SoCalBicycles

The high point of my weekend was a trip to a «bike store» that was actually a dude’s garage. I bought a vintage north road style bar for $ 15, then he proceeded to talk to me about my build for an hour. Awesome! I gained a lot of knowledge. I could tell he was loving the opportunity to geek out on bikes too. He even brought my gf & I into his house to show off his personal collection. My girl got to play with his cat while we discussed the details of a few of his restorations. Cool guy. I’m glad I used Unilocal to find him. He said, «If I had an actual store I’d have to charge twice the price.“He was legit though — good selection, lots of knowledge («install cotter pins in the crank arms in reverse directions,» «use caged bearings…oh wait, that old hub won’t take those.») and personal opinion («non-​caged ball bearings suck!,» «flat bars suck!»). haha He even takes credit cards & gives receipts, so don’t be fooled by the out of house set up. I get a kick out of the hunt for parts. Usually the people who sell them are weird, in the best possible way. If I’m lucky, I’ll end up like that guy someday. I’ll definitely be heading back.

Don’t bother with Craigslist — go with this guy. I bought myself the bike of my dreams for what I feel was a really good price. He cares deeply about selling you a quality product (and spoke forlornly about the few times he bought a bike to refurbish without noticing its bent frame), and will happily educate you about the design and construction of your bike if you want to listen. Quick with emailed questions, very easy to work with — all around a great experience, and we’re lucky to have him here!

I purchased a beach cruiser bike from Walmart, nice bike but the tires were wobbly to the point I could not adjust the brakes. I call Walmart the tech said he could fix this, yet when I got there he said he was not good at truing the wheels and would rather not. Well all I can say is %&#$…
I found So Cal on Google maps and then read the review on Unilocal and decided to give them a call. As the other review mentioned he works out of his home, I spoke with him on the phone to make sure he was able to true my wobbly wheel. Extra plus I live very close to his home.
He was very nice and professional, fix my wobbly wheels for a great price and he is very knowledgable on old bikes. Check out his website. Glad I found him. He was able to fix in the same day as I waited.

This business is run out of a private residence but is a great place to get information about used bikes, purchase new and used bikes, and get recommendations on bike maintenance. I found this place through an ad on craigslist and followed up by checking out the website, which had a plethora of information on what to look for when buying used bikes. He is friendly and lets you try all the bikes, which he either assembles or restores himself, on a test drive. If you are in the market for a bicycle, check him out or at least his website.