Bike shop Inner Loop (Bellaire, White Oak: sales, price, shops)

[Oildog]

Anyone have preferences on Inner Loop bike stores/shops? My bike (mtn w street flats) got involved with drugs and ran away. So I'm getting another one. Any recommendations on places or brands?

[tcc_tx]

There's Bike Barn on Wesaylan & Bissonnet.

[14Bricks]

Not to piggy back off your post, but I'm also looking for a bike to ride through terry hersey park. People I've spoken to, told me I should get a rode bike. I've also been told that a good bike starts at about 500 dollars. I don't want to spend that much, no more than 150. I was thinking about looking on craigs list. Any advice.

[Oildog]

Originally Posted by 14Bricks

Not to piggy back off your post, but I'm also looking for a bike to ride through terry hersey park. People I've spoken to, told me I should get a rode bike. I've also been told that a good bike starts at about 500 dollars. I don't want to spend that much, no more than 150. I was thinking about looking on craigs list. Any advice.

Pawn shops, probably where mine is...I heard the same on pricing. You need a mountain or trail bike or the new word 'commuter' bike.

[brownybaby]

We like I Cycle - 18th and TC Jester.

[Houston_2010]

Some stores only cater to particular brands... I like Bike Barn - great selection of "Specialized" brand - road, mountain, comfort, etc. Also West U Cycles on Rice Village (Rice Avenue), the have "Raleigh" which are american made, as far as I know and a bit less expensive. I got my husband a comfort bike for about $300 a few years ago. There is another shop close to the train track on West U called Cyclone Cycles on Bellaire Blvd (near Paradise bowling alley).

If you try different bikes you will notice the higher the price the lighter they are (and better features). Think about how are you going to transport - door to door, or are you going to have to carry to a car bike rack, etc. When I bought my road bike it was October, and my bike ended up being on sales b/c they were trying to get rid of the older bikes to make room for new year's model.

Check out what's on sale at the different shops and look around on Craigslist. You may get lucky. A friend of mine had purchased a new road bike and after her first run she fell and injured her ankle. She decided biking wasn't for her and sold it cheap on Craigslist.

[karuna95]

You might want to check out Planetary Cycle on Braeswood @ Stella Link also.

[DJboutit]

Originally Posted by karuna95

You might want to check out Planetary Cycle on Braeswood @ Stella Link also.

That is a really nice place a little pricey & they do great repair work

[LostInHouston]

Recently bought a Redline D440 (fully rigid geared mountain bike) from Bikesport (near Edloe and Alabama)... it's not a huge shop (like Bike Barn) but I had a good experience. Looks like their service dept is always busy, which is usually an indication that they do good work. Seemed like they had a lot of Cannondales and Treks.

I've also heard good things about West End Bicycle, which carries a lot of Specialized.

As far as brands, I've found most brands around a certain pricepoint will have comparable components, so it really comes down to fit. For each manufacturer the frame will have slightly different dimensions... so a 19" frame from Trek may fit you differently than a 19" specialized. So try out as many bikes as you can. If you want the bike to last and not be constantly in need of a repair, I wouldn't look at anything in the sub $4-500 range.

[Seoid]

We like Blue Light on White Oak in the Heights. The customer service is excellent.