Originally Posted by
Dauphine
I take my bike to the Affinity shop for servicing since it's near my office, but the bikes they build are just slightly to 'meh' for my taste as well. That seat tube kind of scares me a little, but it is the shop around for 'cool fixie messenger types' to hang out in. They know their stuffs, and some of the full builds that they sell in the store are obviously rip offs. $900 for a steel single speed with generic parts? Thanks but no thanks. That said, I have a friend who rides the one with the scary seat tube, and he thinks it's the jam.
I used to go to Affinity for all my local bike needs too. I was immediately impressed that they had their own production frames and sponsored a local racing team. Their frames do look nice, but also seemed more expensive than they needed to be. If anyone is interested in Affinity's bicycles, I would first find a local manufacturer and see what they have to offer as supporting a local business was the only reason I could justify the price.
As for my lbs experience there- They installed my bottom bracket and headset on a bike I built up a few years ago. Later, after having a lot of headset problems and several servicing fails I started taking my business elsewhere (One of the mechanics actually remarked to me how the steerer tube was cut incorrectly and asked who installed it, oops). Generally they were nice guys and very helpful. I was invited to a bike polo game my first trip and once they removed a cog from a complete bike for me when I really needed it.