gamuell

I'm looking to buy a road bike and I'm having a hard time choosing a good local bike shop. I bought my last bike at Jones Bicycles in Long Beach, but they seem to be dedicated to fixed gear bikes now.

I'll travel pretty much anywhere in LA/OC to get a good fit and people who know what they're doing. Anybody been to ARoadBike4U in Irvine, or Fullerton Bicycle? Any places I should avoid? I'm not sold on any particular brand, but I'd like to try out as many as possible.

azncarbos

CycleWerks in Costa Mesa is my usually shop to go for almost everything and the guy are awesome over there or Surf City Cyclery in Huntington Beach is another place too.

meganl

I've been to ARoadBike4U in Irvine, and they have only very high end bikes. If that's what you're looking for they're probably perfect for you. The shop is also very small, and they didn't have a very extensive selection to try out.

I'd recommend checking out The Path in Tustin. They bill themselves as mostly a mountain shop, but they also have a great selection of road bikes (mostly Specialized) at a variety of price/experience levels. The staff is super nice and helpful, low pressure, and very knowledgeable. Check out www.thepathbikeshop.com

Good Luck!

Eticket

I'll second Surf City Cyclery and their about to open a new location in Costa Mesa.

rooftest

Helen's in Santa Monica is worth the drive.

Pamestique 

Helen's is good. In Orange County try the Edge in Laguna Niguel, and Patrick's Cyclery in Laguna. I also like RocknRoad in Irvine but there are solely a Specialized shop. There's also InCycle in San Dimas. And darn if I can't remmeber the name but there's a good shop in Pasadena as well.

kenrudman

Open Road on Sierra Madre Blvd?

snowman40

I prefer Irvine Bicycles and I don't like the RockNRoad shop in Irvine. FinalFit is a good fitting shop, they are associated with Irvine Bicycles and that was a good experience*.

The A Road Bike 4 U is very small and the bikes are very high end (compared to my budget anyways). It all depends on what you are looking for.

* - I've only had one bike fitting, so I might be skewed.

Garfield Cat

I f you have been riding for a while and thus experienced, you must have some preferences by now. Based on those type of things, then you would be well served by concentrating on those bike shops that cater to those needs. Just like you said about Jones in Long Beach.

Sounds like you already narrowed it down to "a good fit and people who know what they're doing". To me that means an experienced fitter and a good mechanic. Some fitters are not with a bike shop. They can also tell you what they think is a good bike for you without all the hype about a certain brand.

I have used Eileen Olson and partner Bill McPherson. She's the fitter and sometimes racer. He's been a pro mechanic for a Canadian team and lately with Astana while here for the Tour of California. Bill did my build. They're in Costa Mesa, but not out of a shop but their home. Their company name is Erowheels.

426 E 19th St
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Or call at: 949-722-6342

Kaneko

I recommend Irvine Bicycles(Sand Canyon Cyclery). Josh and his crew are great!

bigtempo

I live in the San Gabriel Valley, these are the shops I am most familiar with

Open Road Pasadena - Steve, for all of his quirks, is really a cool dude. I can go a couple years without popping my head in there and he will still remember me. No sales tax (don't know how he stays in business). His shop is usually a total mess and if you ask for a part, don't be surprised if he grabs the part off a showroom bike. He is really overwhelmed with everyone bringing in their beaters, but he is still the only one who rebuilt a wheel while I waited (about 45 min) on one of his couches and watched some random cycling vid

Velo bikes Pasadena - lots of high end stuff, Armenian dudes. Vintage bikes hanging...

Stan's in Monrovia - I started going here more often since it is closest to me. Cool dudes. This placed used to be Velo Monrovia (joined with the Pasadena one) but they broke off. One of the mechs was brought over from Pasadena, Ken, and is one of the few people in the area that can rebuild campy shifters. Cool calm dude.

Temple City Bike Shop - I like these guys a lot (other than the cranky older guy), they have three real strong wheel builders and know their stuff. They roll the LBS hook up (the more you go there the greater your discounts).

Pasadena Cyclery - I do not know too much of this shop but it seems pretty pro. All I know is they have the bike I want there, Gary Fisher Cobia.

Steve's Pet and Bike - LOL, that's all

Helen's in Arcadia - This place blows. I only go in here under dire circumstances and one last desperate effort before I order on line. Used to be called Pro Bikes of Arcadia years ago. There was one cool mech there named Mike who moved on to Foes. But he is long gone

Jones San Marino - I bought my first mountain bike there. I put them in the same category as Helen's, the clueless shops. And recently Jones in Long Beach pretty much took advantage of my brother in law (long story), so I pretty steer clear.

Incycle in San Dimas - It seems like a pretty cool place. The only thing was I went there and the kid who helped me was very clueless. I asked for Cross bikes, and he tried to show me hybrids *facepalm*

There's a dude out on Arrow Highway. Irwindale Cycles I believe. It is a small shop next to a Starbucks. The guy has a few things but he is ace. He helped me out with something and did not charge me a dime. Just asked me to remember him next time I needed to buy something. I will hit him up soon and payback the favor.

andrace

what about kings in seal beach? i stopped on by and i liked what i saw, any experiences?

bigtempo

Back about 6 years ago, they were known for being real good wheel builders. One of the mechanics had pro experience. I am not sure how it is now.

haimtoeg

Haven't been to King's in a while (a few months), but they are very knowledgeable and excellent mechanics as well.

longbeachgary

Jax in Long Beach if you like Trek.

Jaguar27

I'll second that..Josh is an Ace Mechanic and don't forget His trusty Assistant, Mo the Dog ;-) They offer Felt, Colnago, LOOK..Cannondale, so they have plenty of selection...

kenrudman

I bought my Gary Fisher road bike from them on a screaming closeout/demo deal. Very nice folks to deal with. They've made some decent adjustments for me. But if you're not looking for Trek/G Fisher/Bontrager, you're not going to have much of a selection in road bikes.

gamuell

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I think I'll start at Irvine Bicycles and Surf City Cyclery and go from there.

Hollow_Cyclist

Incycle Chino is probably one of the top 5 bike shops in southern california. They carry Mavic, Zipp and Fulcrum wheels and have high-end components and complete bikes in stock. This is the only bike shop in my area that has LOOK, Cervelo, Pinarello AND the complete line-up of the Trek Madone Series in stock. Not only that, they also sell Specialized bikes. They even sell supplements!!! You can get anything you need that is cycling related at this store. They also take care of your bike within 15 minutes of bringing it in, if its a flat or a minor adjustment. Most problems can be taken care of within an hour. They are fully staffed and the employees are passionate about cycling and most of them actually race locally. These guys know what they are doing. I wouldnt be surprised if they were ranked in the TOP 3 in the entire state of California as one of the best bike shops.

This is the only bike shop that has it all and Ive been to many bike shops. From now on, I only go to Incycle Chino. There is also a store in San Dimas and its a bigger store but they carry lesser models (midrange models between $1,800 to $4,000 in value would be considered their upper-end) and the staff is younger. The only concern is that some of the employees are seemingly elitists and will make you feel like they are somewhat condescending but thats just a personal observation and probably not the experience most have.