Long Beach Bike Shops

[GamecockTaco]

So, gonna be going on a Disney cruise next month. We'll be staying at the Westin, Long Beach (E. Ocean Blvd) for a day or so and I'd like to visit a shop or two whilst I'm out there.

Anything good and close to where we'll be? Particularly, anything with extended Sat. hours (going to see Dodgers/Cubs Sat. early afternoon).

Thanks.

Scott

[mateo44]

There's a JAX Bicycle Center on Bellflower Blvd. Map and stuff here:

http://jaxbicycles.com/

[WhiteCarbonDude]

Not Long Beach but just down the street. Nice pro shop.

http://www.kingsbikestore.com/

[haimtoeg]

Not Long Beach but just down the street. Nice pro shop.

http://www.kingsbikestore.com/

King's is a good store. Are you looking to buy anything specific or just to visit?

[Blastinbob]

Nothing good and close to downtown that I know of. Blah Jax, Kings is ok but not near where you will be staying. You can shoot by Helens on the way back if you cut across the 105 to the 405.


http://www.helenscycles.com/fly.aspx?lnav=3&layout=content&contentid=86&email=true

[Jancouver]

I just checked the website. Cant believe how expensive their tune up services are. "Overhaul" is $375. Are you kidding me!?

[obie]

Jones Bikes on E.2nd St. has been around a long time. Near the funky, good old beach towns of Belmont Shores & Naples (on the LB border) . Fun section of town - near the beach bike path (that will take you out to the Queen Mary and Shoreline Village).

Lots to do around this part of town - bike the beach path, then hit one of many restaurants around 2nd street. Great S.Cal beach scene around here. Classic.

[Cleave]

Hello GamecockTaco,

First a disclaimer: Kings Bike Store is one of my club's sponsors.

Kings is primarily an "old-fashioned" pro shop. They primarily carry high-end road bikes but they also offer bikes and parts for the single-speed / fixie crowd. All of the employees are bike enthusiasts and ride regularly. Their head mechanic is as good as I've seen in all of my years of cycling. If you have a high end bike and want it maintained or repaired right, go to Kings. The shop is in Seal Beach which is a great little beach town. Main Street in Seal Beach has a number of restaurants and shops. Kings is about 6 miles from your hotel.

JAX was a neighborhood type bike shop until they hit it big. Now they have a number of stores in SoCal. IMHO, they have grown too much to cater to enthusiasts. I generally find that their employees, though pleasant enough, are not as knowledgeable about cycling as I would expect. I have gone there looking for small parts and I always have to go into detailed explanations on what I need. They have a much larger variety of bikes than Kings and they are a Trek dealer. I haven't been there in over a year. There also isn't much to see near JAX unless you're into Kmart. They are about 7 miles from your hotel as the car drives.

Jones is very much a neighborhood bike shop. You'll find beach cruisers, kids' bike, skateboards, and lowrider bikes there. Nice enough people run the shop. It is in a great section of Long Beach, Belmont Shore, where there are a bunch of restaurants and funky places to window shop. They are about 3.5 miles from your hotel and you would pass right by them if you were going to Kings.

Hope this helps.

[Cleave]

Jones Bikes on E.2nd St. has been around a long time. Near the funky, good old beach towns of Belmont Shores & Naples (on the LB border) . Fun section of town - near the beach bike path (that will take you out to the Queen Mary and Shoreline Village).

Lots to do around this part of town - bike the beach path, then hit one of many restaurants around 2nd street. Great S.Cal beach scene around here. Classic.

Hi obie,

Just an FYI. Belmont Shore and Naples are part of LB. :)

[GamecockTaco]

thanks for all of your responses. I'm not looking to buy while out there, just to visit and get a look at other shops. We'll be boarding a boat the next day, so I'm really just looking to do some window shopping and such, nothing serious.

again, thanks for the help. We fly in LATE Fri. 6/6 and board the boat on Sunday the 8th. So, that leaves me some of Saturday, but we are also going to the Dodgers/Cubs game that day (I think it is a 1:00 start).

Can anybody clue me in on how long it will take to get from our hotel to Dodger Stadium on a Saturday? That'll play into how much time I have to look around and play at bike shops and such.

Also, my wife and daughter will be going to the American Girl store, anything I should know about that? Other than take away the plastic before they go?? :)

[JTGraphics]

If it were me visiting this general area I'd go to this area and you'll have 3 large bike stores all in the same area it's all right off the 405 fwy with in a few miles of each other. Performance Bike and Bicycle Discovery are next to one another you can walk to each.
Get back on the 405 North and exit Warner Ave or Magnolia and go to Surf City Cycler "SPECIALIZED BICYCLE SUPERSTORE"
To go to Dodger game get back on 405 to 110 north.
Traffic will be heavy on Saturday as you get close to LA and Dodger Stadium I'd give myself a good 1 1/2 hour maybe 2 to make sure I get to the game before it starts.
If time permits you can also go to Jax in Long Beach since you'll be passing it that would be the Bellflower exit on the 405 its about 1 mile off the fwy. to the North.

Performance Bike @ 8850 Warner Ave, Fountain Valley, CA 92708 Phone: (714) 842-3480
Bicycle Discovery 8800 Warner Ave Fountain Valley, CA 92708 (714) 841-1366‎

Surf City Cyclery 7470 Edinger Ave, Huntington Beach, CA Phone: 714-842-1717 "SPECIALIZED BICYCLE SUPERSTORE"

If time permits: Jax Bike Center 3000 Bellflower Blvd. Long Beach, CA 90808 (562) 421-4646

These bike stores are about a 15 min drive on the fwy. from Long Beach so its not far from were you are. But you have very limited time have fun on your trip in any case!.

[obie]

Hi obie,

Just an FYI. Belmont Shore and Naples are part of LB. :)

Hah, that's right. I always think of B. Shores as a town unto itself. Naples? For the life of me I have no idea where it starts and where it ends. I just dig that whole area so much, thanks for the heads-up!

[CritEastwood]

Jones or Kings

Jax = joke with a bunch of clueless college dweeb employees

[BikeDork02]

Jones or Kings

Jax = joke with a bunch of clueless college dweeb employees

Can I ask what you base that on? I know all the employees and only a few are still in college and they arn't clueless. They are much smarter than you or I, they don't read these forums. =P

[CritEastwood]

Can I ask what you base that on? I know all the employees and only a few are still in college and they arn't clueless. They are much smarter than you or I, they don't read these forums. =P

Every time I decide to give Jerx another chance, some zitty college know-nothing always blows it for them again. I'm done wasting my time with even walking through the door of that sad joke. Keep drinking your trek kool-aid though, it looks good on you.