Where to buy a new bike in SF

[davebrowne]

Hi all,

I'm ready to stump up the cash and get myself a new road bike. I won't ask for suggestions on that - everyone has their preferences and it'll spam up the group.

I brought my single speed from London, but it doesn't quite cut it for me now.

So, being new to SF, I'm just looking for a quality bike shop, with good knowledge and service - so that I can get the right bike and get the right set up.

And of course, any discounts/schemes of which it take advantage are welcome!

Cheers!

[Guilherme Germoglio]

I didn't buy a bike on the Freewheel at Hayes, but they built my C50 (I brought the frame and parts) and they did a really good job (I also never heard anyone speaking bad things about them). I don't know yet if the long waiting lines are usual around here, but the only slot available to what they call 'pro build' was in two weeks in advance. So plan ahead if you have any big rides coming. 

[Daniel Hobe]

Bespoke (http://www.bespokecyclessf.com/) is my favorite in the city.
The mostly sell custom bikes (except for the Parlee Z5's) so they may
not match what you're looking for but the head mechanic there, Steph,
is really good. I've had him build up bikes from parts as well as
wheels. Really top notch work.

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[Darrin Ward]

ive had good experiences with american cyclery in upper haight.  honestly suggestions really depends on what you are specifically looking for and where you actually live and how much you want to spend.

certainly if you have the cash and want to go custom or high end, bespoke is a good place.  steph, their mechanic, is quite awesome.

freewheel and roaring mouse also come up a lot as quality shops.

darrin

[Jason Thorpe]

There's lots of good shops in SF.  I'm a fan of Big Swingin' Cycles (I've purchased 1 complete bike and 1 frame set there) and American Cyclery (my neighborhood shop, even though it's not quite in my neighborhood and there are a ton of shops right around where AC is located).

A good friend of mine is a big fan of Valencia Cyclery.  Box Dog is also a great little shop, as is Freewheel.  Bespoke has great fitting services, but their bikes are $$$ (custom).

Cheers!

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-- thorpej

[nathanb...@gmail.com]

Most places will give you a discount for an SF Bike Coalition membership. If you can wait a few more weeks, I'd recommend the 35% for up to 10% at some shops. Also note that buying at a shop sometimes gives you free check-in tuneups for a few months and/or will give you discounts on parts in addition... or they'll just be nice to you.

2 things that might help you:

-Where are you located? It's good to establish a relationship with a nearby shop. We have amazing shops in SF, so having a good neighborhood shop where they know your face/preferences is ideal
-What kind of bike? How much are you willing to spend? Again we have a great range of shops... if you want hte latest and greatest there's a few shops you'll definitely end up at. If you want great service or to buy from a co-op or bike shop with a social mission, then you'll be somewhere else.

Personally I love Box Dog since it's a co op and the dudes are super nice (helps that I've been going there for years and love randonneur style bikes.) Freewheel Hayes had some great mechanics and good dudes (I'll say I have only gotten bad service from Valencia) but Travis has moved onto Fresh Air Bikes. Dustin is still a fantastic wheelbuilder/mechanic... but I feel Hayes like it won't be the same without Travis and Connor. I've recently come across Huckleberry Bikes on Market and love their stock of bikes (Cannondales, Salsa, Pinarellos) and they stock some fantastic accessories/clothes such as Cedar Cycling's USA made wool jerseys. Rad. One last plug I'd make is for Montano Velo in Oakland. Amazing bikes, good friends, and some fantastic mechanics. 

Places I dislike:
American Cyclery and Freewheel Valencia due to the snark/poor service. Note that the guy I disliked at American Cyclery has moved onto another shop (and sadly a really good one I like a lot.) Pacific Bikes also has an owner who I disagree with and their awesome mechanics have sadly moved onto other places.

So again, everyone will have their preferences which may/may not suit you. Let us know what you're looking for/where you live!

[Scott Dier]

I've gone to huckleberry lately and like the shop a lot.  Don't know about the mechanics yet.  Bought a Brompton and won a caad10 frame at their safecracking.  They're building it up and you'll see it at a future sf2g.

[Dave Browne]

Thanks for the all the quick replies (Friday, nobody is working :) )

I live in Noe Valley, so not city centre, but fairly close. So most places are reasonably easy to get to.

