Southern California - Not to miss bike stores in LA?

..or more specifically SFV. I'm thinking places with classic bikes on the walls, older knowledgeable staff, consignment fleet, or anything that sets it above the bike dept at Sport Chalet.

Thanks in advance, Jan

Haven't found one yet. I don't think they exist in SoCal.

For bike history stuff, I've heard that the vintage bikes at Velo Pasadena are pretty cool... http://velopasadena.com/page.cfm?pageID=115

Otherwise, there are a whole bunch of high end bike shops tha I know of on the west side: Veloworx, Helen's, Cynergy..., and others in variosu spots in LA for sure.

Classic bikes= last years inventory deeply discounted

At least here in So Cal.

Sounds like you're looking for a museum, some docens, and frame builders who work mostly with steel. So Calif might have some of those but not in one place.

Check out Palms Cyclery near Venice and Motor in West L.A. They love classic and vintage bikes there, and have a fleet that they rent out for movie shoots. I stop by there every once in a while just to look around.

Thanks for the suggestions. Palms Cycle is now on the to-do list.

There is one, but I have only been there once. Need to find the card for it. Owned by the guy who invented the pedal that puts your foot centered on the spindle. And his new wheel is going to be amazing! He has all sorts of old stuff, plus the new stuff. Somewhere near Pasadena. Anyone know the shop I'm talking about?

if you're on the westside, go to Veloworx in Venice. usually there's a number of unbelievable bikes in there and the owner is as knowledgable (and nice) as they come. last time i was in there they had a cali Masi with 50th ann. campy, a Sachs (in my size) frame for 1800$, a vanilla, i forget what else. plus they always have nice modren bikes, like the limited edition Mondrian/La vie claire LOOK 595 that made me burn with lust.

There is one, but I have only been there once. Need to find the card for it. Owned by the guy who invented the pedal that puts your foot centered on the spindle. And his new wheel is going to be amazing! He has all sorts of old stuff, plus the new stuff. Somewhere near Pasadena. Anyone know the shop I'm talking about?

That's Open Road Bike Shop, and the guy is Steve L. The shop is on Sierra Madre just north of Colorado on the east side of the street. The shop is an interesting experience, and he's a good place to find weird parts that may have been discontinued years ago.

Maybe also check out Ted's Manhattan Beach Bike Shop -- I've never been in the shop but Ted has scrapbooks of racing in SoCal and the US going way back to the 6-days.

the last great shop was Carnevale's Bike Rack in Huntington Beach.. That shop was loaded with unbelievable bikes..

So working on a recent build I thought I would try to spread some of the wealth and pick up a few parts at my lbs, but prices are friggin outrageous, In some cases double what I can find on eBay and other online retailers. I want to support our local bike infrastructure, and in general I'm cool with trying to do as much as you can local, but it is a tough pill to swallow. Anyone else have this moral dilemma?

So working on a recent build I thought I would try to spread some of the wealth and pick up a few parts at my lbs, but prices are friggin outrageous, In some cases double what I can find on eBay and other online retailers. I want to support our local bike infrastructure, and in general I'm cool with trying to do as much as you can local, but it is a tough pill to swallow. Anyone else have this moral dilemma?


Yes...I did a build a couple of months ago...I bought a few things, but I wanted to give my lbs (Budget Bikes) some business....
So I had them do the groupset, fork, stem , bars and seat post...I know i could have saved lots of $$ but I felt I needed to run some of this thru them...the labor charges were very cheap...I cant imagine they make much on that...

I just heard the Redhawk Cycles in temecula had to close....

Haven't come across a fleet of classics, but the the guy who owns/runs Glendale Cyclery has been around for many years. Alternate on the '68 olympic team, and suspect through past conversations that he's been in the retail end of business for decades.
Why do you ask? Putting together a coffee table book?
And if you go to Open Road, Foes is directly behind...if you have an interest in mtn bikes.

J&M bike shop in bell gardens and pats cyclery

That's Open Road Bike Shop, and the guy is Steve L. The shop is on Sierra Madre just north of Colorado on the east side of the street. The shop is an interesting experience, and he's a good place to find weird parts that may have been discontinued years ago.

Bingo! THE shop to go to!!! Thanks