Hi y'all......
I am fairly new to road biking... in fact this past spring put slicks on my mtb just to see if I even would like road biking.... I ended up loving it. I am now moving from Pennsylvania to Hawaii in January. My fat tires are back on my mtb and I am planning on buying a road bike as soon as I get to Hawaii.
I'm wondering if anyone has any bike shop experience in Hawaii and might be able to recommend a decent, honest LBS that I can start looking at. After reading a ton of reviews I know I want to look at the Specialized Allez Sport and maybe the Giant OCR..... but am open to anything really.
I want to find a good LBS that allows a decent test ride, not just around the parking lot, and can answer my questions and give advice to this new roadie.
Thanks for any help!
Gypsy

If you're on Oahu, I can help out.
I go to Island Triathalon and Bike for service and sales. I got a thousand dollar bike from them in august and haven't paid a cent after that (except for tubes) for the many adjustments that my riding necessitates. They're mostly geared toward triatheletes and racers, but they'll help you out with all the advice and knowledge you can handle even if you aren't doing the Iron Man.
They'll let you take out the bikes and they're there to make your bicycling as fun as possible. But if you're after specialized or giant, they're not the place to go.
McCully Bikes on King Street is alright once they treat you like a human and not a sale, and they deal in Giant. The Bike Shop on King is also great, and they sell Specialized. If you're moving to Kailua or the windward side, they've got a shop there, too.

As a matter of fact, they're all good, except for the one in Kakaako. They don't treat you with respect unless you're pro or semi-pro, and the management doesn't seem willing to let the sales staff spend too much time with questions and advice. Just my experience and word of mouth. I got a Trek from the shop in Kakaako and it just never ran right, and they made me feel like a total putz whenever I asked for advice.

Good luck and welcome to the islands.

2mtr...... I am going to be moving to Oahu.... I meant to put that in my original post.... whoops. I'm not sure what part of the island I'll be living on yet but will hopefully know before my plane flies in January. LOL!
I will write down the shops you mentioned.... I'm nowhere near triathalon material (in fact only now just registered for my first century in June ) but would appreciate any help and advice Island Triathalon and Bike could give. And I'm not set on any brand yet..... the Specialized and Giants are ones that stand out in my head with good reviews but I am certainly open to advice and recommendations. The only thing I want is to try and stay below a grand for the bike at this time.
Thanks a lot for the word of mouth info.... it's exactly what I am looking for. I will check out the shops you mentioned... And I don't care for the shops that don't speak to you unless you are at a pro level since I am obviously not , I try to steer clear of those.
And thanks for the welcome to the islands.
Gypsy

I just recently started riding a road bike too for university commuting purposes. I got my Giant OCR at McCully Bike Shop and they let me test it out for a while. But I would seriously consider ITB for their line of Felt bikes which are incredible value for the components. The Bike Shop on King is pretty pricey, what won me over in the end was the price factor of my OCR. It had the same components as the specialzed at a much lower cost. Good luck with your selection.

Thanks for the reply, repeatx3, I will check the shops out and keep in mind what you said.
Gypsy

I dont want to step on any toes but i perfer the bike factory(kakaako) for parts. The guys in there are decent to me and my friends. McCully bike shop for tires, tubes, and misc consumables. I don't go to island triathlon and bike unless i have too. The bike shop on king st is expensive. BOCA hawaii is a shop right down the road from bike factor, they have alot of used parts and great training advice. I organize events for the aloha single speeders fixed gear group. Glad to have another rider in hawaii. aloha

inkdwheels... thanks for the information.
I am moving to Oahu next Wednesday and will check out the places mentioned.
Looking forward to biking Hawaii!

Cheers,
Gypsy