Al’s Freewheelin’cycles

What can you say about Al’s? For one it’s a piece of San Marcus’s truly great local stores with lots of unusual parts, interesting folks, and an aesthetic that doesn’t quite fit. I had gotten back into bicycling and had purchased a bike elsewhere. When I came in to Al’s it was because the shifting mechanism wasn’t working right not only did they do a better job of fixing my bike then where I bought it but their prices on bicycles were much, much cheaper after sometime I was looking to get a new road bike. I walked in to test drive some to see what I would like and found a red KHS I fell in love with. I got it for a great price and have enjoyed riding it ever since. Any maintenance or upgrades I want to do Al’s always takes care of me and at such a reasonable price how could you want to shop for bicycle in San Marcus anywhere else? Since writing this review, and slacking about publishing it Al has passed away. It was a shock, and his son may or may not take over. A sad day when I strolled up to a closed store with a bike that needed mending.

Wow, no one has reviewed Al’s yet?
Well, I’m a commuter cyclist and general bike nerd that is always looking for cool old stuff. Al’s has been around for about 300 years give or take, and in doing so has accumulated a shit ton of old bike parts. When you enter the store, there are shelves along the aisle with said miscellaneous parts. For instance, a couple weeks ago, I bought a pizza delivery basket for the front of a bike for $ 15. I once bought a pair of Campy Record down-​tube shifters for $ 10. Last week I bought a 20 year old bicycle repair manual in perfect shape for $ 5 and a Topeak SuperTourist rear rack for $ 20. I could go into more detail about the cool new-​old stock parts that pop up on the sale shelves, but I’ll leave it to you to go check it out for yourself.
Al’s also sells all kinds of new bikes and bike accessories. He has KHS and Origin8 stuff, which generally represents good value on the cheaper end of the bike scale.
He also sells cheap chinese motorized scooters, which is whatever. Not my thing. Also, his one employee (the tall, awkward dude) is really nice, but again, makes you feel really awkward when you want to browse by standing at the counter and staring at you until you either leave or make your purchase.
I’m a frequent Al’s visitor if only for his sale shelves, but if you need cheap bike accessories or an affordable commuter, check him out. If you want a higher quality product, go a block over and visit The Hub.