COMPREHESIVE RECOMMENED SHOP LIST

[SterlingSpikeDancer]

Green Mountain Sports, Lakewood, Co
Bent Gate Mountaineering, Golden, Co
Golden Bike Shop, Golden, Co

2nd^^^ All 3 locales have been standup to deal with, and I have yet to ID myself as a mag, just show up as a schlub biker/skier and they still treat you with respect and know their stuff. Great shops for biking, I have yet to get a chance to use GMS for ski stuff and Bent Gate has a great website too. Just my .02

[RedWolf]

No one will probably ever need info on Lansing, Michigan-area bike shops, but here goes anyway....

Denny's Central Park Bikes - Okemos, MI

Staff is really friendly and full of great advice on anything from trails to gear. They've hooked it up on many occasions over the years, and they've fixed everything I've broken on my bike (which is A LOT) with some serious quickness with zero fuss. Even loaned me a couple of bikes to tryout for nothing more than a promise to bring it back...

I DO NOT RECOMMEND Riverfront Cycle in Lansing. Been in there a number of times as they're the only Giant dealer in the area and I have a Reign, but the staff were arrogant bastards who usually only fucked my bike, which Denny's (see above) eventually fixed. I know several people who have had similar or worse experiences, too.

[jSki]

I'm sure they're already mentioned but Alpine Quest in Edwards. They did a great dynafit mount and tune for cheap.

[telehacker]

Scotts in pocatello ID has done many good tunes for me. They reset the edge of my old rossi Axioms last year, GOOD JOB. Johnny is the man you want to talk to ........ Also a sixer help the tune along.

[jm2e]

Marshall, Any future for this thread? Seems pretty popular.

Outpost Sunsport in Fort Collins/Northern Colorado.

Adam the manager is a stand up guy who knows his shit and gets on all the boards. They'll tune a beat up pair for you and make 'em look new without hosing you. Knows a mag's gonna shop for bargains and doesn't mind you comin' in to fondle the jewels as long as you buy a little something every once in a while or get some tune/mount service.

Negatory:
The vast majority of REIs. Like Home Depot for outdoor sports. "Thanks for reading the specs off that box for me. I shop here because I can't read. No, I didn't expect you to know more about the sport than I did. Nice Tevas Brah, do you guys have a repelling seminar coming up?"

[bisnibble]

Bozeman has the worst shops. The ski shops around Detroit are better.

Brit at Big Sky Sports is probably the best tunner in Montana if not all the Northwest. He is the only one I take my skis to. Core shots and edge repair are his specialty.
Everyone else at the shop is ligit too.

[DoWork]

I'd like to recommend "The Boot Pro" in Ludlow, VT. Shon is the mang. Stayed late to punch out my boots and get my beds made so I didn't have to make another 90 minute trip. Cheap too. Three stretches and full custom beds ~ $200, and flipping awesome work. Can't say enough good stuff about the guy.

[soul_skier]

for bootfitting in the northeast, go to race stock sports in waterbury and see PJ Dewey. He is known as a race boot fitter, but if it is a hard plastic shell boot he will make it feel amazing. To The work he did is so amazing that when I brought my boots in to get a buckle replaced, the best boot guy in park city, dude at colesport, was blown away by the quality of the work that had been done.

[marshalolson]

i have not actially tabulated this yet, but still have every intention of doing it...

so here is a bump. i think this is a great resource for people. keep the input coming.

i will hopefully find time to tabulate this stuff in the next week or two.

thanks!

[wren]

North Shore Ski & Board - North Vancouver, BC

Great staff, great ski techs.

[Rasputin]

Gull Ski, Missoula MT.

The gold standard for alpine ski sales and service in Missoula. I've had numerous mounts, several tunes, and a couple boot fittings done there. Gull does quality work, and most of the employees are very knowledgeable.

[dieter]

Of you live in North Idaho, or the Eastern side of Washington

The Sports Creel, Spokane, Wa

Best products and staff there. Sure they cater to a younger crowd but the owner (Herb) has been around for almost 40 years, he knows his stuff

[laseranimal]

if it hasn't been mentioned already, High Adventure in Latham NY rocks. I'm sure there are a couple of capital district area maggots who will vouch for the place

[DHogg]

Base Ski and snow store, Wanaka, New Zealand.
Racers Edge, Wanaka , NZ

not recommended:
Outside sports, Wanaka, NZ

[Z]

i have not actially tabulated this yet, but still have every intention of doing it...

so here is a bump. i think this is a great resource for people. keep the input coming.

i will hopefully find time to tabulate this stuff in the next week or two.

thanks!

tabulate? you sound like a gay.

[single]

sad to see that PHD (Bozeman) gets such a bum rap. There are a lot of really great employees there. I would personally recommend it.

I dont trust northern lights unless I know who is working on my skis. Barrel is a good shop if you are a non skiing dirty yuppie.

[marshalolson]

tabulate? you sound like a gay.

it means to offer a summation.

i know you have a college degree, i didn't realize it was with a major in Retard.

big werds r confoozing to little brains.

