Good shops in portland? Help!
 

I am about to be moving to the Portland area in a few weeks from northeast Ohio and will be looking to get a Long Haul Trucker when I get out there. I realize that there are probably a billion bike shops in that area, but can someone give me the name/names of a good shop that will do a thorough job of fitting me? I have disproportionately short legs and a long torso and just don’t want to end up with a bad fit. It’s hard because I know the shops in my area and am familiar with the mechanics, but I’m just going out there blind; I don’t know anyone and I have no good references. Any help is appreciated.

I would say
http://www.rivercitybicycles.com/
would be your best bet/place.

Some say the fitting services at Veloce are the best.

Mike Sylvester, Bicycle Fitting Services. He's the "ace" of Portland and west coast fitters, some say one of the top fit guys in the nation. Totally in a league of his own.
Resume includes being "the" guy who developed the Serotta fit system/fit cycle.

The only other fitter I'd recommend in Portland would be a guy named John who does fits for Lakeside Bicycles in Lake Oswego, a suburb of Portland. Great guy who really knows what he's doing.

One caution, be careful of those that "fit" in Portland and use someone who has been doing bike fit for years, listens to what you have to say, asks lots of questions about your riding style, flexibility etc etc.

Just a note, I've been fit by both River City and Veloce and as you can see, I'm not recommending either.

Good luck with your move and enjoy Portland!

+1 for Michael Sylvester & associates. They fit me on my Cross-Check. Did a thorough interview first, checked flexibility, measured, then started fitting.

My wife and I have both had very good luck with fittings from Matt at the Woodstock Bike Gallery location, on bikes we already owned.

River City took time to do a basic fit when I recently purchased a new bike there, service up to the time of the sale was great, not so much afterwards.

Lots of shops to choose from. Bound to be one that fits your needs.

All of the Bike Gallery locations are good in general.

I also know that Seven Corners are Surly lovers; Corey is a great guy.

River City is a 'higher-end' shop, but still very friendly.

We haven't had any fittings, but had a good experience at River City buying a bike. They're a few blocks from the jogging/biking path along the Willamette River so it's a good location for test rides.
Sounds like maybe the thing to do is try a few different shops? You could hit three or four in a morning, depending on how long a fitting takes. River City and the Bike Gallery on Sandy Blvd. are only about five to ten minutes away from each other.

The only other fitter I'd recommend in Portland would be a guy named John who does fits for Lakeside Bicycles in Lake Oswego, a suburb of Portland. Great guy who really knows what he's doing.

+1 - Great Shop in LO - Highly recommended... If you are in Portland you should at least visit!
http://lakeside-bikes.com/index.cfm

David

+1 for the fitting service at Veloce, they fitted both me and my wife to our bikes and we're both very happy with it.

a better cycle works for me!!

:thumb:

The best shop I know of & trust for fit & builds is The Bike Stand at 5th and Adams in Downtown Olympia, WA. Bill Stevenson is one of the top frame builders in the country & easy to work with. His shop has a good selection of bikes on hand & they have loads of experience with every type of bike. Olympia is about a 2 hour drive North of Portland but well worth the trip. You can call to find out Bill's schedule for the week.

I also recommend John at Lakeside, I bought a bike from them back in January and they took the time to sell me a bike that fits. He spent a good 2 1/2 hours after selling me the bike to make sure it was a good fit. And even that fit came with reservations in that I should come back if there is any pain and to get the bike fitted again once my flexibility improves. And the fitting was part of the purchase of the bike.

The time I bought an entry level road bike at the Bike Gallery they didn't even do a basic fit. But maybe that's to be expected when you buy a heavily discounted leftover. My feeling with the Bike Gallery is as a larger shop sometimes you get a good salesperson sometimes you don't. I also think that the Bike Gallery has some of the best mechanics in town.

My only issue with River City is that they no longer carry Campagnolo equipped bikes, Which limited my shop choices for my last purchase to Veloce and Lakeside.