Northeast - Best bike shops in NYC?

I am going to be in NYC next week, and I am hoping to squeeze in a visit to a bike shop or two. If they allow test rides, even better.

Best I don't know

Bicycle Habitat and http://mrccycles.com/. I would not come from out of town to see them.

These are interesting.

http://www.velobrooklyn.com/products.html

http://bfold.com/

Beats me what the best are, but don't bother above the 80s.

actually will need to disagree with noteon

Modsquad bikes is probably one of the friendliest places i've ever been to. They carry Felt, Fuji, and Orbea bikes. The location is Frederick Douglass & 114th & you can take the B & C trains to get there

Never even heard of them! Nice to know.

Sid's seems OK. Toga's big (a decent "showroom," as opposed to something like Habitat, which feels more like an "old-school, down-and-dirty" neighborhood shop). "Best" really must depend on what you're looking for, though. Do you know what you want? Then selection probably is more important than a helpful sales staff. Do you need someone to hold your hand? Then you'd be better off visiting a store that has time to give you personal attention.

roy's sheepshead out near coney island... real friendly guys and they'll do pretty much everything to make you happy about your bike

If you're looking for a shop with a nice looking showroom and can take a test ride then check out Sid's Bikes on either 19th between 6th and 7th Avenues or E34th between 2nd and 3rd; the staff are pretty friendly as well. There are lots of other good shops in the city with better wrenches but they're not that big or are cluttered which is a pet peeve of mine. Here are a few that come to mind:

Sid's Bikes (http://www.sidsbikes.com/)
R&A Cycles (http://www.racycles.com/contact.html)
Bicycle Renaissance (http://bicyclerenaissance.com/storelocator/)
Toga Bikes (http://togabikes.com/storelocator/)

roy's sheepshead out near coney island... real friendly guys and they'll do pretty much everything to make you happy about your bike

I agree, they will provide free fit for high end road bikes.

Anyone familiar with "Larry & Jeff's" (on 2nd ave, just north of 79th)?

Recently moved over to the UES. Used to go to Toga on the West Side. Looking for a place I'm comfortable with leaving my road bike with if the need arises for some wrenching, and this place is nearby.

I am going to be in NYC next week, and I am hoping to squeeze in a visit to a bike shop or two. If they allow test rides, even better.

Are you going to the bike shop with serious intent to buy or just to look with the expectation of a test ride?

Anyone familiar with "Larry & Jeff's" (on 2nd ave, just north of 79th)?

I haven't used their mechanics, but I give them high marks for customer service.

I worked for Larry and Jeff way back in 1978 and 1979. They now are two separate businesses. Jeff owns the place on 80th, and Larry owns the place on 84th. You can find Larry in his shop often. Jeff, not so much. Larry was an incredibly expert mechanic, and I'm sure he supervises his mechanics well. Jeff is also highly knowledgeable.

"best bike shops" and "NYC" don't go together. All bike shops in NYC are fail. Don't waste your time. Use the internet.

Use the Internet for what? Aren't many new bikes not available for purchase on-line?

After going into Richardson Bike Mart in Dallas I can't go into any NYC store. RBM is probably bigger than all of the NYC stores combined. That doesn't necessarily make it better but it sure is big.

NYC real estate is high. You don't find many big stores of any type there, especially in Manhattan. But that doesn't affect the quality of service.

roy's sheepshead out near coney island... real friendly guys and they'll do pretty much everything to make you happy about your bike

Gotta second that. Fair prices, and super fast service. Everyone is really nice.

Gotta second that. Fair prices, and super fast service. Everyone is really nice.

as just anecdotal evidence of how good they were... i was willing to take the subway from the UWS to coney island to go pick up my bike. they beat every single bike shop in manhattan and queens in price by enough that it seemed absurd.

Hey, does anyone know... A few years ago, I stumbled into a bike shop in or near Park Slope. It was owned and run by black folks. Very friendly folks, and the shop was decorated interestingly. It was like a cave, with very high ceilings, and it felt very welcoming. Is this shop around, and what is/was it called?

