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l e s l i e k e h m e i e r ( x 3 ) ; c o u r t e s y ; c a r e n a l p e r t ; r o b y n l e h r ; m i c h a e l r o b e r t s o n ; r y a n k a l i v r e t e n o s ; c h r i s l e s s e r ; p a r i s g o r e ; c h a r l e s g u l l u n g
On Hallowed Ground
L E S L I E K E H M E I E R ( X 3 ) ; C O U R T E S Y ; C A R E N A L P E R T ; R O B Y N L E H R ; M I C H A E L R O B E R T S O N ; R Y A N K A L I V R E T E N O S ; C H R I S L E S S E R ; P A R I S G O R E ; C H A R L E S G U L L U N G
Every cyclist needs a good shop—a place to get a fix, find new rides, or congregate in a space devoted to two-wheeled worship. Step inside and check out our favorites. By Chris Lesser
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ďŹ guring that you might as well, you know, pick up a couple spare tubes, just in case. The mechanics know your name, and they may even know that your bicycle has 175-millimeter Ritchey Pro cranks and a 12-25 cassette. They will greet your bike as an old friend, and when you crack your wallet to pay for, say, a quick ďŹ x to your fender, they’ll rejoinder with a gesture that is almost endemic to bike shops—a dismissive and vaguely punk-rock wave of the arms, because a good bike shop has a calling higher than commerce. Sometimes, it can even feel like a sanctuary—at night, after closing, when nobody’s in it: all those bikes sitting there in the darkness, in neat symmetrical rows like so many empty church pews. Are there any other retail outlets in our digitized 21st century that offer such sensory satisfaction? Certainly no cell-phone kiosk in a mall can do the trick. We used to have shoe-repair shops and corner butchers and record stores where one could kill a lazy afternoon ipping through weighty stacks of LPs. Now we have MP3s and disposable televisions. But at bike shops, the workstations are often exposed, and if your mechanic likes you, he may allow you behind the counter, into his wrench-rich inner sanctum. He’ll fasten a new chain for
you, and then ham his hand down on one pedal so the back wheel spins as he clicks through the gears. Last summer, as I was touring about, alone in New Hampshire, the rear shifter on my bike went out, leaving me with only two gears as I ascended nasty graniterimmed steeps. I borrowed a phone book and, dripping with sweat and crouched by the roadside, called ďŹ ve or six shops. Finally, I found a store in Concord carrying the exact piece of metal and plastic I needed—a nine-speed Shimano Ultegra shifter, lightly used, for $80. I rode there—25 miles through the hills—then I sat by the mechanic as he mounted the shifter. We discussed the merits of steel versus aluminum. We reveled over how bike racing is a “chess match at 28 miles an hour.â€? All the old chestnuts, basically. What mattered was the subtext, the miracle that dances under the surface in every bicycle shop: Somehow, we’d found each other. For maybe 15 minutes, we could geek out together. I paid him and shook his hand. Then I rode away. I was alone again, but now there was a scrim of grease ecking my hand, and I was reminded that I am part of something bigger.—Bill Donahue
come first-time cyclists, and mix in generous helpings of THE DEVIL’S GEAR BIKE
High-end rentals or demos
On-site it cafĂŠ
Vintage-bike collection
Advanced maintenance classes
Professional fessio fes essi ssio training
( X 2 ) ;
Offer excellent service, wel-
Southern hospitality.
SHOP New Haven, CT Forget the sinister name:
classes is so thick it could
you a completely custom
BELMONT WHEELWORKS
have been borrowed from
bike if you desire.
nearby Harvard.
EAST BURKE SPORTS
Belmont, MA
work. By organizing
East Burke, VT
The flagship location of this
monthly bike-to-work days
No trip to Vermont’s
family-run chain sprawls
(during which employees
renowned Kingdom Trails
across seven adjacent
DRUMMOND CUSTOM
This classic shop’s col-
hand out free breakfasts)
is complete without a stop
storefronts. While the
CYCLES Enfield, NH
lection of vintage cycles
and hosting frequent repair
at East Burke, which offers
store’s inventory is stagger-
Not only will his shop repair
includes everything from
and technique clinics, The
insider trail advice, gold-
ing, its service department
cracks in your carbon-fiber
futuristic midcentury
Devil’s Gear is growing the
standard rentals, and even
is equally impressive—the
frame, but owner Dick
cruisers to 100-year-old
sport one ride at a time.
a coin-op bike wash.
catalog of maintenance
Drummond can also build
wood-rimmed race bikes.
