano 600. Turns out it was a Bridgestone. 
Nate at Bicycle Trip in Santa Cruz is a really knowledgeable, helpful mechanic. He’s gone out of his way to help me find oddball or obscure parts many times. They don’t have much in stock though, and a lot of what they have is mtb oriented. Still a cool shop though. Phil Wood’s granddaughter works there.
Amsterdam Cycles, also in Santa Cruz, is good for finding old parts. A lot of it is crap, but I’ve gotten some gems from there for next to nothing. Tom is a pretty cool guy too, he’s been in the bike business for a long time.
The Bike Church is the shit too. It’s a bike coop, so they provide tools and teach you how to work on your bike for a $5 hourly donation, or you can buy a membership. $4.00 KMC Z chains, tons of frames, wheels and parts to sift through and pretty much any tool you would ever need. The mechanics are pretty knowledgeable too, for the most part.
I just moved out of Santa Cruz though, any good LBSs in Sacramento? I’m thinking of having the Bike Biz build me a wheel, but I’d like to hear people’s experiences first.
we have a coop in philly called Bike Church too. cool.
I’m going to say Veloshop in Portland. I’ve gone in there three or four times and they’ve helped me fix some minor things for free every time. Only thing I’ve ever bought there were pedals, but if I ever need anything I’m going there because they’ve been so cool.
For example one day I noticed my cranks were coming loose every 5 blocks or so. I took it to city bikes where they told me the cranks were toast and I should buy a new…wait for it…frame. From them. So I left and went to veloshop where the guy working there took a look, popped the cranks off, realized the problem (besides them being shitty bolt on BMX style) was the bolt wasn’t distributing force correctly, stuck a washer in, and fixed it. He charged me 50 cents for the washer. Same thing helping me fix a chain problem and a seatpost thing, all for free
They don’t have the biggest selection but most of the mechanics are just super nice and knowledgeable.
The Bicycle Path - Denton TX
Gary the owner was pretty awesome the times ive been in there so far, and the kids he has working there seem to know what they’re doing. he didnt huff and puff like other places would when i was in there picking up a BB and also wanted to order some bars, but didn’t because i said bens cycle had them cheaper, and he still asked about what i was building with a smile. a couple days later i brought my bike in to have them stick the bb in there, he said they didnt do repairs on weekends but they put it in anyway, didnt charge for it, and gave me a set of crank bolts. A+
Bike o Rama - Denton, TX
This place has gone downhill. Maybe it was cool back in the day, but its gotten way worse in the past year. The guy who owns it is ok i guess, once you get past the fact that hes on speed all the time. He is also pretty absent minded and i had to call all the time to get any orders made. he helped me out when i was just getting started with my first build though and didnt care that i brought in hubs and rims i got elsewhere for him to build. took him WAY too long to build my wheels, but he did a good job and only charged $20. he will do stuff for you for free and let you use the stands and tools in the back if you go in there a lot and sees that you know your stuff. the people who work there though are pretty useless. its sad. its like they have a hangover all the time. dealing with them takes so much effort that im pretty much done with that place.
Denton Bicycle Center
only went in once trying to order a moderately priced hub with only one fixed side and nothing on the other, which proved too much for the guy to handle so i was like, “well, thanks for looking, im gonna keep checking around…” then he said cockishly, “or you could just get a bike with gears…” that was the first and last time i went in there. maybe i should give them another chance. that just irked me though.
[quote=“pirate”]Bicycle Shop Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, CA, and their website fixedgearfreak.com.
This guy sells totally shitty rusted out deathtrap conversions, like bottom barrel ralieghs and schwinns with a crappy wheelset and the shitty original parts for $3-500 to unsuspecting people, doesn’t put any sort of foot retention on his bikes, sells them with janky brakes, spams his shit on craigslist constantly and is just a dick to deal with in general. It seems that he just says that anything he doesn’t want to do is dangerous. When I asked why he was selling fixed gears without any toe clips or straps, he said that it was dangerous for new fixed riders to be strapped into the pedals. When I bought a road crankset and wanted to swap out the chainrings for a different pair (and was willing to pay the difference) he told me that it wouldn’t shift properly (they were both shimano 7-8-9 speed chainring sets) and that it would somehow be dangerous. I’ve heard him say all kinds of questionable things to sell unknowing customers bikes.