Bike-wise. I'm not looking for some tricked-out-110%carbon-pro-thing. So not $$$, but also not $ - I'm looking for a really decent bike that will allow me to work up to 100 milers (whetted the appetite by doing the Bike 2 Work from SF to MTV on my single-speed!)

So not a custom job I am guessing - a stock/brand bike will do. Does that help? Or still too vague!!??

I'm in no particular hurry to buy (unless there are some nuts sales for Labour Day)

(And thanks for the mention of the SF Bike Coalition, will check it out)

Dave

Dave Browne |

Manager, Technology - People Technology & Operations |

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415-506-7007

[Peter Colijn]

FWIW, I'll throw in an anti-recommendation for Valencia Cyclery. Buying stuff (lights, pumps, tubes, whatever) there is fine but I wouldn't buy a whole bike. My tarmac was poorly assembled and their service dept. messed up my front derailleur a few times.

Peter

[Peter Chang]

2012/8/24 nathanb...@gmail.com <nathanb...@gmail.com>:

> I've recently
> come across Huckleberry Bikes on Market and love their stock of bikes
> (Cannondales, Salsa, Pinarellos) and they stock some fantastic
> accessories/clothes such as Cedar Cycling's USA made wool jerseys. Rad.

i think the huckleberry guys used to be most of bike nüt.

one of the ex-nütters is doing cykel in north beach (where i got the
bosberg). tiny shop w/ a small selection (mostly focus and something
else i can't remember) but their fit/setup was pretty nice (even
though i pretty much knew what my body was like i did it anyway since
it was 'free' w/ the bike :-)

for work there's a little shop on treat/18th who seems nice but i've
not gone there that offten (vaguely inconvenient hours). don't forget
sports basement which doesn't have the largest selection of bikes but
is where the cheap (ie, me) get duds.

oddly, i have to echo nathan's comments about
valencia/freewheel-mission. i go to them because they're local when
i'm coming off the shuttle for a tube/etc. otherwise, pedal revolution
has a nice crew but mostly city bike oriented.

\p

[djconnel]

Roaring Mouse near the GGB bridge is an excellent option with a focus on Specialized and some Litespeed (unless they've been convinced by Morgan Hill to dump those).

Dan

[Theo Cummings]

I've heard good things about both Bespoke and Roaring Mouse. 

On Fri, Aug 24, 2012 at 11:18 AM, djconnel <djco...@gmail.com> wrote:

Roaring Mouse near the GGB bridge is an excellent option with a focus on Specialized and some Litespeed (unless they've been convinced by Morgan Hill to dump those).

Dan

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-Theo

[Ben Kochie]

hah, Sweet, I didn't know you won the safecracking.

Yea, I went into huckleberry a while ago, seems like good place for
entry level bikes. Also has a nice selection of bike oriented, but
still street/work friendly clothing.

[Peter Chang]

i should have added that while most people on this list will have shop
preferences, the shop they like the most is probably the internet...

\p

[Matt Smart]

On Friday, August 24, 2012 10:20:57 AM UTC-7, davebrowne wrote:

Thanks for the all the quick replies (Friday, nobody is working :) )

I live in Noe Valley, so not city centre, but fairly close. So most places are reasonably easy to get to.

Bike-wise. I'm not looking for some tricked-out-110%carbon-pro-thing. So not $$$, but also not $ - I'm looking for a really decent bike that will allow me to work up to 100 milers (whetted the appetite by doing the Bike 2 Work from SF to MTV on my single-speed!)

So not a custom job I am guessing - a stock/brand bike will do. Does that help? Or still too vague!!??

I translate that to be in the $2-3k range.  I think the only place that semi-rules out is Bespoke (but again, if you want wheels built or a fit keep them on your visit list!)

[djconnel]

True for certain commodities, perhaps, but you're far more likely there to get a good price on something you don't actually want.