62
M I T C H
This shop is doing good
M A N D E L
as simple as it is timeless:
C O U R T E S Y .
years and his approach is
CYCLE SMITHY Chicago
( X 2 ) ;
selling bikes for nearly 30
KEYS TOA GREATSHOP
These premium services transform shops into monuments of cycling culture
V E E R
(in no particular order)
INTOWN BICYCLES Atlanta Mike Goodman has been
I C O N S :
OUR TOP SHOPS
O P P O S I T E :
R O B Y N
subconsciously, at an almost pheremonal level. The scent of grease and of new tires and chain lube. Bike shops are pleasing to the senses because physical things happen in them—mechanical, gritty, grimy things. Step into just about any bike shop anywhere in the country and you’ll ďŹ nd guys ratcheting spent cassettes from road bikes and teenagers idly heaving at the handlebar on a mountain bike as the fork compresses and bounces. If you go into a shop on, say, a sunny Saturday in the fall, the place will likely be ďŹ lled with other riders clomping in their cleats. Listen and you can learn things. (Oh, I never realized tandems have higher gear ratios, you might think.) You can meet people, too. Once, at a shop in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, I ran into two British lads, age 20 or so, embarking on a 4,000mile ride back to Europe in canvas shorts and tennis shoes. I felt young and heedless myself, just hearing them talk. A bike shop is a community center—a place where the faithful can gather to plan the next trail network or the next campaign for lights on the bike path. It’s also a refuge from the rain and the cold and the heat, and somehow you ďŹ nd yourself gravitating there when you don’t really need to,
L E H R
It’s the smells that first entice us,
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American Cyclery
R
San Francisco
I C O N S :
V E E R
( X 2 ) ;
M I T C H
M A N D E L
( X 2 ) ;
C O U R T E S Y .
O P P O S I T E :
R O B Y N
L E H R
enowned six-day track racer Oscar Juner founded this shop 70 years ago, and visitors can still catch glimpses of its early patrons in the black-and-white photographs that line the walls. Many of his bikes are still on display, too, and their hard, straight tubes contrast with the sinuous contours of modern carbon road bikes, though the store’s inventory of custom steel-frame models helps bridge the gap. Q After all those decades in business, the place is redolent of worn tire rubber and old grease, and its history is forever on display in other ways: Mechanics patiently wrap handlebars with cork tape on the same raised platform on which their predecessors once troubleshot the first Simplex derailleurs in the 1940s.
FROM ITS ROWS OF LEATHER SADDLES TO THE COLUMNS OF STEELFRAMED BIKES, AMERICAN CYCLERY NODS TO CYCLING’S RICH (AND LUXURIOUS) HERITAGE.
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Above Category
F
Mill Valley, CA
or lovers of high-end custom road bikes, Above Category is the ultimate shop—the kind of place where Fausto Pinarello has been known to drop by for a ride, and where one of the pro-level mechanics is also a pro-level racer. Forgoing cafes and rental fleets, the store has a laserlike focus on selling upscale products. Q Owner Chad Nordwall is a dyed-in-the-wool bike geek who as a kid once saved the money he earned mowing lawns to buy a pair of Assos bib shorts. These days, on Marin’s coastal roads, Nordwall and his small staff thoroughly test every part the shop sells. That intimate product knowledge has earned Above Category a legion of customers who won’t shop anywhere else.
impressive is that all six
covering the area’s best
LAS VEGAS CYCLERY
stores are equally well
trails. The store also rents
Las Vegas, NV
regarded by Portland’s dis-
top-notch bikes and sells
Sin City has earned its
cerning cycling population.
everything you need for a day in the mountains, from
reputation for decadence
a new Yeti to replacement
and depravity, but Las
derailleur hangers.
