Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Bike shops in Baltimore?

I'm going to be at MICA Thursday through Sunday and I got some cash to blow. What's the best bike shop(s) around that area?

for fixed/ss stuff go to Broadway bikes. Joe's in Mt. Washington is also a cool place, but doesn't have near the track stuff that broadway does.

^^ on da $$. I also like Light street cycle, but I think I am in a minority there. Not much fixed/ss stuff but they have a few things. The wrenches there keep me coming back because they are all real down to earth and have helped me with rides and weren't arrogant about it. Good people. Shop Gentei (http://www.shopgentei.com/web/shop/) is another and real close to MICA.

Good advice above. Here's my take on the shops:

Shop Gentei: Rare, hard to find, super-dope track bling. Don't go looking for tires and tubes and regular stuff. The dope rareness goes for the shoes, tshirts, and clothes, too. It's a boutique, not a bike shop. It's about 1/2 mile from MICA.

Light Street: Good People, good mechanics, close to inner harbor (about 2 miles from MICA). Your basic local bike shop.

Broadway: Lots of stuff in stock. About 2 miles from inner harbor. Maybe 3.5 miles from MICA. Don't show up at closing time. They'll darn near lock you in.

Mt Washington: High-end roadie and MTB stuff. Great mechanics, friendly. Not much fixed/track stuff in stock. About 5-7 miles away.

Thanks, you guys have been a huge help.

Since you'll be at MICA, might be cool for you to check out the velocipede (http://velocipedebikeproject.org/) co-op...

also, I work at Light Street and am a "good person" who rides and works a lot on singlespeed and fixed bikes. However, the place can be quite trying at times, depending on who you are dealing with.

+1,000 for Velocipede. Check it out, make friends, and have fun. Learn, work, help, ride.



I clocked a quarter century in Bmore, before my recent move.

In this order:

Broadway.

Light Street.

Joe's in Mt. Washington.

I have a buddy who works at Race Pace in Ellicott City, but if he didn't work there I'd never go.

Steer the f*ck clear of Princeton Sports & Travel, unless you only need a silly little part and everyone else is closed.

Broadway: Lots of stuff in stock. About 2 miles from inner harbor. Maybe 3.5 miles from MICA. Don't show up at closing time. They'll darn near lock you in.
Haha, yeah they will, but it's not so bad. :D

Since you'll be at MICA, might be cool for you to check out the velocipede (http://velocipedebikeproject.org/) co-op...

also, I work at Light Street and am a "good person" who rides and works a lot on singlespeed and fixed bikes. However, the place can be quite trying at times, depending on who you are dealing with.

I'm only here until Sunday for my sisters art show deal, so a co-op isn't going to work out - but I'll keep that in mind though when I come up here to visit.

I went to Gentei today and it was really cool (there was this rasta'd out dude old enough to be my dad on a track bike with spinergys front/rear hanging outside). I went to Joe's also, but that was defiantly better suited towards mtb bike guys I think.

Despite the girl pant wearing/scarf accesorizing hipsters, the fixed scene seems to be pretty cool here (relative to my hometown, where the entire scene is me). Tomorrow im going to walk or be brave and use the MTA so I can check out Broadway.

http://static.flickr.com/26/65272759_2695278a4b.jpg

So I took the MTA to the harbour and some dude told me if I followed Pratt, I'd run into broadway. He forgot to tell I'd also run into the ghetto and get swarmed by thugs and get raped on the street corner and die.

Dustin's post is funny but this place is ****ing ridiculous. Maybe if iI have my roadbike instead of birkenstock clogs, I'll be able to make it through the ghetto this summer. Better luck next time right?

hahaha, you totally got played on that one. baltimore is a nuts town, hence homicide, the wire, and I think one other show. oh and stop snitchin came from here as well. heroine capital (or was, I think that's shifted away from us). oh and are homicide rate may seem small, but earlier this year there was a huge stink because the cops weren't reporting half of the violent crimes that were happening...

GET IN ON IT!

you could have walked along the water to fell's point. Would have been totally chill.

Yep, Pratt gets yucky on the way to Broadway, where you cross Caroline & go through the low-rise complex. You should see a couple blocks north, on Jefferson. Ouch.

So, did you make it to the shop? No? I mean, I walk around the city in flip-flops all summer long, and have never had any problems, but hey. Easy to see how you'd be uncomfortable.
Now, to find some comparably horrible parts of Philly, and I'll feel right at home.

So I took the MTA to the harbour and some dude told me if I followed Pratt, I'd run into broadway. He forgot to tell I'd also run into the ghetto and get swarmed by thugs and get raped on the street corner and die.

Hahahaha!

Yeah, Baltimore can get really sketchy really fast. The best advice is: Keep moving and pray you don't get a flat. And if anybody says, "Hey, can I ride your bike?" Haul azz.

Next time, take Pratt to President and make a right. Then left on Fleet street and continue on to Broadway. The shop is on the left when you get to Broadway.

The Rasta dude at Gentei is Tank. A very cool dude.

gentei bummed me out when I went in there, I mean it's a pretty sweet looking half with grass in the middle?? what? ok, sure fine, grass indoors whatever, put some wood there and skate that damn thing!

^good advice, i was going to say the same thing about taking fleet, which is about 3 blocks down, and it's clean all the way across, at least until past patterson park.

not to threadjack, but any of you folks be down for some bike polo? i've had a hankerin' since it started warming up...

i could be interested... i'd need to build a bike for it, and a mallet.

yeh baltimore get your polo game right

dc has been practicing for a minute now (and actually competed in this weekend's ESPI in NYC), but we still ain't ****.

let's set up a mini tourney for this summer philly/baltimore/dc

you pretty boy/girl dc kids better be prepared for baltimore.

baltimore polo mallet...
http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/lf/Images/2_0/22.jpg

gentei bummed me out when I went in there, I mean it's a pretty sweet looking half with grass in the middle?? what? ok, sure fine, grass indoors whatever, put some wood there and skate that damn thing!

Yeah, thats wheat grass in the middle of the ramp. Actually, it's designed so that they can easily replace the deck and skate it after this design theme is replaced.

Don't worry. It will get skated for sure!

baltimore bike polo? I'm probably down. I've never played.

it's funny because there is another baltimore bike polo group (I found it the first time I heard about bike polo). This group seems pretty gentlemanly. The next group I heard about was axles of evil in portland. It seems like 2 different games. I was going to roll out and check it out, but I'd be much more into something inside the city.

it seems like there is a pretty big contrast between the 2. (http://home.att.net/%7Eaaronbalto/polo.htm)


http://home.att.net/%7Eaaronbalto/cville.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/180/479131481_9c69f5c45b.jpg

i've seen the bike polo guys above, they run a MTB oriented game in grass fields. i wanna run some asphalt fixie games.

i am interested in this bike polo in baltimore as well..

another friend and i were discussing it last night..
let's do it!