[Peter Chang]

2012/8/24 Matt Smart <matt...@gmail.com>

>
> On Friday, August 24, 2012 10:20:57 AM UTC-7, davebrowne wrote:
>>
>> Bike-wise. I'm not looking for some tricked-out-110%carbon-pro-thing. So
>> not $$$, but also not $ - I'm looking for a really decent bike that will
>> allow me to work up to 100 milers (whetted the appetite by doing the Bike 2
>> Work from SF to MTV on my single-speed!)
>>
>> So not a custom job I am guessing - a stock/brand bike will do. Does that
>> help? Or still too vague!!??
>
>
> I translate that to be in the $2-3k range.

hmmm... i think you can get the über-tricked - 1 at that price range
(ultegra/force mix rather than da or whatever).

> I think the only place that
> semi-rules out is Bespoke (but again, if you want wheels built or a fit keep
> them on your visit list!)

when i got my frame from bespoke the fit was included w/ the frame
cost (i have no idea if they still do this and at the time what a fit
session alone cost).

depending on what bits you already have and how you want to 'upgrade'
them custom works out to this price range too. i only know
rocklobster/seven but a sweet lobster is <2k and my seven was slightly
more.

\p

[Peter Chang]

2012/8/24 djconnel <djco...@gmail.com>:

> True for certain commodities, perhaps, but you're far more likely there to
> get a good price on something you don't actually want.

yeah, i was more thinking about things where shops make their money
but everybody buys off the internet (ie, not bikes).

\p

[Michael Gaiman]

Second (third?) Roaring Mouse. I haven't been to their new location,
but Chris, the owner, was really knowledgable and friendly when I used
to go to the old Sunset location. They also did a great job of
getting me a good insurance quote when bike BH got trashed in a car
accident.

I liked Bespoke, but again haven't been to their new location. I'm
very sad that they're no longer in Noe as they would have been two
blocks away from me. Their staff are friendly and their bike fits are
really good.

I'm not a huge fan of PacBikes. They're fine for random parts and
stuff, but my interactions with them have mostly left a sour taste in
my mouth.

But, if you're willing to travel north a bit, my favorite shop is
Studio Velo. I've purchased 2 different bikes from the guys at Studio
Velo and have been there numerous times for service and fitting.
Great, great guys: friendly, very competent, and they've bent over
backwards to help me out (including lending me a spare frame they had
while the one I ordered was on backorder--for 3 months, free of
charge). They're my first choice in the area even though SF itself
has many great shops.

[DHK Goes Well With Coffee]

I'd recommend you check out the bike shops and see which of the mechanic groups you like. YMMV - I've heard vastly different stories about the same place (not to be mentioned) from different people I know.

Bottom line is, you'll spend more time with the mechanics than you will with the guy/girl who's selling you the bike; unless you're planing on becoming a total DIY guy (for which people places like bikekitchen are a godsend) .

Depending on where you buy your bike, you might get a service plan thrown in for free; or for a modest price. If you're not looking to become a part time bike mechanic, that can be a good deal. 

That said, I bought my bikes from different places to the one where I have it serviced; it came down to convenience -- for me, Pacific Bikes on 4th and Harrison proved to be real convenient to where I worked, so it was easy to drop off. Of course, if you're working every hour that god gave  you, then you might find yourself using someone in another city (my current wrench is at Velotech in Palo Alto).

To put my money where my mouth is; based on repeat experiences, in no particular order:

• Pacific Bicycles
• Sports Basement (Bryant Street)
• American Cyclery
• Velotech Palo Alto
• Robinson Wheelworks (San Ramon)
• Nomad Cyclery

I know it's indiscriminate, but there you go: I"m a whore.

Two final notes: 

• your favorite guy (or girl) may move from one shop to another; so much of the preceding advice is invalid... 
  
• depending on what sort of riding you're doing, what sort of body you have and what sort of budget you've got, consider a bike-fit. When you buy your bike you should expect to be fit to your bike in some regard - seat adjustments, etc; but the sort of thing I"m talking about costs a couple or three hundred bucks, uses laser beams and technology sufficiently advanced as to be indistinguishable from magic and results in better performance, improved comfort and reduced risk of injuy. After all, at 60 rpm, you're just put 7,200 usage cycles on your knees in the course of an hour. Even small things being misaligned grow up to be the sorts of knees I have. 

YMMV, of course; and others may disagree; but hey: it's the internet. 

On Friday, August 24, 2012 9:28:23 AM UTC-7, davebrowne wrote:

[Will Aldrich]

+1 for Roaring Mouse. High integrity, great mechanics. Good for both road and MTB.