Top Bike Stores In Denver

There are any number of great bike shops in the Denver Metro area, many of which I have yet to visit. Which, actually, is difficult to imagine as whenever I see one, I stop, wander through, and invariably buy something, whether I need it or not. (In MY mind, I ALWAYS need it. In my wife's mind, I never do.) Here are some of my favorites. I'd love to hear which ones turn the crank for you.

Wheat Ridge Cyclery

7085 W. 38th Ave.
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
(303) 424-3221
www.ridewrc.com
Wheat Ridge has been my go-to bike shop since I first stepped in there in 1986 (back when it was smaller than an English phone booth and run by Eugene Kiefel). Now, it's absolutely huge (run by son Ron Kiefel) and is a tremendous shop with great selection and solid pricing. You can find just about anything there. It's a great place to be fit for a bike as well. The only problem is that it's a long way from where I am ... driving up Wadsworth from the SW side can take FOREVER.

Bicycle Village

Various Locations in the Metro Area
www.bicyclevillage.com
Bicycle Village has four stores in the Metro Area and one in Colorado Springs, so it is very easy to not only find a shop nearby but to also find one you can likely ride to for service, parts or simply to hang out for a bit. They offer a great selection of bikes and there is almost always some kind of sale going on. The one caution that I would have is: don't do what I do -- walk into any bike store and point at the one with the pretty color and whine -- does that come in ultra-short? Use the staff at a place like Bicycle Village to help you find the right bike for your needs, one that fits properly! This is a good place to do that.

Performance Bicycle

Various Locations
www.performancebike.com
Performance Bicycle is a national chain with four stores in the metro area and one in Boulder. The store offers good prices on gear, especially when you get one of their Points Cards. I am a huge fan of their Performance bib shorts. The fabric and padding are great and they're never "see through" so you don't have to worry about freaking out the family in the mini-van behind you reading the words "Left" and "Right" that were tattooed on your derriere in a vindictive fraternity prank. No. No. I'm not talking of myself. Heavens no.

Green Mountain Sports

12364 West Alameda Parkway
Lakewood, CO 80228
(303) 987-8758
www.greenmountainsports.com
Green Mountain Sports is a great local bike shop that offers incredible service. It's also a store that supports a lot of local racing, including the team upon whose roster my name appears. I would say that I "race" with the aforementioned team, except for the fact that such hasn't been the case this season.

University Bicycles

839 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(303) 444-4196
www.ubikes.com
University Bicycles is the place I always head to in Boulder at the west end of the Pearl Street Mall. The rest of the family can shop wherever they like -- I go to UBikes. My favorite jersey (a Rapha in French national colors) came from there -- and I'm going to go back for another one in Italian colors. As soon as I can afford it.

Bicycle Dr.

860 Broadway
Denver, CO 80203-2749
(303) 831-7228
www.bicycledr.com
A great place for tune ups and talk. Get the deluxe tune up and you get free "minor" tune-ups for a year.