Originally Posted by Corinnex99
Hello!
I live in MN in the twin cities area and was wondering if anyone else is around here that could offer some advice. I have never bought a decent bike before (my bikes have always consisted of like $60 Huffy's!) and I'm trying to find a good LBS to buy from. I have checked out a few, but I want to know I'm going somewhere I can trust since I don't know much. I really don't want to buy something that I'm going to regret later, and since I know so little, i don't want to get ripped off, etc. Anyone out there know of quality LBS in the cities? I really appreciate your help
~Corinne
There are lots of seemingly decent LBS around. Minneapolis seems to have a very active riding community, and different shops seem to be focused on different types of riding. If you go into a roadie shop like Flanders or Grand Performance you may get a small dose of Jack-Black-in-High-Fidelity service but it's best to just be polite and try to learn what you can from the staff who do know a lot. I myself shop at Flanders; the prices are a bit higher than some shops but the quality of their mechanical work is fantastic and they don't sell junk. They're close to me so I can walk home after dropping a bike off for service.
In the spirt of "keep it local", you should find the closest non-chain shop in your neighborhood and at least give them a chance. Then you should find two or three other non-chain shops and look there too. Other shops to try are Varsity (4th St. SE in Dinkytown right next to Erik's), Express (Snelling and Marshal in St. Paul), The Alt (Uptown, 26th and Hennepin S) and One on One (Washington Ave. N, downtown warehouse district).
I'd recommend you try to get a clear idea of what kind of riding you do and buy the cheapest thing that works well for you. If you find you ride lots, plan on buying a nicer bike in 3 to 15 months. You can get rid of the first one or keep it as a beater/repair day bike.
I'm sure a bunch of us would like to hear about a newbs experience so keep us posted.