Southeast - Good LBS @ Atlanta

Hello! I live in Texas but have a good friend in the Atlanta area (Alpharetta to be exact) that is looking to buy a pair of bikes --probably hybrids or comfort bikes would be my guess. Can y'all recommend a good bike shop in the area with a good mechanic?

http://www.bicyclesouth.com/

Bicycle South is not a good shop. I live a few miles from them and have been there many, many times and cannot recommend them.

I work at Intown Bicycles (http://www.intownbicycles.com) near midtown Atlanta and would have to recommend my shop.
If that's too far to drive I'd recommend Cycleworks (http://cycleworksinc.com/) or Roswell Bicycles (http://www.roswellbicycles.com/). Both are great shops. :thumb:

For someone in Alpharetta (way north of town) I would not travel to Bike South. There is a Performance Bike in the Alpharetta area. The two RonH mentioned are also just outside the I285 perimeter and north of town a little closer to Alpharetta. Suggest using Google for the Alpharetta area and see the map for bicycle shops. There are quite a few shops up north of Atlanta.

For basic hybrid bikes. Though I'd never get a REI bike unless they had some Cannondale Lefties for $50. For a basic bike that isn't going to see major offroad use I wouldn't rule them out. REI is usually too expensive for anything but sometimes they have killer sales worth checking out. But LBSs will usually do lifetime tuneups on your bike which makes a local purchase well worth it.

And many bike shops will negotiate the price down or you can get a free helmet thrown in.

2 bike shops I am in love with are Outback Bikes and Apalachee cycles. Both of them are nothing but great guys (Tons of charity work) and don't act like bike snobs for coming in and not wanting a $4k dual suspension. Outback is located in Little 5 in Midtown Atlanta and Hamilton Mill on I-85 north of hte Mall of Georgia. Apalachee is located in Dacula which is south of Hamilton Mill.

Apalachee also has a lot of good demos for sale almost all the time.

Thanks for all the advice y'all. I will pass this to my friend in Atlanta. :)

Thanks for all the advice y'all. I will pass this to my friend in Atlanta. :)

If they have a REI membership the Atlanta REI is having a scratch and dent sale the 28th.

Roswell bikes is always busy but once you can get to somebody they are helpful. Performance is going to be about the best prices and selection for entry-midline bikes and they are having a sale this weekend. There is also Free Flite. www.Freeflite.com (http://www.Freeflite.com) in Marietta Dan the owner does a lot for the bicycle community.

After they get a bike have them go hit Big Creek trails.

Paved: http://alpharetta.ga.us/index.php?p=136

Dirt: http://www.bikeroswell.com/Maps/bigcreek_Mtn_Bike_trail.pdf

I stopped by REI after I ran a 5k there in Atlanta. I had no clue a scratch and dent sale was going on. I was tempted to go check it out but I heard them call out numbers in groups of 10 and I was 272. When I got there they were calling out the low 100s. Got a decent pair of REI used boots for $35 (Normally $90). Usually their boots are mucked up sizes when they are on sale. It'll range from a mens 6-9 and then skip to 12+ leaving my size (11) nowhere to be found.

They did have the bikes and shoes seperated from their other stuff. I didn't look at the bikes cause I was going to be pissed if I saw a killer deal knowing I couldn't get it.

I stopped by REI after I ran a 5k there in Atlanta. I had no clue a scratch and dent sale was going on. I was tempted to go check it out but I heard them call out numbers in groups of 10 and I was 272. When I got there they were calling out the low 100s. Got a decent pair of REI used boots for $35 (Normally $90). Usually their boots are mucked up sizes when they are on sale. It'll range from a mens 6-9 and then skip to 12+ leaving my size (11) nowhere to be found.

They did have the bikes and shoes seperated from their other stuff. I didn't look at the bikes cause I was going to be pissed if I saw a killer deal knowing I couldn't get it.

I got there and they were calling 280's LOL I was 388. Picked up a set of Novara Commuter panniers for $55. Absolutely nothing wrong with them other then the X they put on them for the scratch and dent. Apparently they got separated. One was marked did not fit bike and the other was marked missing match. in different piles.

They had a couple older Giant bikes for $94. There was a couple good deals including a new assembled K2 road bike in the back in a size small marked $599 sale new price was $1100.

What time did you get there? I was there around 11 or so when they were calling out the low 100s.

What sucked is a buddy of mine called me about 2-3 hours after I left and said he was stopping by the Apalachee bicycles to look at bikes. If he told me he was looking sooner I would have scoped out some nice Cannondales and got him to get one under my name. Again normally I would never buy a bike from REI because I like the LBSs and their better service (Free tune ups for life FTW), but sometimes you can't beat their deals and it becomes worth it.

I think if you stood in a line they allowed people in ahead of their number. But I wasn't going to spend an hour amid a sea of The North Face to get kicked in the face for eyeballing a pair of Shimano mtb shoes.