Vegas Cyclery owner Jared
PASSION TRAIL BIKES
Fisher sees beyond the
Belmont, CA
Strip to an outdoor nirvana.
Located south of San
CASCADE BICYCLE
His shop is the best in town,
Francisco, miles from
STUDIO Seattle
his mountain-bike tour
the nearest trailhead,
Instead of relying on heavy
company uses trucks that
this mountain-bike-only
walk-in traffic, founder Zac
run on veggie oil, and he
retailer sees few walk-in
Daab prefers one-on-one
spends his free time lobby-
customers. But discerning
customer consultations,
ing for bike lanes and add-
riders find their way here,
which cover everything
ing to Vegas’s extensive
lured by an extensive demo
from personalized fit-
network of trails.
fleet, frequent group rides,
tings to the purchase of a
and a vast selection of
$15,000 custom road bike.
T
premium brands.
M
THE PATH Tustin, CA This SoCal mountain-bike
BIKE & BEAN Sedona, AZ
FIT WERX Waitsfield, VT
The shop stocks only a few
shop sells more high-end
MONKEY WRENCH
This Sedona institution
The rustic exterior of this
prebuilt bikes from Jamis,
frames in a month than
CYCLES Lincoln, NE
sits at the intersection of
Green Mountain shop
Linus, and Surly; the rest of
many stores do in a year.
A top shop on the Nebraska
two trailheads that ac-
belies its vast selection of
its bicycle sales are made-
The secret to The Path’s
prairie? Believe it. Monkey
cess hundreds of miles of
high-end products. Plus,
to-order custom beauties.
success? A staff of
Wrench offers world-class
red-rock singletrack. The
owner Ian Buchanan is a
pro-level riders who navi-
service and an eclectic mix
owner is also a partner in a
bike-fit magician who has
gate the sales floor
of bikes from Hunter, Ibis,
neighboring bike-friendly
Moots, Salsa, and Surly.
resort. Stay the night, grab
customers riding with less
FAIR WHEEL BIKES
as adroitly as they
pain—and more power—
Tucson, AZ
descend rutted trails.
after one session.
Fair Wheel made headlines
an espresso, rent a Santa Cruz Heckler, and explore
recently for creating
WHITE PINE TOURING
world-class trails. Vacation has never been easier.
its own Di2 electronic
BIKE GALLERY
Park City, UT
SPORTS GARAGE
mountain-bike drivetrain,
Portland, OR
Even locals have a hard time
Boulder, CO
but the shop is no flash
This independent chain
navigating Park City’s 350
Sports Garage’s employees
in the pan—it has been
offers some of the best
miles of singletrack, which
BICYCLE THERAPY
are passionate riders and
servicing Arizona riders
selection and service in
is why White Pine offers
Philadelphia
yet they still provide first-
for more than 35 years. Its
the Northwest. Even more
affordable guide services
What this compact shop
class customer service—a
Saturday Shoot Out rides
rare combination. Plus,
can draw upwards of 200
the store occupies a metal
riders—including several
Quonset hut. That’s
Cat-1 sandbaggers.
NASHVILLE BICYCLE
The demand for R&A’s
LOUNGE Nashville, TN
elite-level products is so
Like at an old speakeasy,
strong that employees
the entrance to NBL is hard
can, at times, exude a little
to find (hint: look around
snobbery. But those who
back), but once inside
roll with the Soup Nazi–
visitors reap their reward.
like customer service are
The shop offers free WiFi,
treated to a mind-boggling
a cozy lounge, and a fridge
selection of hard-to-find
full of Yazoo microbrew.
bikes and components.
More Great Shops
R
Portland, OR
iver City’s shrine to Eddy Merckx—complete with framed photos and votive candles—might be the first clue that it’s no ordinary bike shop. Or maybe the realization strikes earlier, when you first walk through the door and an employee greets you with a complimentary Americano. Q This Portland landmark also boasts one of the area’s largest selections of bikes and components. The 180 bikes on hand range from kids’ models to $14,000 Colnagos—each displayed on beautiful handmade wooden trays. Q Still questioning River City’s obsession to customer service? Follow the sounds of rolling tires upstairs, where an indoor track allows would-be buyers to test-drive their dream bike even while it’s pouring outside.
