Best shop in NYC...?
 

Hi! My bike seat and post was stolen today, and I was wondering if anyone could reccomend the best shop in NYC (Manhattan or Brooklyn) to get a new seat/post for cheap, possibly used. I usually go to Bike Habitat, but it seems a little expensive/high end for my needs (I have a Mongoose Alta mountain bike with road tires).

Also, I've heard about locking pin system for wheels and seats that requires a key to open them? Can anyone tell me more about this/where to get them? Thanks!
-Alex

Try some LBS's in brooklyn like Mr.C's on 45th street and 7th avenue. Pay in cash and you can usually save on taxes at those small lbs's. Otherwise, most shops in manhattan are going to charge a lot. I recall my gf got a blinker from a manhattan shop and she paid twice what she would've if she had bought it online.

Yeah I'm going to have to echo slovid on this one. Most NYC shops are going to overcharge you. This is certainly nothing new to New Yorkers, we already pay out the nose for most everything else. I would suggest taking a look online. Nashbar,
Jenson, and Performance are my usual first stops.

I go to Metro Bicycles, where I bought my bike. They have about 4 locations throughout the city, so it's pretty convenient to find one for a quick tweak or something. They're pretty cool, for the most part too.
14th street, 1st ave.
14th street, 6th ave.
86th street, lex
someplace on the west side, not sure.

As for keeping your seat - grab an old chain (bike drivetrain, not hardware store chain), stick it through an old inner tube, and make a loop around the rails on your seat and one of the seat stays. Use your chainbreaker to cut the loop to size and close it up; rubber-cement the ends of the tube over one another so the whole thing is waterproof. Most seats are lost to impulse thieves... they won't have a chainbreaker, so your seat will stay with you. Ugly solution, maybe, but cheaper than a locking skewer and easier to find...

West side location is on W96th, just off Broadway. They are EXPENSIVE, though. They basically charged me double for a rear derailleur today (see my "Is my frame toast?" thread).

bike shops anywhere in this city are going to charge way more for parts than buying online.

that said, i like sid's on 34th.

that guy on 17th st, between Park and Irving, just east of Union Square, is cheap, plus he's a nice guy running an independent store by himself. does anybody know his or his shop's name, phone number?

other, cheaper (or at least junkier, if you're looking for used stuff) shops around, off the top of my head: bike works, on like rivington and attorney; frank's, south of the williamsburg bridge; in williamsburg, on lorimer, just south of the BQE there's that unnamed shop that does mostly vintage schwinns. there are also small, relatively cheap latino-run bike shops in williamsburg: one around the intersection of south 3rd st and hooper or thereabouts, another around the montrose stop of the L.

I agree that NYC bike shops are expensive but I understand why. The rent they pay is many, many times that you would pay in a lot of other places. Try renting a 2000 sq foot shop in Manhattan. I suggest ordering it online or bite the bullet and pay a LBS in NYC.

Cheers,
Blake

Ah, you speak of Emney's (sp?). Bicycling magazine just did a little write up on him in their last issue. He has no phone # because he has no phone. Just drop on by and he'll treat you well.

Word, that would be Emmy's. Carlos is cool, the one time I went there he was pretty straight with me, and he had tons of used bikes lying around for fixing/selling.

Sid's is dope (34th Street, 2nd Ave.). I would've bought my bike from them, but they don't seem to carry Raleigh.

But yeah, buying from any LBS in Manhattan will be loot, so either order online, or just buy from the closest shop to you so that maybe you can get a hookup in the future.

Time's Up has a Bike Space at 49 East Houston Street and they're seling used bikes.. Maybe they can hook you up with something cheap.

Also the guy who owned John's Mini Bikes says he's retiring and is trying to get rid of all sorts of stuff.
http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/bik/42698952.html