Bike shops near DC?

[ax0n]

My good childhood friend is back in town this week and he's interested in taking up bike commuting. He lives and works just a short hop off of the WO&D, And after talking about what kind of riding he plans on doing, we've narrowed it down to a cyclocross bike.

While he's here in town, he is going to try to find one that he likes, but he won't buy anything until he gets back home. Anyone know of an LBS around Reston (or any other outlying areas, really) that would have a decent 'cross bike selection? I don't know the area all that well (only been out there once), and he doesn't know anything about bike shops.

TIA
--Noah

[barndoor]

http://www.proteusbicycles.com/
They are in College Park , Maryland.

Jill, the owner, is very nice to deal with....I highly recommend them.

[buelito]

Spokes is in Vienna, Performance Bikes is in Reston, A1-Cycle is in Herndon, TriNergy is in Sterling, PedalShop is in Ashburn... as far as which sells cross bikes, I think they all do-- although if your friend is riding on the W&OD he really doesn't need a cross bike-- a road bike will probably be better, as it is all paved... However, everyone likes different things.

Hope he finds what he needs (I commute the W&OD 48 miles a day when I rede-- on a fixie)

train safe-

[ax0n]

well for commuting he could get away with anything, but he wants to be able to do some light off-road, have braze-ons for fenders and a rack, and is looking for something a little more rugged. I'll let him know. Thanks for your help :)

[ks1g]

Sounds like your friend would want a touring bike or a cross bike to handle the non-paved stuff, although the cross bike may require some creativity to add the fenders and rack. Bike shops on/near/accessible from the W&OD, heading east to west:
Vienna: Spokes Etc. (http://www.spokesetc.com), Bikes@Vienna (http://www.bikesatvienna.com)
Reston: Performance Bikes
Herndon: A-1 Cycles (http://www.a1cycling.com)
Ashburn: Pedal Shop (http://www.pedalshop.com), Spokes Etc. (http://www.spokesetc.com)
Leesburg: Bicycle Outfitters (http://www.bikeoutfitters.com), Plum Grove Cyclery (http://www.plumgrovecyclery.com)
Purcelville: Trails End (http://www.trailsendcycling.com)

Potomac Pedalers Touring Club (http://www.bikepptc.org) has rides every weekend and some weekdays. Some of the rides use follow unpaved roads in Loudon County, where a touring, cross, mountain, or 650B bike would be needed (or at least the tire widths). The C&O Canal towpath is a flat gravel/double track route from Cumberland MD to Georgetown (184 miles).

Two other ideas your friend may want to consider. 1) the Jamis Coda (sold as a "performance hybrid") includes models that can accommodate fenders and racks, and is available with flat or drop bars depending on the model. My son has one and it would make an excellent commuter and light tourer/non-technical off road bike. 2) Get a bike designed for commuting and pick up a hardtail MTB for the offroad stuff.