A STATE-BY-STATE LIST OF TOP RETAILERS THAT WILL KEEP YOU ROLLING
Cupertino Bike Shop, Cupertino, CA Surf City Cyclery, Huntington Beach, CA Palo Alto Bicycles, Palo Alto, CA Velotech Cycles, Palo Alto, CA Pasadena Cyclery, Pasadena, CA Mike’s Bikes, San Rafael, CA Helen’s Cycles, Santa Monica, CA ABicycle Odyssey, Sausalito, CA University Bicycles, Boulder, CO Pro Peloton, Boulder, CO Vecchio’s Bicicletteria, Boulder, CO Big Ring Cycles, Golden, CO Mountain Pedaler of Vail, Minturn, CO A color-coded key to these icons can be found on p. 62.
64
R O B E R T S O N
R&A CYCLES Brooklyn, NY
River City Bicycles
M I C H A E L
pretty rare, too.
th be st In le ex re
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Trail Head Cyclery
M
San Jose, CA
M I C H A E L
R O B E R T S O N
odern mountain biking was born in the hills of Marin County, California, but on the other side of the bay sits a modern testament to the sport’s steady growth. Trail Head is a 4,300-square-foot fat-tire emporium. Glass display cases are stuffed with the latest hubs, brakes, cranks, and pedals. Dozens of high-end frames hang from timber beams, and the shop’s tire selection is among the nation’s most expansive. While Trail Head stocks a few road bikes, most of its inventory is comprised of top-flight trail models from Ibis, Intense, Specialized, and Yeti. Q The staff helps the sport to keep growing by treating entrylevel riders with respect. Want proof? Mechanics put almost every bike they sell through an exhaustive, 114-point checklist that includes chasing and facing bottom-bracket threads and removing tires and tubes to properly true, tension, and dish wheels. Now that’s service.
BEHIND MANY OF THE BEST SHOPS IS AN EVEN BETTER SHOP DOG. AT TRAIL HEAD CYCLERY, TIARA WATCHES OVER THE STORE’S COLLECTION OF PREMIUM MOUNTAIN BIKES.
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L E S L I E
K E H M E I E R
ONE CURIOUS WAY TO GAUGE THE QUALITY OF A SHOP’S REPAIR DEPARTMENT IS TO CHECK ITS INVENTORY OF SPOKES. WHEAT RIDGE EASILY MAKES THE GRADE.
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Smart riders also stop on their way back: The Hub has six beers on tap.
Wheat Ridge Cyclery W heat Ridge, CO
T
BUDGET BICYCLE
hink of Wheat Ridge as FAO Schwartz for cyclists—at 30,000 square feet, it’s one of the largest shops in the country. Q The store stocks more than 1,500 bikes and its team of certified fit specialists operates out of six dedicated bays. Still, Wheat Ridge manages to retain a shop-next-door vibe by hosting movie screenings and organizing popular women’s events that draw hundreds. Q July might be the best time to visit, and not just because of the weather. Second-generation owner Ron Kiefel is a seven-time Tour de France finisher and often serves up live race commentary over coffee and croissants. Let’s see a toy store pull that off.
CENTER Madison, WI BBC has so many bikes, components, and accessories that its sprawling inventory occupies four separate storefronts: Two are stocked with new bikes, a third is dedicated to parts and service, and the fourth contains more than 2,000 vintage and used bikes— from turn-of-the-century high-wheelers to reconditioned track fixies.
lacks in square footage
while Ma Leipheimer dishes
POWER HOUSE Hailey, ID
its employees more than
out homemade cookies to
Power House may be the
make up for in exuberance.
weary racers.
only shop in the land with
Whether they are leading
a full-service restaurant
a discourse on carbon-
(try the grass-fed burgers)
fiber wheels or dishing out
FIRST FLIGHT BICYCLES
and liquor license (choose
straightforward advice to
Statesville, NC
from more than 140
first-time commuters, the
First Flight encourages its
beers). Owner Billy Olson
staffers at Bicycle Therapy
visitors to look up. Hanging
is a former elite amateur
speak with passion and
from 14-foot ceilings (and
road racer and veteran
expertise.
filling the entire second
mechanic who provides ex-
floor) are the 450 bikes
ceptional fitting services.
that comprise one of the THE OUTDOORSMAN
world’s largest vintage
Butte, MT
mountain-bike collections.