Hey, does anyone know... A few years ago, I stumbled into a bike shop in or near Park Slope. It was owned and run by black folks. Very friendly folks, and the shop was decorated interestingly. It was like a cave, with very high ceilings, and it felt very welcoming. Is this shop around, and what is/was it called?

It may be Dixon's on Union Street.
Dixon's Bicycle Shop
792 Union St
(between 5th Ave & 6th Ave)
Brooklyn, NY 11215
(718) 636-0067

Yes, that's it! Anyone have feedback about them? I just stopped by, but it looked like a really good place.

Looks like I'm replying too late, but I'm a fan of Continuum Cycles on Ave B and of Tread Cycles in Inwood.

Yes, that's it! Anyone have feedback about them? I just stopped by, but it looked like a really good place.

I just stopped in there for an emergency repair and like you said, nice, friendly people.
That's the extent of my knowledge of it.

actually will need to disagree with noteon

Modsquad bikes is probably one of the friendliest places i've ever been to. They carry Felt, Fuji, and Orbea bikes. The location is Frederick Douglass & 114th & you can take the B & C trains to get there

Totally agree. Had my bike overhauled there and it was amazing. Shopping there for a new bike now. Really patient, nice guys.

I go to B's bikes in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and I live in NJ! Between my home and WillyB, I have the option of going to two dozen different shops. I choose to go there because of the super friendly folks and great deals. First bike bought there FUJI Newest 3.0 paid less than MSRP and they threw in a few accessories. Since it was a cash deal let's just say they tried their best not to involve the tax collector, they reduced the price even more to save on the sales tax(yeah that's the ticket). Few weeks later 1st bike got stolen, decided to go back to B's and get an upgrade FUJI Newest 1.0. Again got the bike for less than MSRP with a few accessories thrown in; a headlite, a $50 Planetbike SPEEDEZ fenders. And once more, because it was a cash deal they did their magic with the sales tax. I can't guarantee you that you'll get the same deals as me since I'm a cheap bastard; I mean, I drive a hard bargain.

As far as service goes; when I'm there, people stopby all the time to borrow tools and fix/adjust their bikes on the sidewalk. I'm not talking about friends of the workers/owners; I'm saying total strangers! They leave not 1, not 2 but
usually 3 pumps in front of the shop so that bikers don't have to wait for each other to pump up. I wish the other shops were like this.

A friend of mine lives a block away from a bike shop on Amsterdam between 103rd and 104th. He says he gets fantastic service there. I haven't visited the place yet. Googling them suggests it's a new shop, though I don't know.

A friend of mine lives a block away from a bike shop on Amsterdam between 103rd and 104th. He says he gets fantastic service there. I haven't visited the place yet. Googling them suggests it's a new shop, though I don't know.

he's referring to champion, nice place, friendly service, although pricing will change depending on who's in the store at the time

I don't trust Sid's Bikes on 34th any more. First of all they're ridiculously expensive. Anyway, some years back I bought my first singlespeed from them, SE brand, turned out to be a complete POS. Among few other things, something was clicking annoying loud. A couple of hundred dollars later, new BB, new cranks, new chain, new wheels it still clicked and they had no clue. They were nice and seemed concerned but just couldn't figure this out. Then I found NYCBikes in Williamsburg. The guy said right away, "dude, it's the sprocket, all these click like that, it doesn't bother most people though but if you want we'll replace it". $30, 15 minutes later: no more clicking. I've been their faithful customer ever since. They don't sell fancy brand-name bikes, they build their own and their mechanics are good. You can pick the parts and they'll build anything for you. Since then I learned to service my bikes anyway so something like the above situation would be easy for me to fix now.

http://www.nycbikes.com/

Their website is not frequently updated, they get all their business from walk-ins I guess. They're all urban cyclists themselves, they ride what they build.

I also heard good things about B's bikes in Williamsburg, or is it Greenpoint? I've been there once only myself.

Anyway, it depends on what you're looking for. There are different bike shops for different people I guess, no single shop can satisfy every type of rider. The two I mentioned don't have fancy showrooms with glittering lights but they know their stuff.

A.

I'd like to pick up a set of Specialized Armadillo tires in Manhattan.

Any recommendations on who has good stock and decent prices?

TIA.

Tipsy