General Cycling Discussion - good bike shops in Toronto?

Hi Bike Forum,

I am posting here after a suggestion from someone on the rec.bicycles.misc newsgroup. My dad lives in Toronto and my brothers and I are trying to find a good bike shop there to buy him a bike or give him a gift certificate to buy a bike. He is a recreational biker and I'm thinking he would probably be interested in a hybrid-commuter type of bike -- something easy to ride around but which can also take the bumps of a city. (His last bike was a Peugot he bought in France in 1974 or something...) So, we're not looking to get him a serious racing or moutain bike, but something well-made -- we figure we can spend about $ 400-500 USD.

Anyone know of a good shop that would handle this kind of transaction? We all live in the States pretty far away from Toronto, so would have to do this via web or phone. It would be ideal to get him a gift certificate since then he can go into a shop and choose the best bike for him.

Thanks for any help.


By the way, to the webmaster of this site, this is without a doubt the most sophisticated and well-constructed "public" bulletin board I have ever seen on the web. Nice work!

Hi Joe , welcome to the forums , I hope you enjoy your time here , to my knowledge no forum members actually live in Toronto, I would try doing a search on the net for bike shops in that area , good luck .

I'm a Montrealer [un vrais Montrealais de souche, estie!], so I don't know too much about bike shops in Hogtown. However, some that I have HEARD of are...

La Bicicletta (http://www.labicicletta.com/) at 2109 Bloor Street West, (416) 762-2679. I've generally heard good things about this one.

Velotique (http://www.velotique.com/) at 1592 Queen St. E. [near the Beaches, I guess], (416) 466-3171. I know nothing about these folks, but they have a pretty good Web site.

Gears Bike shop in Port Credit [near-ish Toronto], which sponsors a pretty well-regarded MTB team...

Not much, but that's what I have.

Originally posted by joe-r

By the way, to the webmaster of this site, this is without a doubt the most sophisticated and well-constructed "public" bulletin board I have ever seen on the web. Nice work!

There you go, Joe! Doesn't that make up for having to put up with the rest of us?:D

Maybe Orguasch can help us out here, he's in TO.

Welcome to BFC joe-r, we all think the forums and especially the janitor...er, webmaster, are pretty good, too!

Aww, thanks! :D

"Stop trying to select a bike and start trying to select your bicycle specialist." I think your best bet in this situation would be to call a handful of bike shops in Toronto. Let them know about the situation, find a shop that specialize in recreational riding. You dont need a shop that is going to carry $5k road bikes, or $3k mtn bikes.

I would also defiantly go with the gift certificate, purchasing a bike is a personally thing (see threads on bike fit). I think you would be much better off finding a good bike shop, then going with a gift certificate.

Good luck with the purchase! :)

I was considering mentioning both of those shops (I've actually patronised la bicicletta before), but both of them are pretty road bike oriented. I doubt either store stocks much else, or any bikes under about $1200 canadian.

Hey, thanks to all for the advice. I have found a bunch of places and have called or will call them. It seems like Toronto has the highest per capita # of bike shops in N. America! Too much to choose from, almost...

RE: this forum, I was talking about the form not the content!:) :) (though I'm sure the content lives up to the standard set by the form!)

Originally posted by joe-r
Hey, thanks to all for the advice. I have found a bunch of places and have called or will call them. It seems like Toronto has the highest per capita # of bike shops in N. America!
No... that would be Montreal, actually.:D

There are quite a few actually...

Go here:

http://www.yellowpages.sympatico.ca/bin/cgidir.dll?MEM=800&FUNC=INPROG&C=bicycle&TTL=Location&DIR=toronto&AT=ON&cid=352&TYPE=Search

I just read my private message and got hold of the good bike shop in Toronto, I hope is not to late, I can mentiuon to a couple of good bike shop right here in Toronto, there is Dukes Bike shop at queen street/Bathurst Stree, they deal with Cannondale Bikes, and there is La Bicicleta along Bloor street, also can sell you hybrid and MTB, Racer Sportiff also along Bloor street, Pedlar Bike Shop is Located at Avenue Road and the bike shop I really patronized is Pavan Cycle, which is located at matheson Blvd., in Missasauga, if you need more information I will go out of my way to get there Telephone Number.

Another good one is called Wheels of Bloor 416-762-9119. They are a smaller shop but are helpful and know their stuff. They sell mostly commuters and Mountain bikes.

How did I miss this post? :confused:

You meant Toronto, Ohio right? :D

If you get a chance to get to London, Ontario you will find a really top end bike shop there called Champion Bicycles. They carry all the top end bikes and they have some of the best prices anywhere. They will beat any other advertised price.

Here is the site address:

www.cbss.ca

hi.. i bought my bike at Dukes.. not bad.. a little pricey but service was great..
for a good selection of bikes..including fs and xc....
www.cyclesolutions.com
they are really nice ppl and there is two locations.

Thanks again to everyone for their suggestions, I'm sorry to say I stop monitoring this thread after I decided on a bike shop in mid-Jan. And, the place I ultimately chose was . . . Spinning Wheels on Carleton St. They were very nice and seemed to have a pretty good selection of "comfort bikes" which is the exact fit for my dad (they also have a 2 year warranty under which they do maintenance and repairs for free). Best of all, they are just a few blocks from his place in Toronto. Needless to say he was very excited and is waiting for winter to tail off to take his new bike out.