|   Question for California Bay-area riders | AlaskaBikerGirl
Dec 9, 2001 4:58 PM | | I'm a relatively new mountain biker from Alaska. I'm 16 years old and I did three mountain races this year and had a complete blast. The downside of this experience is that I quickly realized that my bike I had thought was pretty cool is essentially useless for any good riding. I own a Schwinn Mesa - bought it about 3 years ago. It has a fork...but the thing is essentially like riding a rigid. All this to say, I need a new bike!! Two problems - #1. Frankly, all the choices are mind-boggling to me! How on earth are you supposed to choose?!? I can't even decide which manufacturer I like the best, let alone which model of bike! I look and just get all muddled. #2. There's really not a whole lot of selection up here in Alaska. I think there's three or four bike stores within a two hour drive of my house and only two of them are really any good. But they're both somewhat limited as to stock. Luckily for me, I'm going to California over Christmas break. I am going to be in the Woodside/Palo Alto/Redwood City area and I'm looking for some good mountain biking stores in that area or at least in the Bay-area. Anyone have any recommendations?? I have a lot of questions that I'd like to ask someone who knows a lot about different bikes who's also patient enough to deal with what I'm sure will be some rather basic, stupid questions. I've got some guy friends that bike but they're really only familiar with their own model of bike and they also can't help me out as to whether I should get a women's specific bike or not. So, if anyone has any suggestions for a bike store I should visit, please let me know. Also, if anyone has any suggestions as to resources for beginning mountain bikers (books, websites, etc), I would be very grateful. Thanks! |
| Post this somewhere else! | Finch Platte
Dec 9, 2001 5:25 PM | | In the Passion section of MTBR, too ;0)
I'm in CA, but can't help w/ shops in that area. Post this in Passion, and check out http://www.roaringmousecycles.com in San Francisco. Slatibartfast (Chris) and Penny are frequent posters in Passion.
Good luck!
Gary |
| Penny posts as "The Sock".... | CraigH
Dec 10, 2001 9:07 PM | | I was going to mention their store as well. I'm in CA too, but here that mean Canada. |
| re: Question for California Bay-area riders | Iain
Dec 9, 2001 7:00 PM | | Hey, I'd highly recomend Chain Reaction in Los Altos. Check them out at www.chainreaction.com. I bought my first bike from them. They stock Klein, Trek, Gary Fisher for the most part. Hope this helps. |
| Good Bay Area stores | Spectre
Dec 9, 2001 7:05 PM | | The stores I can recommend in the area are:
Palo Alto Bicycles - Downtown Palo Alto
Mike's Bikes - on El Camino
Garner's Pro Bike Shop - seems to be a decent place, don't have much direct experience with them.
Los Altos Bicycle Outfitter - On Fremont Street, just off of Foothill Expressway - may have demo bikes to borrow for the day, I really like this shop. They have Trek, Bianchi & Santa Cruz bikes
If you are going to Santa Cruz to ride at Wilder Ranch, a great store there is Another Bike Shop on Mission Street (also Highway 1) going north from Santa Cruz (it will be on the left side) They rent Specialized FSR-XC and Santa Cruz Superlight bikes for the day.
In terms of geometry, you may or may not fit on a bike with women-specific geometry. Generally, women (and other people) with shorter torsos fit better on this geometry as it has a shorter top tube. Other women fit just fine on a "normal" unisex geometry. In my opinion, fit is key, everything else is secondary. Beyond that, you need to figure out your budget. If your budget is $1200 or under, I would focus on hardtails as you will have too many compromises on parts for a FS bike under $1200.
Above that price level, it will depend on the type of riding you do and terrain on which you ride. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any more questions. |
| Good list | laffeaux
Dec 10, 2001 10:04 AM | | The list above is great. Starting from downtown Palo Alto, hit them in this order:
1 Palo Alto Bikes (on University near El Camino)
2 Garner's Pro Bikes (on El Camino in the Town and Country Mall)
3 Mike's Bikes (on El Camino just before Page Mill)
5 Bicycle Outfitter (Foothills Expy in Los Altos)
6 Chain Reaction Bikes (off of Foothills in Los Altos)
There's a few others in the area, but these are the "must visit" shops. |
| Re: Another bike store | Roadscuzz
Dec 10, 2001 9:29 PM | | I went by there today hoping to rent a FSR XC and they told me they dont rent bikes.
Bill |
| You're a Mt. Bikers dream... | E
Dec 9, 2001 8:35 PM | | A 16 y/o female rider! Very cool. (just don't tell my girlfriend I said that! :)
I'm a Bay Area local...born and raised.
Someone said Chain Reaction in Los Altos...that's a good shop.
Mikes Bikes on El Camino in Palo Alto is very good also.
Further south I recommend Summit in Los Gatos. Either that or Crossroads also in LG.
When it comes to what kind of bike to get...it really depends on the amount of $$ you have to spend.
Santa Cruz makes some female specific bikes that are reasonable in terms of price for the amount of bike you get.
Feel free to email if you have more Q's
Good luck!
E |
| woman specific design? | ibismojo
Dec 10, 2001 1:45 AM | | I'm not exaclty sure what it is with frame manufacturers making woman specific design. Seems like a marketing gimmick. In either case, a woman specific design may very well suit your need. But then again, how are you going to ride? XC? Downhill? Freeride? Urban? There isn't a bike that would suit all different riding styles the best, but that's not to say you can't ride your downhill bike for XC :)
Remember, unless if it's your friend working a bike store, those guys will probably say anything to get you buy their bikes. As nice and knowledgable some people maybe, that's there life, and they can't give out great advice all day long and expect to make ends meet. Before you buy any bike, be sure that is what you're looking for because you need it, not because some salesman said it'd be better. Everyone makes mistakes on purchases, I've made mine, and I'll learn from it. |
| You write well... | xerxes
Dec 10, 2001 10:28 AM | | kudos to your teachers. Since you read well too, no doubt, I'd suggest reading through the archives of the Beginner and What Bike to Buy forums here, in addition to this forum. There are hundreds of posts that specifically address your concerns on bike fit and what you need, as well as bike recommendations for various terrain and types of riding. Use the search function on the top of the page to zero in on any specific questions you may have. The rest is up to you. Good Luck. |
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