Owner Rob Leipheimer (yes, he’s Levi’s brother)
Metropolis does one thing,
offers such reliable service
THE HUB (AND PISGAH
and does it well: sell a
that his store has become
TAVERN) Brevard, NC
boatload of cruisers. More
a regular stop for the
This shop on the edge of
than 300 balloon-tire
hundred or so riders who
Pisgah National Forest is a
models occupy the sales
travel through Butte during
launching point for riders
floor, and any of them can
the annual Great Divide
venturing onto the area’s
be pimped out with custom
race. Rob repairs bikes
steep, technical trails.
paint jobs and pinstriping.
Recycled Cycles
K E H M E I E R
B L E S L I E
METROPOLIS BIKES North Hollywood, CA
GOOD SHOP BAD SHOP FIVE WAYS TO TELL WHETHER YOUR LBS IS WORTHY OF YOUR BUSINESS
1. Your commuter wheels have microcracks at the spoke holes: Points you toward some $2,900 Zipp 808s. Suggests a similar, maybe slightly nicer, set of wheels than what you have. 2: The mechanic: Doesn’t shave yet and pronounces Campagnolo with a hard G. Has a well-organized tool bench. Bonus if she’s a woman. 3. You need a bike fit: A salesman asks you to stand over the frame, then says, “That looks pretty good.” Offers a range of services provided by certified fitters in a dedicated fit studio. 4. Your chainstay has snapped and you believe it should be covered under warranty: Salesman shouts to the mechanic, “Larry! Another JRA!” (That’s shop shorthand for just riding along, as in: “I was just riding along when my wheel exploded.” ) Processes the claim, keeps you up to date on its progress, and finds a way to keep you riding in the interim. 5. You flat while riding near the shop. You stop in to buy a tube and fix it: An employee guards the floor pump while informing you that your flat will cost $15 to fix. Escorts you to the air compressor and offers you a tire lever.—Joe Lindsey
Seattle
ack in 1994, commuting was booming in Seattle and demand for used bikes was surging, yet Craigslist and eBay were still ones and zeros in their developers’ minds. So business partners Steve Donahue and Scott Martini created Recycled Cycles to fill the void. Q At first, the small shop fit into a quaint space cut into an old boathouse on the edge of the city’s University Marina. Today Recycled occupies the entire waterfront building and sells hundreds of used bikes a year. Q Despite its growth, the shop still promotes self-sufficiency: It hosts popular after-hours maintenance classes, and on weekends it’s not uncommon to find a Microsoft executive standing alongside a University of Washington student, tilling through wooden bins of used quill stems and bottom brackets.
The Hub Bicycles, Athens,GA Get a Grip, Chicago Bicycle Garage Indy, Greenwood, IN Landry’s Bicycles, Boston Gear West Bike, Long Lake, MN The Hub, Minneapolis One on One, Minneapolis Big Shark Bicycle Company, St. Louis Maplewood Bicycle, St. Louis Greenstreet Cycles, Omaha, NE Strictly Bicycles, Fort Lee, NJ High Gear Cyclery, Stirling, NJ Bicycle World, Mt. Kisco, NY Full Moon Vista, Rochester, NY
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THE LEATHER COUCH, BAR TABLES, AND INVITING ATMOSPHERE AT OVER THE EDGE ENCOURAGE WEARY RIDERS TO RELAX AND HANG OUT FOR A WHILE.
mend it with the efficiency of
Chicago
Its mission is simple, and
a wartime field hospital.
