# Best Bike Shops in Bethesda/Silver Spring/Washington DC area



## dhaa2

Hi,

I'm new to the Montgomery Cty. area, and new to biking, so i have no clue what a good bike shop would be in this area. Does anyone have any suggestions on all-around good bike shops. I am looking into buying a good bike for beginners, and have around maybe $700 to $800 to spend, and would really NEED for a nice/knowledgeable employee to help me through the process of spending half my summer salary on a fine piece of machinery.
With that in mind, can anyone reccomend me an excellent shop which I can go to and get all the stuff I need to get to get started?


Thanks!


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## MarcelDuchamp

*Citybikes*

They have a fairly new store in Chevy Chase. Good selection of Specialized, Cannondale, Bianchi, and Jamis. Also a Surly and Moots dealer, but custom ti can get kinda pricy. In my experience the staff is very nice and knows more about bikes than you can imagine.

You can also try Griffin Cycles in Bethesda and The Bicycle Place in Silver Spring, but they are both fairly small and the bicycle place is often very crowded.

There are also Performance stores in Rockville and Gaithersburg- good prices, but the staff is generally less knowledgeable than at Citybikes and other stores.


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## darbo

MarcelDuchamp said:


> They have a fairly new store in Chevy Chase. Good selection of Specialized, Cannondale, Bianchi, and Jamis. Also a Surly and Moots dealer, but custom ti can get kinda pricy. In my experience the staff is very nice and knows more about bikes than you can imagine.
> 
> You can also try Griffin Cycles in Bethesda and The Bicycle Place in Silver Spring, but they are both fairly small and the bicycle place is often very crowded.
> 
> There are also Performance stores in Rockville and Gaithersburg- good prices, but the staff is generally less knowledgeable than at Citybikes and other stores.


All of those are great shops, and i would add College Park Bikes to the list. PG County, but worth the trip, especially if you want to ogle some cool vintage stuff...


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## sammy19

darbo said:


> All of those are great shops, and i would add College Park Bikes to the list. PG County, but worth the trip, especially if you want to ogle some cool vintage stuff...


I live in College Park, but work at Capitol Hill Bikes... I would suggest there! Yes I am biased, but I love the shop and the employees are knowledgable and very helpful. 8th and g st. SE by Eastern Market. Still check out the other shops do as many test rides as you can. We might still have some Lemond Tourmalet's at 20 percent off, so get down there if you have about 900-1000 to spend!!!! Call up and ask about the sale and tell em tall John sent you 

www.capitolhillbikes.com

---admittedly biased
John


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## triscuit

Also check out Proteus Bikes in College Park. Hudson Trail Outfitters in Rockville seems to have some knowledgable staff, though TenleyTown in DC is not so knowledgable. Touch and go there, but they have good prices. REI in College Park has a very good bike department, though if you don't want a Novara or Cannondale, their stock is not so great. 

Another vote for CityBikes in Chevy Chase. They have good stock, nice staff, and a good parking lot to try stuff out in.


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## Cedez le Passage

Yet another vote for CityBikes - Chevy Chase. Friendly, expert staff. Good selection, reasonable prices. I've been really pleased with them and am glad they've come to the neighborhood.


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## nate

I like City Bikes and the Bicycle Place. City Bikes is closer to my house and probably less than a 1/2 mile from my commuting route. Everyone there definitely is knowledgeable.

I used to use the Bicycle Place back when they had more stores, including when my parents took me to their Bethesda store to buy my 1986 Nishiki. They seemed good when I've been there lately, too, but I really miss the store they had in Silver Spring that was walking distance from my office and their store on Grubb road just isn't as convenient for me. They are definitely busy, partly because they have many longtime customers that keep coming back, a great reputation, and they have had to reduce their number of stores to one.

I don't like Performance in Rockville, at least not for major purchases. I have no problem buying clothes there, but their staff isn't nearly as knowledgeable as City Bikes. They have some good people, but not nearly as many or as much consistency across the board.

Big Wheel Bikes in Bethesda had very friendly and helpful guys when I was there a couple times. They definitely were younger, if that matters, and I'm not sure they had as much of a selection as a lot of places.

I've been to Griffin Cycle in Bethesda, but not enough to form an opinion. It did seem small like Big Wheel. I'm sure a lease in Bethesda is brutal.


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## wookieontherun

can't believe this thread has gone this long without a praise for Revolution Cycles. Just wonderful people with a wonderful bike selection and amazing service.


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## nate

wookieontherun said:


> can't believe this thread has gone this long without a praise for Revolution Cycles. Just wonderful people with a wonderful bike selection and amazing service.


Actually, I'm glad you mentioned it. I've never been there and you made me check their website and see that their Rockville store has opened. Georgetown is kind of a hike for someone in Bethesda or Silver Spring area when there are so many closer options, but now that they have a store in Rockville I will definitely check it out. Is it a big place? I think the accessory and clothing selection can often be lacking at the smaller shops mentioned here, which makes me resort to Performance online.


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## wookieontherun

because of their size in their other stores (dont know how big the rockville store is) they can get anything pretty darn quick.

actually they had my project one madone (which trek is mostly responsable for the timing) in within 2 weeks instead of a month.

too bad i got hit by a car on it yesterday. bike didnt sustain a scratch though- first ride and all.


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## moxfyre

*Proteus all the way*

I love Proteus. They are extremely friendly, they do good work, they will not try to sell you something too expensive, they have huge bins of used parts in good condition. They also give you free beer and pizza on Thursday nights!

I am a grad student at U of Maryland and I prefer Proteus. I don't like CP Bikes because they're more expensive and some of their employees act like if your bike isn't carbon-fiber DuraAce, it might as well go in the scrap bin.



triscuit said:


> Also check out Proteus Bikes in College Park. Hudson Trail Outfitters in Rockville seems to have some knowledgable staff, though TenleyTown in DC is not so knowledgable. Touch and go there, but they have good prices. REI in College Park has a very good bike department, though if you don't want a Novara or Cannondale, their stock is not so great.
> 
> Another vote for CityBikes in Chevy Chase. They have good stock, nice staff, and a good parking lot to try stuff out in.


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## CycleBatten

I like the Bicycle Place in Silver Spring. The people are nice and it's just a nice shop. I would also have to nominate Proteus and CP Cycles in College Park. Good little shops, but kind of far as I live in Bethesda and don't always liked driving all the way around the Beltway. 

Performance in Rockville is really close to my house so I swing by there whenever I need to pick up a spare tube or something quick and cheap. That's really all it's good for, picking up cheap little extras here and there. They usually do have some decent clearance clothes and stuff. The staff is not as knowledgeable as the other shops and it's just not the place to go for big purchases.


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