Northern California - Shop Recommendations.. ?

I live in SF and yelp sometimes gives a lot of mix messages. I'm basically looking for a place that can hook people up with good deals, and have good services. Anyone got any recommendations? Thanks.

Gravy at the Marin Bikes Outlet is an amazing wrench and will work on any brand of bikes. Also, great bike deals if you want Marin.

John and crew at City Cycle are great. They do a lot of high-end business, but they've got an excellent attitude and are glad to help out anybody.

GoRideBikes in Redwood City is a small bike shop but they're great, Bob, the manager, fit me onto a 2009 CAAD9 last year, and I was just testing it out.

Summit Bicycles in Burlingame is my LBS, and they have some good services as well. They have closesouts on 2009 bikes too. You can also try the Summit Bicycles in Los gatos.

if you're looking for a deals, check out the recyclery in san rafael, I think they're connected to trips for kids. there are some cool shops in sf, it just depends on what you're looking for. chris at roaring mouse is way cool over at irving near 12th ave, if you need a wheel trued, go see len at the bike nook out at 40th and travel, then there's mike at dd cycles at 42nd and balboa if you need info on anything bike related, he will talk your ear off...and don't forget tony at the bike odyssey, this is a full service shop with all high end bikes.

In SF, you can't go wrong with Roaring Mouse Bicycles and Valencia Cyclery.

I know Valencia carries various cheap single-speeds from SE Bikes.
http://www.sebikes.com/Singlespeed.aspx

I gotta say this even though it isn't in SF: Calmar Cycles in Santa Clara has really taken care of me. It's where I bought my bike and get service done. Maybe I'm there too much, but they know my name and get **** done quickly when I need it.

It's kind of a MTB shop, but they do have Trek/Specialized road bikes too.

Freewheel on Hayes and Ashbury will treat you right every time. Most honest shop employees I have ever met.

In SF, you can't go wrong with Roaring Mouse Bicycles and Valencia Cyclery.

I know Valencia carries various cheap single-speeds from SE Bikes.
http://www.sebikes.com/Singlespeed.aspx

+1 on both shops

The guys at Bespoke in Noe Valley are great as well.

Freewheel peopl are pretty cool I go there first when looking for fixed gear odds and ends, they never get all butt hurt about having to dig through 3 boxes of random small parts to find the one I need. American cyclery is worth checking out. However the only shop I'll take my (dearly beloved) road bike to get work done is roaring mouse, the service and quality of work is nothing short of awesome. As far as parts go they usually sell at msrp as do a lot of the shops around here, performance bike excluded, but I buy most of that stuff online. Great deals on parts is on the internets, great work on your bike is at roaring mouse.

full disclosure I've never had any work done at freewheel or american so they might be great too

American Cyclery has nice vintage stuff, but don't expect good pricing or (from my personal experience) good service. I went in there lookng for some Regina cogs and old Mavic hubs. I browsed for a while--it's a small shop and I was in no hurry--and nobody ever asked if I needed any help. Eventually, I inquired about the Regina cogs, and the service person hemmed and hawed, then turned to ask manager (?), who stalled for a moment and then said no. I know that old cogs are rare, and it's certainly possible I was told the truth, but I had the distinct impression that they did have them but were holding back for the right customer. Fine, I'll give 'em the benefit of the doubt. I then asked if they had any old Mavic hubs, and was told "Not on display, we may have some in back" and that was the end of it. No, let me go look for you, or I can check. Their prices were so high, I figured even if they did have them I'd probably look elsewhere. I'm not usually very hard to please, but they really turned me off--and I really wanted to like the shop!

American Cyclery has nice vintage stuff, but don't expect good pricing or (from my personal experience) good service. I went in there lookng for some Regina cogs and old Mavic hubs. I browsed for a while--it's a small shop and I was in no hurry--and nobody ever asked if I needed any help. Eventually, I inquired about the Regina cogs, and the service person hemmed and hawed, then turned to ask manager (?), who stalled for a moment and then said no. I know that old cogs are rare, and it's certainly possible I was told the truth, but I had the distinct impression that they did have them but were holding back for the right customer. Fine, I'll give 'em the benefit of the doubt. I then asked if they had any old Mavic hubs, and was told "Not on display, we may have some in back" and that was the end of it. No, let me go look for you, or I can check. Their prices were so high, I figured even if they did have them I'd probably look elsewhere. I'm not usually very hard to please, but they really turned me off--and I really wanted to like the shop!

I had a similar experience - went in to the shop to test ride a higher end bike. When I asked if I could test ride the bike, the guy helping me looked me up and down, and then said "we only let people test ride those kinds of bikes if they are really serious about buying them".

I left and haven't been back since.

For parts and service, The Freewheel at Hayes and Ashbury is where it's at. If you're looking to purchase a full bike, this thread has a lot of solid recommendations.

Yelp is being sued by companies because the've been demanding ads under threat of removing favorable reviews.
I know for a fact my local LBS had positive comments deleted after they declined to advertise on YELP.
Too bad such a cool idea turned into a scam.

So...I need to ship my beloved Long Haul Trucker to a San Francisco shop in about a month. So they can give it a quick assemble and tune-up in prep' for my cross-country trip to Yorktown, VA. Among the shops mentioned (or others not mentioned), can you recommend one that might be receptive to such a request/need?

Thanks, all!