I am new to Boston have been spoiled by a long relationship with Cynergy Cycles in Santa Monica. I am a Cat 1 graduate student looking for a place bring my bike for regular maintenance and a bi-annual fitting. I am also considering buying a TT / tri bike and would like to speak to some well educated people re my options, fitting, etc. I know there are a number of shops in the area and am hoping some of you might have some insight on which are the best / worst and why.

Thanks for your help and see you on the road!

Chris

Are you right in Boston? Knowing the neighborhood might help people offer better specifics. Also, not sure how far you're willing to travel to get to a shop.

For what it's worth, I bought a bike from Back Bay Bicycles a couple of years ago. It's located right on Comm Ave. It's a solid shop, but can be hit or miss in terms of service (one of their mechanics is great). If you go there, try to seek out Mike. He races (road/cross/MTB) and is a good fitter. I no longer go there since I moved out of the city.

My bike shop of choice is now the Landry's out in Natick. Probably too far for you, but they do have a location in Boston. My experience in Natick has been great, and their fitting program is really, really good. They do a lot of video/computer analysis and it's not overly expensive.

Hope that's at least a start for you...

I've used Wheelworks in Belmont, MA. I'm new to cycling but traveled 45 miles from NH to get a pro fitting done by Wheelworks. They advertise they do 1200 pro fits a year. Their fitter Ed did a really good job for me and he does some pro coaching. I see on their web site that they have been rated in the top 50 for Tri shops by slowwitch.com

I use CYCLE LOFT in Burlington- Everyone there is very knowledgable. Boston has a lot of good shops though, it kind of depends on where you live when deciding which one to use.

+10 for Back Bay Bike. I live a block away so it’s a natural for me to go there, and I have been since they opened, about 20 years ago on Newbury Street. I’m a year round cycle commuter and occasional centurian and I have obtained excellent and prompt service with all my problems, since I don’t have the time or facilities to do my own.

All the mechanics I have dealt with have been great, though my excellent wheelbuilder has since moved on to own his own shop. Currently, I’m consulting with Mike about a new road bike, and I would go nowhere else, unless for a custom-made frame; and Mike gave me several suggestions about that. Also he is currently training with a 20-something racer friend of mine.

Yes, Mike is great. Knowledgeable, helpful, and just generally funny too.

To be fair, I really only had one bad service experience. I had a repair done and then never properly re-attached one of my chain ring bolts, causing it to snap off. But, otherwise service was very good. I'm not sure "Alaska" is still there, but he always did really good work. I broke a shifter a couple of years ago and they were great getting a replacement part from SRAM, while also being really upfront about all the costs and scenarios. Very fair pricing.

I am also a Boston area cyclist and racer. Basically if you are inside of Boston the two go-to's that are smaller more personal shops are Back Bay Bikes and Community Bicycle (Disclaimer I both used to work at Community Bike and I race for them). I ride with alot of the guys at Back Bay so my loyalty is split between them.

Back Bay: Very small shop, don't let this put you off though, they make good use of their space and they carry alot of bikes that cater to the racing crowd (Mountain, cross and road). Their employees are relatively young and they are active racers. Some people find their attitudes a little off-putting and have had the impression of a "looking down their nose at you" attitude. Even being friends with all of them I even get this sometimes. One thing they are really good at is getting stuff for you. Mike is spot on when you ask him to order something.

They also stock a really good selection of higher end bikes, they are a speedplay dealer, stock alot of Specialized and Cannondale stuff, and Mike does fittings (And he is good). Also the shop Dogs are a fun way to feel better when it is pouring outside

Community Bike: Run by the older generation. The shop has been around for over 30 years, and it shows (In a good way). It is primarily geared towards commuters and as such stocks more of these bikes then the really higher end racing bikes. Although with their recent acquisition of the FELT and LaPierre lines they are carrying alot of those higher end bikes. They are a Specialized dealer but they tend to carry more of the specialized commuter line than their racing lines.

The shop is bigger and it is easier to peruse the bikes they do have. One thing is that stock can be hit or miss, being an older shop they have alot of parts that would fall under the miscellaneous category, but should you need something strange they are much more likely to have it then most other shops. The flip side is that stock of new items (accessories, shoes, saddles, etc.) are pretty limited, Phil or Steve are always more then happy to order things but they have a habit of forgetting to place the order, I have had to call 2-3 times to get them to order something, the easiest way to get them to do it is to just say "Hey can you just jump on the distributor's website real quick and add it for me right now?".

One thing is that attitude wise things are amazingly laid back there, no "holier than thou" attitude that can sometimes be construed from the guys at Back Bay. Phil and Steve are always happy to chat (Sometimes too happy).

The one thing I will hold to is the mechanic work at Community. Sorry Alaska, you are an awesome guy (Although he actually left Back Bay to head back to.... Alaska, the state, so he is no longer a mechanic there) but no one can hold a candle to the mechanics over at Community. Rich(Both head mechanic and the owner) has 25 years of mechanic experience . All the other guys (Alex, Willie and Luis) are all great aswell. Each of them have more experience then almost any other mechanic in the city. I have to say this though, the dynamic duo is Alex and Rich. Between those two I have seen it all. While Back Bay tends to stick more "to the book" Community will do things will more practicality.

One thing I will say is that nowhere (At either shop) is there poor mechanic work. Everyone has little gripes about both shops, things have fallen through the cracks at both shops and then someone writes a horrible, scathing review of the service at the shop because they were the 1 out of 100 that happened to have some minor thing overlooked on their bike. Both shops will stand behind their work, if something is wrong they will fix it.



