Originally Posted by
phillyrider
Philadelphia has a few - Firehouse in west philly and Via in south philly.
Used bikes tend to be pricey - but they somehow make a go of it and folks buy $300 varsities. Both locations are in old, established buildings - so maybe lower overhead helps. On the repair and parts side - it's helpful to have them around.
http://www.firehousebicycles.com/
http://www.bikeville.com/frames.html
I should note that I don't like Firehouse, because once, in my noob days before I knew how to even fix a flat or change a tube, I had them do that for me...and it turned out the dude put the wrong size of tube in.