Rich's Tongfamily (Richtong.net add-on)

Folks ask me all the time where to buy things. Most of the good sites are indexed by google, so you just have to manually search them. Here are some of the ones that I use with comments:
* Local Bike Shop. Patronize these folks if you can but many times they just don’t stock all the wierd things that I need. They are a dying breed. In Seattle, I use “Montlake”:http://www.montlakebike.com/home.aspx for years. They are a great shop and very local, so support them. The other shop in town is “Gregg’s Cycles”:http://greggscycles.com. I particularly like hanging out at the Bellevue shop. Lots of hard core bikers there. But, if you can’t get it from them, then there is online
* http://www.wisecyclebuys.com/. These guys have low prices are a local shop that also sells online. I’ve had good success with them and their prices on FSA can’t be beat.
* “Lickton’s”:http://lickbike.com. They are a small shop in Chicago, but I love them. Bob Lickton is a great guy who is very busy. Now they even have online ordering.
* “Total Cycling”:http://totalcycling.com and “Sdeals”:http://sdeals.com. When the Euro was low, the prices from Europe were wonderful even with the extra shipping charge. Now, the prices are about the same as the US, so I use these folks less. Sdeals is really Steve and they mainly have tires. Again, prices are OK, but not great particularly when shipping is included.
* “Bike Tires Direct”:http://biketiresdirect.com. They have good prices on tires, but also lots of other stuff now.
* “La Bicicletta”:http://www.labicicletta.com/. These guys are in Niagara falsl and have good prices on certain things. Tires for instance.
And then there are the big guys:
* “Excel Sports”:http://excelsports.com. A huge store online and offline. Prices are higher. Typically list, but they stock a lot. Also on the phone, these guys know their parts, so good for novices.
* “Colorado Cyclist”:http://coloradocyclist.com. These guys have a big store and more often than Excel they will have things they buy in bulk and then blow out.