Is your local bicycle shop in the top 100?

Finally, I thought, someone has gone to the trouble to create an up-to-date guide to the best shops in the US. Now I can find someone who I can trust to repair my bicycle without ripping me off or making it worse than before.

Wrong. The guide to the 100 top bicycle shops by the International Cycle Works is based on interviews with sales representatives of six of the leading bicycle brands and six of the leading accessory brands. They voted on the leading shops in their territory based on market share, community outreach and store appearance.

Considering how difficult it would be to judge the top 100 bicycle shops based on repair work, I suppose this list is better than nothing. Afterall, I'd want to support a bicycle shop with good community outreach and a good appearance (I suppose if the shop is messed up, so is everyone in it).

Not surprisingly, Gregg's, the bike store where I shop, is on here. Surprisingly, a store (which shall go nameless) that I have vowed never to step into again because of shoddy work they've done on friends' bicycles, is also on the list.

And my all-time favorite bike shop, Harley's in Hutchinson, Kansas, is not on the list. As far as I'm concerned, that bike shop should be on the list just for bailing my friend and me out with an expert wheel repair and a place to stay during our TransAmerica ride in '84. As I recall, the store was clean, it was the only bike shop in Hutchinson (good market share), and he helped us when we were in his community.

I just checked Harley's website; it has been listed in Bicycle Dealer Showcase magazine's top 100 for the past 9 years. So there!