Owner Manuel Tenorio
displayed prominently on a
has staffed his shop with
plaque inside: “To get you
knowledgeable, pas-
riding and keep you rolling by
GREAT LAKES CYCLING
sionate cyclists who can
offering the best products
AND FITNESS Ann Arbor, MI
skillfully sell fenders to
and service possible.” The
This megashop caters to
first-time riders during the
Trip backs up that lofty goal
everyone from neighbor-
week and lead advanced,
with bike safety, mainte-
hood kids to pro riders
shop-sponsored cyclocross
nance and education classes,
looking for a hand-built
clinics on the weekend.
frequent group rides, and
wheel. Stop by for Free
regular film screenings.
Beer Friday, or at any other time, for that matter—the 24-hour vending machine
ABSOLUTE BIKES Salida, CO
CHILI PEPPER BIKE SHOP
out front is stocked with
Located in a former feed
Moab, UT
tubes, energy bars, and
store that abuts the Ar-
From its fleet of top-shelf
other essentials.
kansas River, Absolute has
rental bikes to a staff that
become another trusted
treats out-of-towners like
stop for weary Great Divide
locals, this shop has every-
KRAYNICK’S BICYCLES
racers. Riders with more time
thing visitors to Moab need.
Pittsburgh
can hire one of the in-house
And if the technical terrain
Parts are piled high on all
guides and explore the
takes its toll on your bike
three floors of this quirky
fabled Monarch Crest Trail.
(and it will), Chili Pepper’s
shop and customers
Liberty Bicycles, Asheville, NC Mock Orange Bikes, Winston-Salem, NC Great Northern Bicycle Company, Fargo, ND Ride On, Wooster, OH Cycles Bikyle, Bryn Mawr, PA South Mountain Cycles & Coffee Bar, Emmaus, PA Bicycle Revolutions, Philadelphia Via Bicycle, Philadelphia Cadence Performance Cycling, Philadelphia Dirty Harry’s, Verona, PA Bicycle Sport Shop, Austin, TX
68
K E H M E I E R
T
housands of riders travel to southwest Colorado every year to sample Fruita’s famously intoxicating singletrack. And nearly every one of them makes a pilgrimage to Over the Edge. Q Inside, bar tables inlaid with trail maps help riders choose from an extensive menu of local rides. There is also a well-worn leather couch and a service area manned by ace mechanics who often create their own tools to solve hard-to-fix mechanicals. Vintage mountain and road bikes dangle from the high ceilings, but the spacious sales floor is reserved for carefully curated boutique models from Ibis, Knolly, Santa Cruz, and Turner. Q “We aren’t just trying to funnel people through the shop,” says OTE founder Troy Rarick. “We want you to hang out.” For 14 years, mountain bikers have been doing just that.
service department will
Santa Cruz, CA
L E S L I E
Over the Edge Sports Fruita, CO
BICYCLE TRIP JOHNNY SPROCKETS
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colony of bats. That’s be-
Mellow Johnny’s
W
Austin, TX
hen Lance Armstrong opens a bike shop, it’s bound to be a big deal— Texas big. Case in point: The brick structure that Mellow Johnny’s calls home once housed a sprawling Pearl Beer warehouse. Inside, everything is designed to create a welcoming atmosphere, from the precise placement of display cases to fine architectural features like the exposed I-beams overhead. In one corner, sunlight pours from expansive picture windows to illuminate a collection of Lance’s Tour de France bikes. Q The store attracts plenty of competitive riders, but the sales floor brims with nearly as many basketclad cruisers as it does carbon race models. And as Armstrong himself might say, it’s not just about the bikes—the store also offers Austin commuters showers and storage space.
years ago and now caters to
cause Sellwood’s entire floor
THE PEDAL HOUSE
commuters, tourists, and
is given over to a team of me-
Laramie, WY
other urbanites.
chanics who churn through
Adorning the exterior brick
countless repairs a day.
wall of this former saloon and brothel is a two-story-
WHEEL AND SPROCKET
tall mural of Thomas
Hales Corner, WI
FITZGERALD’S BICYCLE S
Stevens, a onetime local
Cycling trade groups
Jackson Hole, WY
who 124 years ago became
routinely rate this six-store
This store bills itself as a
the first man to ride a bike
chain as one of the best
neighborhood cycling pub
around the world. Pedal
outfits in the country.
and has the interior to back
House keeps his adventur-
While Wheel and
it up: Mechanics ply their
ous legacy alive, hand-
Sprocket’s size and profits
trade from behind a long
ing out free trail maps to
may garner recognition,
bar top, and dark mahogany
customers, doling out great
its community programs
fixtures frame the many
advice to beginners, and
bring customers back:
road and mountain bikes
supporting local racers.