I haven’t dealt with his website because I know the guy and don’t want to support him, but if it’s the same guy I wouldn’t want to have anything to do with it.
From my experience his salespeople are totally hopeless as well. One time I bought a pair of MKS sylvan roads and the dude at the counter, who couldn’t be older than 17 tried to sell me two left pedals. I had to explain to him the rocket science concept that you have to have a left and right pedal.
The last straw for me was when the owner, after the 3rd person in a year had been hit and killed at Bay and Mission, said in a video on the Santa Cruz Sentinel website that no one should be allowed to bike on Mission st because it was too dangerous. I couldn’t believe it, a bike shop owner advocating banning bikes from the street, where they belong. His shop is, by the way, on Mission st.[/quote]
Seconded. I live about two blocks away, and I only go in there when I’m missing something I need to repair my bike at home and Sprockets doesn’t have what I need. The last time I was in there, they told a guy what size frame he needed by looking at him standing next to a bike that was the next size down.
Under the glass, next to the cash register, they have all of these janky anodized single pivots that look like the shitty ones we take off of old department store 10-speeds that they sell for $10. These are what they put on the foot retention-less, janky conversions they sell there.
Another fun fact: Whenever they get an old 10-speed frame, they take it out back and spray on a clear enamel coat before converting it, so it will look shinier and newer.
I think it’s just pathetic how obvious it is that the owner and the other main guy who work there don’t ride bikes seriously enough to know what they’re talking about.
They’ve changed the sign out front, I believe, but it used to read:
FIXIES!!!
STARTING AT $299.99!!
Edit: One more thing. Around the time Bicycle Shop Santa Cruz started really getting into selling fixed gears in the last year or so, there stopped being a decent selection of road frames at the Bike Church. I don’t know if they bought out the stock or if people got word that they could take their old 10 speeds to BS of Santa Cruz for cash instead of donating them, but, based on the massive number of 70’s and 80’s low- to mid-priced steel frames sitting around there, they have to be cutting significantly into the city’s supply of crappy 10-speeds. All I know is that I walked into the Bike Church a few times last year and checked out a number of decent lugged steel road frames, but now they never have anything but 80’s mtb frames.
Cycle Logic in Raleigh nc. it is a really neat shop with a shitty selection and even shittier service. The owner, Ed, will argue with anybody over anything - literally. I’ve heard him argue that tig welded is far superior to lugs, and a week later that lugs are far superior to tig welded. He charged a friend $5 for a bearing retainer, he says Fuji is the best brand on the planet (yet, in front of the rep, told me if i didn’t buy anyting, i needed to get the fuck out). I was actually waiting to talk to him, btu he was with the rep. He won’t sell you something if he doesn’t want to, he has a pocket poodle that yips around the store, and he is an all around crotchey sonuvabitch. If you live and Raleigh, and want a fuji track, se lager, or raleigh bike, ask me. I’ll personally drive you to another shop.
Another bike shop? Why? This place sounds awesome.
Las Vegas has a ton of shitty bike shops, especially this place called Bike World. Last time I was there, I came in and told the guy that I was looking for a 90mm stem with a 26mm clamp diameter, so he takes me to where the stems are behind the counter, and while I’m waiting for him to see if they have one, he says “well, here are all the stems.” And he makes me look from in front of the counter for a fucking stem, as if I can see all the stem discrepancies on a millimeter scale from six fucking feet away. The time I was in there before that, I came with my girlfriend so she could buy one of those mirrors that clips on to your eyeglasses. During the entire transaction, the dude that was “helping” us never made eye contact, or said “hi,” or anything, not even once. And on top of this they make you wait like five minutes before they’ll come from the back of the shop to help you. What a bunch of cocksuckers.
Luckily, I live like three miles away from another shop, Bike Shop (yeah, it’s just called Bike Shop). These dudes are ultra cool and knowledgeable about EVERYTHING and will school you on road, mtn, party foul, and even bmx bikes. Most of them are relatively young BMX kids that are super friendly. The shop is a lot smaller than Bike World, but I don’t mind having to order and wait for stuff to come in because they don’t treat me like ass.
