advice on bike shops in portland

[lukathonic]

I'm coming down to Portland this weekend, and plan to pick up a bike.

I'm looking for a entry/mid level touring/commuter, with drop bars. Under $1000, used if I happen on the right deal (craigslist?). The Novara Randonee, Bianchi Volpe, Fuji Touring and a few others have caught my eye so far. So question is, which shops should I visit?

I plan to go REI to try out the Randonee ... what other shops should I go to? River City seems to have a good selection. Bike Gallery? Others?

by the way, if you know anyone selling a bike that fits my specs I would love to see it. 57cm?

Your advice is appreciated. Thanks ~

[mike_khad1]

If you're looking for used, I'd take a look at City Bikes and Sellwood Cycle Repair.

[dtrain]

You'd have a lot more used options in a traditional road bike. Sellwood's stock is online. Community Cycling Center has some stuff.

You'll find new Bianchi's at Lakeside and River City. You might consider looking at a Specialized Sequoia while you are at River City has well (kind of a Jack of all trades road bike). Bike Gallery has an annual spring sale going in a couple weeks. You might get them you cut you a deal a little early. They have all the Trek models and probably some touring stuff.

Personally, I'd go for something like this used triple - but I don't know how strongly you feel tied to a 'touring' frame:

http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/bik/609278316.html

I've have very good luck on craigslist - including both Bianchi's listed in my sig.

[dtrain]

Actually, a Volpe was just posted as well. I don't know if it's your size, or if the price is that great, but it's probably worth a look:

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/bik/610187692.html

{edit} They just added the size to the ad. At 61cm it's probably a bit large.

[nuovorecord]

Sellwood Cycle is a good suggestion. Their site is www.sellwoodcycle.com

[TBatty]

Sellwood was helpful when my wife was shopping for her first "real" road bike, but my favorite LBS is the Woodstock Bike Gallery. They can pull stock from any other BG location, and the staff at Woodstock has always treated my wife and I, a couple of almost-middle-aged cycling novices, extremely well.

[chrischross]

Ditto on Sellwood Cyclery. They had a nice used Fuji Cyclocross Pro in there last week for $1,100, Ultegra group set.

Nice folks too. I ended up with an entry level REI Novara Divano due to budget constraints, but for the money, that Fuji is really the "one that got away". Once my wheels on the Divano wear out, I'm definitely having Sellwood build me a set of Mavic Open Pros.

[PdxGecko]

Be sure to drop by Veloce on SE Hawthorne. He has some used and new bikes. He'll fit you to the bike and swap out stems and handelbars on new bikes to make sure the fit is right. Most shops charge for a fit, charge to swap out parts or do a "stand over" fit". A bike that dosen't fit is no bargain!