Originally Posted by
mattgil
Sounds like you guys really like the Giant as well, there is a LBS about 30min away that carries Giant, Scott and Haro BMX bikes (Haro was actually the last bike I bought back in freshmen year of high school haha). Both no shop around me stocks all 3, I was originally zoning in on Specialized and Trek as I have heard a lot of great things and the shop in my town has those and is a pretty big shop. Do you guys think it is really worth going to the Giant dealer first, or is something from Trek or Specialized good?
Trek, Specialized and Giant make good bikes, they're the top three mainstream bikeshop brands. Giant has a reputation of giving you a bit more "bang for your buck" than Trek or Spesh. If you have a Jamis dealer nearby, definitely check out the Coda Sport, it's a great bike with a tough steel frame that will be Clyde friendly.
Your best bet is to go to your local bike shops and talk to them. The brand really doesn't matter, if they're sold in a good bike shop, the bikes will be of good quality regardless of brand name (as opposed to bikes sold in say, Wal-mart or Target).