Buffalo Bike Shops

[peterswim]

I'm shipping my bike to Buffalo in two weeks to ride the last two sections of the Northern Tier to Maine.  The ACA maps list two bike shops in Buffalo - Rick Cycle Shop and Berts Bike & Sport.  Anyone out there have any experience with either of these two stores and, if you do, any recommendation?

[Tourista829]

I use to live in Williamsville, N.Y. I am not familiar with the above bike shops, but the University of Buffalo is near Amherst, N.Y and I a sure anything around there would be good. Don't forget to eat Beef on Wick." Roast Beef on a Kimelwick Roll. Yummy!!!!! (A Buffalo Specialty)

[jcostanz]

How are you arriving in Buffalo as I might be able to suggest alternatives.  

I have never delt with Ricks shop.

I have used Berts bikes in the past and have not had any problems.
Berts Bikes is the largest bike shop in Western NY, 4 stores.  http://www.bertsbikes.com  Your best bet would be the northtowns store, located in Tonawanda/Amherst close to the Erie Canal.

In Niagara Falls, NY there are several shops that are alot closer to the Norther tier route headed East than Buffalo.

Jeff
Lewiston, NY

[jcostanz]

I have never used Ricks bike shop.

I have used Berts Bikes.  The closest to the route would be their Northtowns store in Tonawanda, which is about 10 miles from the airport.

Depending on how you plan on arriving in Buffalo, I can suggest different options/routes from the bike shop.

Jeff Costanzo
Lewiston, NY

[peterswim]

Thanks for the thoughts.  I'm flying into Buffalo from Los Angeles and spending the night before I leave at a hotel near the start in downtown Buffalo.  The folks at Bert's have told me their Tonawanda store is the one closest (about 8 miles) to where I am staying.  While Rick's is closer, the folks at Bert's have been much more responsive so I plan to reward their good customer service.

[jcostanz]

Are you planning on going to Canada via the Peace Bridge or directly heading east and connecting to the route near Lockport or heading to North towards Niagara Falls? 
You are about 5+ miles from the Erie Canal while at Berts Bikes.

Good Luck
Jeff

[CastAStone]

I lived about 6/10ths of a mile from the airport until a year ago. Berts is fine. I've bought stuff there before. Their staff is not great, but they're huge and have a huge selection. Its hard for me to believe that the Transit road Berts bikes isn't much, much closer to the airport, its only about 2-3 miles away. Then you can literally just ride straight up Transit to meet the AC route in Lockport. They're always extremely backed up so make sure that you have an appointment if your using them to build your bike.

The thing is, as Jeff indicated, the bike shops along the lake/river cater to touring cyclists to some extent because its a popular place for touring riders to ride. However they are much smaller than the Berts Mega-stores, with their mega-wall stacked to the ceiling with "new" 2007 model year bikes that they're still trying to sell at full price to the uneducated consumer.