[quote=patrick]Las Vegas has a ton of shitty bike shops, especially this place called Bike World. Last time I was there, I came in and told the guy that I was looking for a 90mm stem with a 26mm clamp diameter, so he takes me to where the stems are behind the counter, and while I’m waiting for him to see if they have one, he says “well, here are all the stems.” And he makes me look from in front of the counter for a fucking stem, as if I can see all the stem discrepancies on a millimeter scale from six fucking feet away. The time I was in there before that, I came with my girlfriend so she could buy one of those mirrors that clips on to your eyeglasses. During the entire transaction, the dude that was “helping” us never made eye contact, or said “hi,” or anything, not even once. And on top of this they make you wait like five minutes before they’ll come from the back of the shop to help you. What a bunch of cocksuckers.
Luckily, I live like three miles away from another shop, Bike Shop (yeah, it’s just called Bike Shop). These dudes are ultra cool and knowledgeable about EVERYTHING and will school you on road, mtn, party foul, and even bmx bikes. Most of them are relatively young BMX kids that are super friendly. The shop is a lot smaller than Bike World, but I don’t mind having to order and wait for stuff to come in because they don’t treat me like ass.[/quote]
Yo, do you ride with NEEK?
yeah yeah! I’m pretty new but I’ve ridden with him a few times. Neek is the shit.
His blog is interesting. Makes Vegas look pretty fun.
Also, I PM’d you.
Sorry for hijacking this thread.
[quote=tepr]Shifter Bikes More
Trophy Bikes/Trophy Bike Garage - Philadelphia
The Hub at the Zoo - Providence
Cain Park Bicycle - Cleveland
Mt. Airy Bikes - Mt. Airy, MD (possibly College Park Bikes as well?)
Friendly Bikes - Greensboro, NV
Recycle-a-Bike - NYC
Adam’s Bicycle World - New Orleans
Cycle Smithy - Chicago
Seattle’s Perfect Wheels - Seattle
Ted’s Bicycles - Colorado Springs
Criterium Bicycles - Colorado Springs
Bicycle Villiage - Colorado Springs
Bicycle Experience - Colorado Springs
Business Cycles - Miami
Mack Cycle & Fitness - Miami
B1 Bikes - Columbus
Wheelnuts Bicycle Shop - Alexandria, VA[/quote]
bicycle expiereince has probably the most knowledgeable staff in the springs, theyll stay after hours to help people out, and have more track frames than anyone else in the city.
how are they on the shitlist?
another bump for criterium bike shop in colorado springs to be on the complete shit list.
I have a couple of stories. this shop has gone to complete shit.
First, dudes at criterium threw this new crank and chain ring on my freinds bike. They paid no attention to the chain allignment and now as a result the chain jumps every 10 rotations or so. we took the bike back only to be told that it would cost another 20 for a new part and another 25 for instillation. on something i would have thought bike shops knew to check for from the begging.
Yesterday I went in there with a freind, dude told us we could throw his bike on there stand and throw on the gold chain they had just ordered from them. finally we got that setup and im trying to take his back wheel off so i ask a different dude who works there if i can get a wrench. dude goes off on me for interrupting him when dude wasent saying shit. i tried to be nice, he was standing by this other dude, i just put my hand on his back and asked if i could get a wrench. dude starts throwing this hissy fit talking about how since im so rude he’ll help us out. yelling in from tof the whole shop. the whole time im just trying to get this chain on so we can go ride before the sun sets. ive been in there a couple times when they seem to have complete douschebags for employees. i noticed now that there getting employees from other shops around town as well.
even though theres not that many people on the springs on here, i figured id put it out there that criterium is falling off…fast.
I can add another positive vote for B1 Bicycles in columbus, oh…very nice guy who runs the shop and always helpful and friendly
Hmm. I had mixed feelings about Napa River Velo. I had been in a couple times before and felt totally unwelcome, and the people weren’t that helpful. But just went in today and the guys were super helpful.
Then they told me about their group rides. Don’t think I wanna go out on my janky old road bike with a bunch of actually fast guys, haha.
[quote=GoodEyeSniper]Hmm. I had mixed feelings about Napa River Velo. I had been in a couple times before and felt totally unwelcome, and the people weren’t that helpful. But just went in today and the guys were super helpful.
Then they told me about their group rides. Don’t think I wanna go out on my janky old road bike with a bunch of actually fast guys, haha.[/quote]
ill ride with you on my old road bike