The shop supports more
Freeze Thaw Cycles
S
State College, PA
ix years ago, two ambitious Penn State students began refurbishing used bikes in their dorm and selling them to fellow undergrads. Eventually, that homespun business evolved into Freeze Thaw, which is operated out of a bustling store in downtown State College. Q Although business is expanding, the shop owners still pride themselves on offering excellent service. Specialized frame-prep tools hang on a green tool board and are used to assemble every bike that passes through the shop, and the mechanics are meticulous about wheel builds. While the vast network of singletrack nearby helps sustain healthy mountain-bike sales, Freeze Thaw’s employees are as enthusiastic about selling commuter bikes as they are full-suspension models.
often need a flashlight to
country, and its three
navigate its narrow aisles.
weekly rides attract as
Prices are low, but bring
many as 200 cyclists—from
cash: Kraynick’s doesn’t
first-timers on hybrids to
take American Express or
pros training for national-
any other credit card.
level races.
NEBO RIDGE BICYCLES
SELLWOOD CYCLE
rides are legendary, partly
FAT TIRE FARM Portland, OR
and sponsors seven
West Carmel, IN
REPAIR Portland, OR
because they begin and end
This mountain-bike shop has
race teams.
Nebo hosts some of the
Dozens of bikes hang from
at Jackson’s Snake River
one of the nation’s largest
largest group rides in the
Sellwood’s ceiling like a
Brewery next door.
selections of suspension
than 20 charity rides
for sale. Fitzgerald’s group
Bicycle Habitat
T
New York City
L E S L I E
K E H M E I E R
here was a time when riding in New York meant dodging taxis and avoiding wheel-swallowing potholes. Q Thankfully, the recent influx of bike lanes has improved the situation somewhat. Few people have worked as tirelessly to catalyze that positive change as Bicycle Habitat’s Charlie McCorkel. His store on Lafayette Street has been a key force in pushing for a more bike-friendly New York since it opened in 1978. Q Visitors are greeted by 5,000 square feet of showroom space where mechanics in the open-air service area operate with the vigor of short-order cooks, efficiently turning out gleaming new bikes—many going to new riders. For more than 30 years, the Habitat has been making New York more bikefriendly. It’s great to see the city is finally catching up.
forks, disc brakes, and
BIKE PEDDLER
knobby tires. And its service
Santa Rosa, CA
department is so good that
Three decades ago, the
the other 60 shops in town
Peddler became the first
have been known to bring
shop outside Marin County
its mechanics their hardest
to sell production moun-
suspension fixes.
tain bikes, and it recently doubled down on the category, moving all road bikes
VELO CULT San Diego, CA
to its sister shop, NorCal
What began as a garage-
Bike Sport. Service man-
born hobby restoring and
ager Abe Driedger has been
selling classic bikes has
there for 35 years, which
turned into an institution
means there’s absolutely
in downtown San Diego.
nothing he can’t fix.
Veteran mechanic Sky Boyer opened Velo five
Reasearch by Kayla Chagnon
Bikesport, Houston West End Bicycles, Houston Contender Bicycles, Salt Lake City Altitude Cycle, Vernal, UT Earl’s Cyclery and Fitness, South Burlington, VT Freshbikes, Arlington, VA The Bike Lane, Reston, VA Just the Right Gear, Salem, VA Fanatik Bike Co., Bellingham, WA Greg’s Greenlake Cycles, Seattle Cory the Bike Fixer, Milwaukee Bluedog Cycles, Verona, WI SEE THE BEST-OF-THE-BEST SHOPS AND A MAP OF ALL 100 AT BICYCLING.COM/BESTSHOPS.
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