Best Bike shop in America

[madcow]

Active times is running their best shop in America poll and we're once again among the nominees. Last year we finished in 7th place but we hope to improve on that this year. If you like what we're doing, go and please vote for us, you can vote for more than one shop.

Article: http://www.theactivetimes.com/whats-bes ... us-wrapper

Direct link to voting (fair wheel is in the Mountain West group) https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2014-best-bike-shops

[FIJIGabe]

Done! Also voted for Mellow Johnny's (my local-ish shop), but good luck to you guys!

[kode54]

without a doubt, Jason deserves a shout. wish you were on the east coast.

[desperado95219]

Done...for Fairwheel Bike.

You've got to be kidding me. Oakdale Bicyle was on the list. My God! I went in there once.....and back out within 10 seconds.

[tonytourist]

Voted for FWB!

[Johnny Rad]

Fairwheel - unrepentant weight weenies for the win

[boysa]

Cast my vote. My dealings with Fairwheel have been tremendous. I hope the people who can actually call it their "LBS" know how lucky they are.

[HammerTime2]

I definitely showed some support. Since I'm originally from Chicago am I supposed to vote twice?

No!!!! At least 3 or 4 times. And even more when you're dead.

[Stolichnaya]

Done. FWB. There is really no other choice.

[BeeSeeBee]

Even disregarding the fairly unique/esoteric selection of products that appeal to weight weenies, Fairwheel does what I can't really say any of those other shops do (at least to my knowledge), which is maintain a great online presence beyond just having some social media pages. Their contributions here and elsewhere with their reviews, testing, and insight are something that I greatly appreciate. What I look for in a store is something that they do that I can't do myself, and because of the information I've gained here and elsewhere, I feel pretty confident that I could walk into most shops with more knowledge than their sales staff, no so with Fairwheel. So thank you for that Jason and crew!

[mcwall1064]

I am local however it would be difficult for me to call them the "Best Bike shop in America". The staff is friendly enough at the front counter but their basic knowledge needs to be seriously addressed. As for voting solely based upon having a unique/ esoteric selection, that simply doesn't cut it. I can get cycling exotica online at any time even though there is some satisfaction in actually holding the part you're interested in buying. In all fairness, in the past Fairwheels was the only shop that I would do business with. I like buying zoot stuff at a local shop even if I could find it cheaper online. I have had three bikes built by them in the past few years but I'm beginning to reconsider.

Earlier this week I bought a Chris King mountain bottom bracket and Chris King I2 headset. While holding the bottom bracket I noticed that it only had two 2.5mm spacers. When I said something to the guy helping me he said he didn't know and referred to the other guy behind the counter. Fine. If you don't know don't guess. The other fellow promptly stated without any knowledge of what crankset I'm using or the bottom bracket shell width, "Just use one spacer on each side." FYI I'm using a 24mm spindle Raceface double w/o a chain guide so I in fact need three spacers. I said I didn't believe that to be correct. He then stated the Chris King non-drive side bearing cup is wider than others (i.e Shimano / Raceface) so the spacing was to be different. I then told him I didn't believe that to be correct either. Sensing my frustration, the guy helping me then said he would go check with a mechanic. He returned in about a minute saying that indeed only two spacers are necessary. That's when the other fellow chimed again "Just put one spacer on each side". At this point, I asked the guy helping me to look at the instructions. In his defense, once the instructions are opened and unrolled they're a real PITA. After fumbling with the instructions for a few minutes he concluded the spacer placement wasn't specified. What I'll need to do is try them in different positions until I had the correct chainline. Ugh. I had additional spacers at home but I wanted the nice aluminum anodized Chris King models. Completely frustrated I just bought it and left.

Once at home I looked at the instructions and see that in fact three 2.5mm spacers are required for my configuration. I sent an email to Chris King to verify that I needed three spacers. Chris Kessler at Chris King informed me that I did indeed need 3 spacers and immediately dropped one in the mail. This experience pissed me off. What I can tell you is that at Fairwheels the customer does not come first.

Best Bike Shop in America. Hardly.

[dogg]

ill vote for my friendly and helpful lbs, not an online retailer

[maggierose]

Mcwall has 2 posts on ww & chose to critique Fairwheel over spacers requird on a bb with one them?

I like King parts. Last year I installed a road CK BB on a GXP crank on a customer's Calfee. Frankly, King's instructions are crap. I called for support & received a condescending incorrect instruction from CK. I figured it out after a little trial/error.

Holding bike shop employees accountable for number of spacers required doesn't discount the quality of FWB's service. Mcwall may have another reason to discount FWB but IMHO this is a poor example given my personal experience with CK BB's. YMMV.

[Fourthbook]

Happy to cast a vote! IME FWB is a leading national online presence for sales, service and technical advice for high-end & after-market components and custom wheel sets. But what I appreciate the most is their commitment to conducting/publishing independent evaluations of components and their willingness in concert with leading frame makers and artisans to push the boundaries of bike design/production. Can't comment on its store-front operation, but FWB is the online site I contact first when looking for exotic parts and advice, which they've always provided me even when I'm not shopping.

[uraqt]

and this is why FWB is the best shop in the world!!!!

"Their contributions here and elsewhere with their reviews, testing, and insight are something that I greatly appreciate."

Buying stuff, getting stuff setup and getting stuff fixed is easy .... Real testing and real reviews are real hard!!!!

Thank you Thank you very much!!!!
C