I wanted some local opinions on whats are some of the best bike shops in tucson

I wanted some local opinions on whats are some of the best bike shops in tucson

Fair Wheel Bikes - Ralph, the owner is a good guy and knows his stuff. I have yet to find a better shop.

Yup, Fairwheel Bikes and Ralph are great. Arizona Bike Experts are also top notch (on 6th, just east of 6th/Tucson intersection.)

Fair Wheel Bikes - Ralph, the owner is a good guy and knows his stuff. I have yet to find a better shop.

I was acutally snubbed at Fair Wheel Bikes. Swore I'd never return again. They looked at me, ingnored me, then helped whoever else came in. After standing around for 15 minutes trying to get someone to help me, I literally had to crawl behind the counter and into their shelves before they asked me what the hell I wanted. Then they had me spend another 20 minutes by having ME look for my own bottom bracket in their shop before realizing they didn't have it in stock.

Best service I ever had at a lbs is at Ajo Bikes. They actually went out of their way to help me.

I live in Oro Valley and travel all the way down to Arizona Bicycle Experts. Nice guys, happy to shoot the **** with you. It would be the pick of the shops that I have visited in Tucson.
I found most of the guys at Supergo to be nice, a few are dicks that tend to know nothing but think they know everything. One guy called Craig is good to deal with, helpful and knowledgable.
I have had a fitting at Tucson Bicycles to help try to address a knee problem (terrible, just applied the standard formulas without looking at me on the bike - the single biggest waste of $50 I ever spent).
Bike tune up at Sabino Cycles, didn't think they did a great job on the tune-up. But not a bad shop. The guys know their stuff and were helpful.
Wanted a Colnago but was put off from buying at Fair Wheel by disinterested customer service, so bought something else from elsewhere.
I really can't recommend Oro Valley Bikes. I am easily put off by poor customer service and bull shitters, so tend to do most of my own work and buy on line often.

I live in Oro Valley and travel all the way down to Arizona Bicycle Experts. Nice guys, happy to shoot the **** with you. It would be the pick of the shops that I have visited in Tucson.
Wanted a Colnago but was put off from buying at Fair Wheel by disinterested customer service, so bought something else from elsewhere.
I really can't recommend Oro Valley Bikes. I am easily put off by poor customer service and bull shitters, so tend to do most of my own work and buy on line often.

Hey, I live in Oro Valley, too. You're right about the guys at ABE. I'm buying a Moots in the near term, and the guys at ABE are getting my money. As for Oro Valley Bikes...you're spot on. I tried contacting them re: Moots, but they were unresponsive.

Fairwheel Bikes is a funny place. Sometimes they're great. Other times, as people have noted, some of the people there seem to cop a bit of a 'tude. I've always had good experiences w/ Jason, in back (bike fit) and with the owner, Ralph.

The guys at Performance Bikes are completely useless, as is the selection there. I only go back because occasionally I get my Team Perf. $10 coupons. Supergo is better than Performance Bikes, and the selection is better. It's not a very personable store, though. It's like shopping at any department store. I go there to buy Sugoi bibs, and that's about it. Tuscon Bikes, or whatever it's called, is way overpriced, and there is really nothing special about the store, other than it's a place to stop and refill my water bottles on the way back from Mt. Lemmon.

ABE is my first choice. Very casual, there, and they have a very spiffy bike selection, as well as one of the best selections of stuff in town.

I think our paves have crossed on the Moots web site. Don't you commute in to the university every day?
I have a Moots, actually going down to ABE to pick up the Moots stem that was back ordered tomorrow. I don't think you can go wrong with the shop or the Moots. When are you going to pull the trigger?

I think our paves have crossed on the Moots web site. Don't you commute in to the university every day?
I have a Moots, actually going down to ABE to pick up the Moots stem that was back ordered tomorrow. I don't think you can go wrong with the shop or the Moots. When are you going to pull the trigger?

Yup. That's meet. As for pulling the trigger, it'll probably be in 2-3 months. I'm waiting to settle the accident claim that is going to pay for the bike, and that isn't going to happen until my state is better defined medically. In March, I was in Colorado so I took the opportunity to pop into the Moots factory. That was definitely orgasmic. I didn't show up on one of the scheduled tour days, but Wendy was happy to take me around the factory anyway. John C. let me ride his 57.5 cm Vamoots. Since I was only in jeans and casual non-bike shoes, I only rode it for about 3 miles. Very nice people. They even babysat my 7y.o. daughter whilst I rode.

