Which is the best area bike shop? (VA/DC)
 

Question from a newbie who hasn't purchased a bike in a long time.

Looking to area shops to purchase a new bike Northern VA, Washington DC Area.

Wondering anyone's opinion on Citybikes (Adams Morgan), Revolutions (VA or DC), or REI (Bailey's Crossroads).

Things I'm considering are
1. attention to detail when building up the bike
2. Bike Fixes/Repairs/Tunes
3. Overall Customer service
4. Negotiating price on new bike (least concerned with)

Thanks in advance for any insight.

kj

I really believe Bicycle Pro Shop in Georgetown wins on the top three. Often their prices are suprisingly competetive or cheaper than other shops, but sometimes not. Tom, the main wrench, is the most knowledgeable mechanic I have ever met. His knowledge is brooad and deep, going back a few decades, and he's worked on everything, and knows it all inside out. He's the best.

My hands-down favorite is Proteus in College Park, Maryland. It's only 4 miles from the DC/MD line and 8 miles from Logan Circle. Highly worth the trip.

Other shops I like are Big Wheel Bikes in Old Town Alexandria near the river, and Wheel Nuts in Alexandria (good for used bikes, in particular). I've heard good things about Capitol Hill Bikes, but I don't have any direct experience with them.

Bike Lane in Burke is excellent, did a great job on fitting me for my race bike, and Big Wheel in Old Town Alexandria is great as well. I prefer the cycling staff at REI in Fairfax.

Bike Lane did the fittings for my road and commuter bikes. They're a great shop, but they have a huge backlog of work right now (about 2 weeks for anything of consequence). They're opening a Reston shop with about 3 times as much workbench space, so if they get good mechanics there, it might be a good place.

Oasis Bike shop in Fairfax has a couple really good mechanics. I like the staff at REI in Fairfax as well as at Hudson Trail Outfitters. I've had off and on luck with both Performance shops in Fairfax and Reston.

Spokes in Vienna and Ashburn are both good.

I was going to second Bike Lane, but I'll have to third it. ;)
Small shop but very good. I'm looking forward to seeing the Reston store.

The mechanics at HTO at Fairfax Circle have always done a good job for me. The Performance in the same center is ok for picking up accessories, but I don't trust their shop (used them once... and only once.)

I have had very good experiences with both Conte's in Virginia Beach -- Redmill & Hilltop. I purchased bikes and have had repair work done at both locations. No experience w/ the DC shop, but check them out. I have no ties to Conte's other than participating in their group rides & as a consumer.

http://contebikes.com/page.cfm?pageID=324

Hope this helps

+1 on Conte's, I use the one in Newport News and they have gone out of their way many times to help me out.

Can't recommend that REI either for sales svc or mechanical work. My recent experience was poor on both counts.

You didn't ask about it but I'll plug for Spokes in Alexandria. Easy to get to from DC (well, by car anyway) and the salespeople and mechanics have always been great to me.

My shop is out in Herndon Va.. A-1 Cycling in Herndon has a great store manager and great service manager. Very helpful and friendly. Not far off the W&OD Trail.

:thumb:

Conte's in Arlington and Spokes in Vienna are both great shops. Jeff at the Vienna Spokes is a fitter second to none around here.

I'm a big fan of The Bicycle Place in Silver Spring, MD. http://www.thebicycleplace.com/ The staff are really friendly and helpful, and it is easy to get to by car or by bike.