Good bike shop in San Fernando Valley?

I'm a newbie looking to buy a bike and need to know who are the best stores to deal with in the San
Fernando Valley, CA area are. Any help would be appreciated. Chris Boscarino

I've always just made the trip 'over the hill' to Helen's in Westwood or Santa Monica. They've
always been pleasant enough (I'm admittedly a low maintenance guy, however).

"Chris Boscarino" <cboscari@msn.com> wrote in message
news:fb42adf3.0305121114.28979175@posting.google.com...
> I'm a newbie looking to buy a bike and need to know who are the best stores to deal with in the
> San Fernando Valley, CA area are. Any help would be appreciated. Chris Boscarino

Try Bicycle John's on North Hollywood Way in Burbank. It's a little far out of my territory, but
I've heard good things about it.

M.J. in Beverly Hills

On Wed, 14 May 2003 03:54:39 GMT, "J Ward" <magicant2000@yahoo.com> wrote:

>I've always just made the trip 'over the hill' to Helen's in Westwood or Santa Monica. They've
>always been pleasant enough (I'm admittedly a low maintenance guy, however).
>
>
>"Chris Boscarino" <cboscari@msn.com> wrote in message
>news:fb42adf3.0305121114.28979175@posting.google.com...
>> I'm a newbie looking to buy a bike and need to know who are the best stores to deal with in the
>> San Fernando Valley, CA area are. Any help would be appreciated. Chris Boscarino

In article <3afbcvgnthrqdlobekhu4hq9h26lmto094@4ax.com>, M.J. Grove <mjgrove@socal.com> wrote:

> Try Bicycle John's on North Hollywood Way in Burbank. It's a little far out of my territory, but
> I've heard good things about it.
>
> M.J. in Beverly Hills
>
>
>
> On Wed, 14 May 2003 03:54:39 GMT, "J Ward" <magicant2000@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> >I've always just made the trip 'over the hill' to Helen's in Westwood or Santa Monica. They've
> >always been pleasant enough (I'm admittedly a low maintenance guy, however).
> >
> >

Well,

I live on the corner of a square which if placed on a map would place me roughly equidistant and 3-5
minutes away from 3 different Helen's and I make the 30 minute trip t'other way over the hill to the
already mentioned Bicycle John's. At one of the Helen's near me I was offered a Torelli in a color I
didn't particularly like and in a not optimal 56 for a "price so low I can't even let you have the
normal bike club discount on it." At Bicycle John's I bought the same Torelli in the proper 58, in
the color of my choosing, with a better seatpost and stem for $200 dollars less than Helen's deal of
the century pricing. At the end of first 1000 miles instead of a free "let's twist a few cable
adjusters 'tune-up'", John let me into the shop after closing and supervised me while I did my first
tear down and re-build with his tools so I would know how to do it for my self. He swapped the first
saddle for free (after a month) and then 9 months after that sold me a selle Italia trans am max for
his invoice cost of $30. Then on my way out, he tosses me the just replaced one and tells me to keep
it as a spare.

Are you getting the picture? Helen's is an O.K. , probably won't steer you too far wrong,
professional and courteous in a slick kind of way that's really good at making neophytes and
Yuppies feel comfortable and then seperates them from their money kind of place. However if you're
looking for something a little better or a little different than an Alumimum Trek or Cannondale and
you want it built just the way you want it, then stay closer to home and give one of the "good
guys" your business.

Kurt