ABE is getting a 57.5 cm for me to ride. I think it'll prolly be a Vamoots....I don't know if there are any Compacts in the test fleet. At any rate, I can't wait to do a real test. ABE is definitely a great shop. The fit they did was prolly the best I've had yet, and I'm completely chuffed that they're now selling "LiveWrong" tshirts. What more could you ask for in a shop?

thanx guys for all the input

i went to performance bike on broadway and the guy there seemed oblivious to some of the questions plus like many of u said there selection was very limited

i also went to supergo the guy showed me a few bikes and even helped me out on choosing the correct bike which is a hardtail mtb because i wanna ride out there at starpass and sabino canyon and since i also want to use it to commute he recommended it because he said i could just switch to slicks or cross tires when i commute which sound pretty good to me since my budget is limited


im gonna checkout broadway cycles tomorrow and abe see how they treat me

once again thank you

thanx guys for all the input

i went to performance bike on broadway and the guy there seemed oblivious to some of the questions plus like many of u said there selection was very limited

i also went to supergo the guy showed me a few bikes and even helped me out on choosing the correct bike which is a hardtail mtb because i wanna ride out there at starpass and sabino canyon and since i also want to use it to commute he recommended it because he said i could just switch to slicks or cross tires when i commute which sound pretty good to me since my budget is limited


im gonna checkout broadway cycles tomorrow and abe see how they treat me

once again thank you

Arizona Bicycle Experts -- for sure the place to go in Tucson. Fair Wheel is, in my experience, a little too "cool" for their own good. Full Cycle dropped over time and now is a Superblo chain store. Haven't been to some of the more out of mid-town places, but ABE is probably all you need for service and if they sell what you need. Bikes are Kona, Santa Cruz, Ellesworth, Felt, Orbea, and probably some others I forget. Small stock but that's OK. You might need Superblo for some generic item, but for real service, try ABE.

(BTW -- I don't work with or for them, this is just my honest experience over the last few years.)

PS - I think Ralph is a great guy, and I like the Lemond and Gary Fisher lines. Just wish they were a bit more down to earth and less "you're not worthy."

The guys in ABE told me about a new shop at the weekend. I checked it out on Sunday. It is on the SE corner of Campbell and River. They are high end road bikes only, they sell Orbea, Cannondale, Pinarello, Pegoretti and I think they are getting Colnago, I may have forgotten some others.
I went with my wife who gets dragged along and has no interest in anything cycling but does it to amuse me. We were just going to pop in for a few minutes so I could have a look. We were there for an hour. The guys are very friendly, ex-racers with no attitude at all. They chatted to my wife so she wasn't kicking about bored off her ass.
Didn't buy anything, they didn't try to sell me anything, just nice chaps. I think I will be giving them some business in the future. Cannot comment on the work they do as regards repair/fitting. But if you like bike porn, this is a shop that is as good as I have ever seen (I moved from Boulder, CO where there are some very high end shops). If this sounded like an advert it isn't, I have no affiliation to the shop and only met the guys yesterday.

Thanks for the info -- will be nice to have some other options in town. Is that going to be in St. Phillips Plaza, then? (Don't miss the new Trader Joe's across the street and over the Rillito.)

Not sure the name of the plaza. It is next to a restaurant called something beginning with V and on the opposite corner to Starbucks. We had a long chat about good restaurants in Tucson, apparantly the restaurant that starts with the V is good. We have eaten at some really shiddy places since we moved here. So not only did I get to look at some sweet bikes, I also got many restaurant recommendations.
I guess the guys who own the shop are pretty well known in the Tucson race scene, one of the guys is an ex-pro (I got his card at home but forget his name, Chris I think, terrible with names). They do have Gord Fraser's bike from the Athen's Olympics on display.
Perhaps now we have assessed all the bike shops in Tucson we can start to rank the restaurants - we can print this thread out and produce the definative book on 'Bike Shops and Restaurants of Tucson.'

Arizona Bicycle Experts -- for sure the place to go in Tucson. Fair Wheel is, in my experience, a little too "cool" for their own good. Full Cycle dropped over time and now is a Superblo chain store. Haven't been to some of the more out of mid-town places, but ABE is probably all you need for service and if they sell what you need. Bikes are Kona, Santa Cruz, Ellesworth, Felt, Orbea, and probably some others I forget. Small stock but that's OK. You might need Superblo for some generic item, but for real service, try ABE.

(BTW -- I don't work with or for them, this is just my honest experience over the last few years.)

