Bike shop heaven or horror?
 

Here it is, the Olympic Bike and Skate shop in Bremerton Washington. [edit: Port Orchard, not Bremerton, as Bill Abbey corrects below]
We stopped by when we up to do the Seattle-to-Portland. I didn't know if I should laugh, cry or run.

http://curtis.corlew.com/hosting/bikeshop.jpg

actually it is in Port Orchard, close enough. I will say this, he has everything AND is a really nice guy. He reputed to be the best wheel builder in the state, but the photo is exactly the way the shop looks/ has looked for ten years or so.

Port Orchard: Correction noted.
He is a nice guy, and quite a talker. We stopped in an got an ear full to go with our eye full. Had a great time.
I should note that a lot of these bikes are headed out to poor countries as donations.

I saw a bike shop that looked a lot like that in downtown Ann Arbor, MI. I had to move/climb over 4 bikes to see one that looked interesting.

My son is a submariner at the base near there. I'll have to tell him about this bike shop. We visited for the first time last May when he and his wife (she did the work) blessed us with our first grandchild (a boy) born at the Bremerton Naval Hospital. That is some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen and looks like a fantastic place to ride. You have access to some serious hills there. I am envious.

I love bike shops like that.

Bet you could go in and ask for a part for a 1973 Campy Bottechia and the owner would have it.

We have one in Madison, WI. Yellow Jersey on State St. The owner is sometimes a bit grumpy, every square inch of the store is filled with bike stuff, occasionally the roof leaks, but if you want someone who really knows bikes, that's the place to go.

Wouldn't do for me to visit this shop. I would spend all my time straightening it up:D

It looks like a tornado hit a truck taking a shipment of bikes to a dozen walmarts.

That's too funny, Beverly. You must be related to my wife.

Brother Bent,women folks are all related in that department,it's something to do with having two X chromosomes versus an X and a Y. (tongue frimly placed in cheek)

Brother overthehillmedi, mine comes from raising 5 kids and an ex-husband who was the world's #1 slob:D:D:D

Just don't take your beautifully-painted custom there to be left overnight because it is bound to be returned with a couple new scratches and dings. Even if only by accident.

That's what Bicycle Butler in Spokane looks like at closing. Poor Tim has so much service work lined up that he has to park it in racks outside during the day. Then it ALL has to go inside at night . . . somewhere.

Yellow Jersey is an interesting store. I enjoy browsing all of the parts hanging on the walls. But I don't enjoy chatting with the sales people or the owner.

Speaking of crowded floors, have you been to the Budget Bicycle used shop on Regent Street? Not sure how you could get more bikes into there. The entire ceiling is filled with hanging bikes too.

That looks almost like my livingroom. Too many bikes.

Yes, I bought my NOS Jamis Nova Cyclocross there. I remember seeing a beautifully restored 1970's Campy Bottechia there. I fell in love with it, before I reminded myself I had one in the basement. Not beautifully restored, however. :(

Gosh, we had a shop that just went out of business, which I dearly loved. I'd pop in looking for some part from the 1970s, and damn if the owner didn't root around in an old cardboard box and find it--usually charging me $2.00. I'd occasionally stop by with a pie or a six-pack just to make sure he had enough sustanence to keep us all going. I don't blame the guy for shutting down and getting a paying job.

The Yellow Jersey is a great place to go. I was there last week for service on my rode bike. One day service! Love all the frames they have and the fact that they carry what all the other cookie cutter bike stores do not.

Today I went to Wheel & Sprocket in Hales Corners. Another bike store with the largest selection of bikes I've seen in a long time. Picked up a Surly Cross-Check Complete that I had ordered on Monday.

It's good for me that shop is not in Raleigh, NC. I'd spend all my money there, then move most of those bikes to my basement where they would sit with the rest of the bikes I have down there.