My suggestion is to just go and visit both shops. They are not far apart. Both are great. If I had to give an overview of things though:

Selection: Back Bay
Attitude: Community Bike
Mechanic Work: Either (I favor Community but unless you have an old steel conversion with mis-matched componentry either one will be fine)
Racer Stuff: Back Bay

@cduff: You sound like you really should head over to Back Bay. They will be able to give you a fitting. One thing is I know they have a few TT bikes but I haven't seen too many. Community has a larger selection of them. But it sounds like you would gravitate more towards Back-Bay.

There are places like Landry's and Belmont Wheel works. Those places have a good selection (Belmont especially, they have the whole "Every Size, Every Color" approach). But neither of those places will really get to know you. Go to Back Bay if you are a racer, get to know them, ask about the local rides and racer, go ride with them, etc.

I hope you didn't misconstrue my comments as a "scathing" review. I was just trying to give the OP my personal experience at the shop. I really like Back Bay and would still be going there regularly if I still lived in the city. It is disappointing to hear that Alaska has moved on though, because he was great.

Also, I think your point about a shop making you feel comfortable/getting to know you is really important. That's what has been a nice surprise at Landry's in Natick. Despite it's size, I have a good relationship with their manager/lead fitter.

No, I am sorry I did not mean to imply you were giving a scathing review. My comment was poorly stated.

No worries. I just didn't want it to appear like I was being overly critical of a bike shop I really like.
(P.S., I recognized your username from that other cycling forum. I post there occasionally, and remember you posting that awesome picture of your iced over bike a few days ago.)

If anything, this thread should show the OP that Boston and the surrounding area has some really great bike shops.

I forgot to mention another shop I really like. It's the Urbane Cyclist in Salem. A bit of a hike for regular use, but they do have a great selection of bikes, especially Time Trial rigs. The owners have a big background in cyclocross, but are really good at working with any type of cyclist. An added bonus is that one of the owners actually has a degree in physiology, which really helps in terms of fittings.

cduff, you never said which community you were in. As gsg said, it might make a difference.

If you are anywhere near West Newton check out Harris Cyclery. Good service, good parts inventory, friendly staff, very good mechanics.

I've had really good experiences with Community Bike. When I got my first bike (used, neglected, etc), I went there for advice and parts, as I didn't know much at the time. They set me on the right track - Phil spent a half an hour showing me exactly what I needed to do. (Of course, I walked out the door with $200 in parts and tools, but it was worth it.) They seem to cater more to commuters, though, which doesn't sound like what you're looking for.

I would say the top two in terms of overall "wow!" and reputation are Landry's (the friendliest by far) and Wheelworks (an institution, founded by Olympic cyclist John Allis and just amazing in terms of selection). Wheelworks has three branches - Ace is in Porter Square (Cambridge/Somerville line) and given its location gets a lot of commuter business; Belmont Wheelworks is a bit more suburban and has more of a road focus; Wheelworks Too is next door and has secondhand and kid bikes. I find the service at Wheelworks (all) can be hit or miss; there are fantastic people and the occasional clunker.
If I was going to purchase a mountain bike (or BMX for that matter), I'd go over to JRA in Medford. Fantastic guys there and they are nuts for dirt. They'll sell you anything, but they really like being offroad. Owner and his wife are big into cross too. The atmosphere there reminds me of record stores in the 80s - lots of staff who love it so much that you figure they'd be hanging around even if not paid. (and case this isn't clear, it's a compliment!)

Consider that the person you want to go to for fittings may not be affiliated with the same shop you wish to buy bikes at. Here's some specific bike fitter recommendations: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...l-Call!/page12

Strange... I've had exactly the opposite experience at Back Bay. The Back Bay folks I've met were extremely soft-sell and non-judgemental, unlike a lot of other shops I've been to in the area. I've sent a number of people there over the years and they've all gotten the same vibe. Back Bay is, I believe, still the only shop in town that does "free tune-ups for life" on any new bike they sell.

Also, don't forget about International Bicycle Center on Brighton Ave. I've generally gotten a much better vibe from them than from Landry's or Wheelworks, but all three of those shops are so huge that YMMV greatly depending on who you're speaking to and how busy it is when you go in.

I've had bad experiences with International Bicycle Center in Allston (on Brighton Ave.), mostly because they're loathe to repair anything on my Raleigh. But even for basic work, I've had them give me back the bike with the fenders on wrong, and other minor problems like that. That said, I do go to them to purchase helmets, locks, lights, etc.

The best bike shop experience I've had in Boston was at Broadway Bicycle School, a cooperatively owned shop and repair school in Cambridge, near Central Square. They tore apart and repaired my hub and now the bike rides better than it ever has. And they did it quickly and cheaply. And it's a coop, so you know that your hard-earned dollars are going to the guy who fixed your bike, not disappearing into some corporate ether.

Agreed about Broadway Bicycle School being a great place. They can certainly order anything from QBP, but since they definitely don't stock a selection of tri bikes, they might not have what the OP is looking for on a regular basis.

I was here looking for options before, and a bunch of places are closed. I highly recommend going to Back in Action bikes if you race or are fairly serious about your biking. Zach is one of the only people I trust to work on my bike. Having also seen him interact with the other customers, he treats someone's beloved commuter as seriously as my "nice" bike and will give you all the ins and outs of the repair if you ask.

Other good options are Ace Wheelworks in Cambridge if you're over there.

gotta watch for those 12 yr old threads ... ;-)