PS - I think Ralph is a great guy, and I like the Lemond and Gary Fisher lines. Just wish they were a bit more down to earth and less "you're not worthy."

Maybe it's the roadie vibe. Ralph and Jason went out of their way to help me get addicited to mtbing and keep me going (maybe I was their token mtb guy). In fact 6 years later they sent back a broken frame that was the 2nd one I broke that had already been replaced and I hadn't shopped there in two years after moving to Phx. Now that's service.
Course greasing the wrenching with a few beers and living three blocks away didn't hurt.
FWIW- I've had more than a few people who won't go back to ABE after they felt they were given the short end of the stick on prices or the price "changed".

Thanks for the info -- will be nice to have some other options in town. Is that going to be in St. Phillips Plaza, then? (Don't miss the new Trader Joe's across the street and over the Rillito.)

It called Arizona Cyclist and is in St Phillips Plaza. They have a rudimentary website at www.arizonacyclist.com. I was there this past weekend. Seemed like very nice guys, and and of course the misses couldn't leave without dropping some coin on new clothes...

Nonetheless, they had some very nice stuff... I'd never seen the Dogma in person... They also have high end pedals, campy, etc. I'll go back again...

It called Arizona Cyclist and is in St Phillips Plaza. They have a rudimentary website at www.arizonacyclist.com. I was there this past weekend. Seemed like very nice guys, and and of course the misses couldn't leave without dropping some coin on new clothes...Nonetheless, they had some very nice stuff... I'd never seen the Dogma in person... They also have high end pedals, campy, etc. I'll go back again...

Yup. Nice shop, and I bet that as their cash flow improves, it'll get nicer. One of the owners is an ex-Supergo manager.....so he's definitely moving up in the world, no longer part of the Dark Side.

With Arizona Cyclist, ABE, Sabino Cycles, and Fairwheel Bikes (at least on some days), Tuscon riders have quite a tasty selection of bike bits at LBS's. Only highlights just how deep in the dung heep Supergo, Performance Bikes are.

I don't suppose you noticed iffin' Arizona Cyclist had Maxxis tire in, yet, did you? When I visited the shop, they said they were getting the Hors Categorie skins. Hopefully, they'll also get the Detonators. I'm muy interested to try the Maxxis stuff.

At any rate, the Dogma was definitely drool worthy; the Orbea Orca was beauteous; and the Pegoretti bikes were most capable of causing a guy to soil his shorts.

Fair Wheel is, in my experience, a little too "cool" for their own good.

"snip"

PS - I think Ralph is a great guy, and I like the Lemond and Gary Fisher lines. Just wish they were a bit more down to earth and less "you're not worthy."


I get the same feeling about Fair Wheel. I used to work right across the street from them, and they were real convenient. Sometimes I would get great service and lots of attention. Other times it was clear I was not someone they wanted to deal with.

I only add this comment in the hopes that some at Fair Wheel reads it, and gets it. You are running a business, and I don’t understand why you would want to chase away customers.

Daredelvis

I've never noticed any attitude problems at Fairwheel. I generally notice the "roadie attitude" at any shop I go to and I haven't seen it at Fair Wheel. I'm not saying those who say they had had issues are wrong jsut that I haven't had any myself.

I have been a customer of Tucson Bicycles for over a year and have spent a significant amount of money there. Several days ago, I received a phone call from the shop owner, accusing me of taking an item from their shop without paying for it. Since she sold the item to me, and I had the sales receipt, I was understandably upset. I told her that I had paid for the item and could document my payment. She became abusive and told me that I should fine another place to shop for my biking needs. I certainly intend to take her advice and shop elsewhere. There is no excuse for a store owner becoming abusive with a customer. Oh, yes, and they finally admitted that I paid for the item they accused me of taking from their shop.

I have been a customer of Tucson Bicycles for over a year and have spent a significant amount of money there. Several days ago, I received a phone call from the shop owner, accusing me of taking an item from their shop without paying for it. Since she sold the item to me, and I had the sales receipt, I was understandably upset. I told her that I had paid for the item and could document my payment. She became abusive and told me that I should fine another place to shop for my biking needs. I certainly intend to take her advice and shop elsewhere. There is no excuse for a store owner becoming abusive with a customer. Oh, yes, and they finally admitted that I paid for the item they accused me of taking from their shop.

Dang, that's pretty outrageous! With over 20 shops for Tucson cyclists to choose from, that kind of customer service will kill an LBS. I sincerely hope they do something to make amends with you.