I am looking for a good bike shop on the eastern part of Long Island. Any help is greatly appreciated.
This might stretch your definition of Eastern LI but Kreb Cycle in Bellport are good. Talk to Chris or Greg.
Ian
I recommend Sunrise Tri in Babylon, but a little more east I would suggest Carl Hart.
Thanks for the tips. Bellport the quoges, and the hamptons is where i am looking.
Rotations in Southampton is a good shop. High end brands and fairly friendly. Bikehampton is on Main street in Sag Harbor, was the best repair shop on the island, not sure since Myles left. Krebs sponsors a road race series on Friday nights in the summer, worth giving him some business just for that.
Kreb Cycle is pretty good (although not sure of their tri knowledge). Sunrise Tri is nice and has been steadily improving. There are a handful of nice shops out in the Hamptons. I would stay away from Carl Hart up on the north shore.
Carl Hart in Middle Island is pretty good. I just picked a bike up from them last week
Good selection of bikes, I agree. But the owner/management would make me stay away from the store and not recommend them to anyone.
Hopefully your experiences are/were better than mine.
My experience was decent, nothing to complain about but I haven’t dealt with many bike shops to really compare. I will certainly try some of the others in the area next time.
thanks for everyones help. I will be nearest to the hamptons, anything within an hour is fine for me. Must know tri, and how to fit. any other suggestions?
i’ve know the owner of carl hart for 20 years. he’s fine. one of the old boys of the industry. i’m not dissing your bad experience(s). perhaps you and he just don’t gel. i don’t know. but i don’t think it’s a mystery why the better known shops in triathlon get a bad rap here. it’s because they’re ambitious, they grow, they carry the items we want, so we interact with them more often. the more big transactions you have, the more opportunities you have for a transaction to go bad (and somehow one bad transaction cancels about three dozen good ones).
i’m not saying everything at carl hart is done the way i would do it. but i disagree wholeheartedly with your comment that people should “stay away.” if you’re in the hamptons, middle island is relatively close. you owe yourself to go in and check out carl hart for yourself, because i don’t think the shops in the hamptons (kreb cycle, rotations, etc), good as they are at what they aspire to be good at, have ever impressed me as being motivated toward triathlon.
i’ve know the owner of carl hart for 20 years. he’s fine. one of the old boys of the industry. i’m not dissing your bad experience(s). perhaps you and he just don’t gel. i don’t know. but i don’t think it’s a mystery why the better known shops in triathlon get a bad rap here. it’s because they’re ambitious, they grow, they carry the items we want, so we interact with them more often. the more big transactions you have, the more opportunities you have for a transaction to go bad
I don’t diss the big shops, actually wish I had one I could rely on, have had lots of good and bad road shops I’ve dealt with, finding a place with tri knowledge is tough. I’ve been loyal to a handful of road shops, they just don’t always serve the exact needs of a triathlete, no matter how nice and knowledgable the staff is.
I grew up on Long Island, bought my first tri bike at Carl Hart years ago. I have done basically every race on the Island including many sponsored by Carl Hart. As I said, as a tri retailer I’d typically cut them a little slack with regards to customer service, staff help etc., in exchange for the fact that a good tri shop is a rare find. However, when you are essentially accused of theft by the owner, it tends to leave a bad taste in your mouth.
If you want to pay full retail price on everything, then go to Carl Hart. I mistakenly purchased an aluminum specialized there 3 years ago only to find my LBS was offering orbea opals for $200 less…
this confuses me. first, if your LBS offered the bike you want, why did you buy it from another shop? and second, are you basing your sweeping statement on this one transaction? or, have you bought a lot of things from carl hart, compared the prices with those charges in other stores, and have come to your conclusion this way?
in the bike industry, it is typical to charge full retail on new product during the first half of the year. if you want to pay less than full retail, join an affinity group. like slowtwitch. or your local tri club. then you can count on a regular discount.
during the back half of the year, stores offer discounts. i assure you, if you go into any bike store in aug, sep, oct, you’ll find a lot of product on discount. but in your own LBS, i’m confident you’ll find a lot of product at full retail now, and thru may.
By the way, my comment is not a passing shot at Carl Hart. I bought my first tri bike there, a wetsuit, shoes and pedals, at least one jersey and shorts over a period of time. However, my experience was enough that I won’t go back, experiences of others I know on the Island, while not the same, are similar in that people wouldn’t recommend the shop.
That is the reason why I posted what I did about recommending the OP, and others, try other shops.
I also recommend Carl Hart. I worked there over twenty years ago when I was in High School and Fred was kind enough to give me a job doing what I loved. He also allowed me to pay off a bike, a Cannondale, and was always a nice guy. He has built a solid customer base over the years and I even bought a new Trek Madone off of him three years ago. Adam
Carl Hart has always done me right. Very knowledgable, and friendly. Their price on the most recent bike I bought - not on sale -was less then what my buddy paid for the “blowout sale” for the same bike at a south shore shop in Nassau. I also bought a P-3C which was priced competitively with other retailers, including internet sellers. By the way I am not sure how anyone can get ripped off buying a bike today. Spend 5 minutes on the internet and get the best price and then go to the bike shop and have them match it. Bikes have become a commodities business- no one should be getting ripped off. Do your homework…
apologies if i started a pissing match about one specific shop. All i was looking for were some suggestions for bike shops near the hamptons.
hi,
who is this? i don’t remember ever accusing anyone of stealing, but in my old age i am very forgetful.
thanks,
juniormgr
hi,
sorry if the price i charged you was more than you could of got it somewhere else. our policy is that we match or beat any other stores prices. i would have been more than happy to accomodate you. if there is anything you need at this time or in the future let me know and i will make sure to take care of you and make up for the $200.
thanks,
juniormgr