[Alpentele]

Alpenglow Sports-Golden CO: Joe is a worthy boot fitter.
Edgeworks-Denver: tuning
Skjersaas-Bend, OR

[Norseman]

Summary thus far for the Bozeman scene:

Bozeman recs:

Chalet Sports
Barrel Mountaineering
Northern Lights


Try to avoid:

PhD Skis. I, and various other people, have had problems dealing with the owner there. He's got a screw loose. Drilled a hole through my boots and was a grade A douchebag about it.

agreed on all accounts above. barrel and NL are both great shops, can't argue with either, and I have had all my ski stuff done at chalet or roundhouse, and both have done good for me.

As far as PhD skis goes, I already promised myself I wouldn't go there again, I took in my skis and some FKS 15 bindings to mount, along with a 6'er of Fat Tire, and asked if they could bend the brakes to fit the skis. The guy said he couldn't promise me they wouldn't break, and I said that was fine, I'd buy a new set of brakes if they did. Well long story short, they fucked up the binding position, didn't bend the brakes, and mounted them with the brakes not bent, so they just sat on top of the ski. They overcharged me, saying that the brakes had "extra work requested" which was the bending they didn't do, and I expected the beer to be a good gesture, where they didn't do what I asked right. I asked them to fix it, and they wouldn't without charging me to do it. I walked out, and will not go there again. too bad.

The only places I recommend in Bozeman are those places in which you have friends working.

I've heard horror stories about northern lights. One of my best friends worked there, I trusted him with virgin Lotus 138s among other skis and he personally did them proper. I wouldn't trust anyone else and he's gone.

Chalet isn't bad over all, but caters to the tourist set. Barrel always seems to be overpriced with very little selection. I've never had work done there.

Be a regular in Bozeman and I think you service is better than a first time / touron.

PhD always gets a bad rap, but I've never had an issue with them.

Well put. If I absolutely have to have shop work done, I drive all the way to Big Sky and hit GAS. Northern Lights really sucks as does Barrell (IMO). Neither of these are ski shops, they do not do boot work or proper mounts (true alpine bindings). You'd think Bozeman would have a shop worth a shit since there is such a demand for one, but alas we are without.

sad to see that PHD (Bozeman) gets such a bum rap. There are a lot of really great employees there. I would personally recommend it.

I dont trust northern lights unless I know who is working on my skis. Barrel is a good shop if you are a non skiing dirty yuppie.

I feel the need to pipe up as an employee of Ph.D. Skis


Ph.D. is run by a maniac. Kevin is a shrewd, stubborn businessman and is totally set in his ways. He has definitely scared away his share of customers with vulgar rants and ludicrous arguments against fat skis. He does not do favors or go out of his way for hardly anyone. If you know him well enough, he'll accept beer as payment for shop work and might give you a deal on something, but he'll throw a tantrum if joe average walks in and expects something out of the ordinary. On the other hand, he has a large, faithful clientele that returns for service all the time. Also Kevin does the best bootwork in town hands down.

Manager Stu keeps Ph'dizzle afloat. He'll ship warrantied gear for free and treats everyone who walks in with respect and patience, as do the rest of us. Ask for Stu anytime you go in that place, he's much more friendly than the Weez. The rest of the crew is friendly and knowledgeable. IMHO we do the best shop work in the region and carry some decent boards.

Chalet does good work and has a great product line, with a killer location as a bonus. Helpful, friendly staff for the most part, except one or two clueless punk kids. Great shop. RIP Travis.

Northern Lights is operated by a bunch of monkeys, from my experience. They just bought Barrel and are not letting Barrel's employees remain so definitely DO NOT have any shop work done by either place, at least until the new owners start to figure things out. Combined the shops have a HUGE selection of really good gear, so go in there knowing what you want and get out quickly, if you feel compelled to pay out your ass.

[eug]

for bootfitting in the northeast, go to race stock sports in waterbury and see PJ Dewey.

Seconded.

Also VT North Shop on Sugarbush access road for tunes/skis/etc.

[RustyTrombone]

Christy Sports in Broomfield, Co. Great tunes, boot work, and customer service. The only down side is the ski, and boot wall is small.

[Eluder]

Northern Lights is operated by a bunch of monkeys, from my experience. They just bought Barrel and are not letting Barrel's employees remain so definitely DO NOT have any shop work done by either place, at least until the new owners start to figure things out. Combined the shops have a HUGE selection of really good gear, so go in there knowing what you want and get out quickly, if you feel compelled to pay out your ass.

Northern lights has disappointed me on several occasions. I have had 2 bad mounts there hopefully the epoxy and helicoils hold on my coombas (I now mount at home). Last spring I went in ready to buy some AT boots. The Idiot that was roaming around picking his nose ended up helping me. He didn't know shit about shit I walked away dumber than I entered (which is saying something) and vowed to never return for ski gear. Its unfortunate since I was able to get some great help there the season before with some boot issues.

Bummer to here about Barrel.

Chalet is my choice as of now. You can get some attitude sometimes but Ill just dish it back until I get some descent help.

As far as bike help goes I will go to chalet sometimes but my first choice is Summit. Bangtail is pretty good as well. Anybody else I am always disappointed and ask my self why i bothered.

PHD...... The owner is just to much for me..... But if I need some boot work that info is good to know.

[cowdog]

One more to the Bozeman debate.

If I'm going to buy ski gear or have shop work done, it is Chalet or Phd. That's rare because I do most of my own boot fitting, ski mounting and ski tuning/repair work, but there are times I won't complain about a base grind or some help fo something I can't or won't do. I also admit to spending time poking around Northern Lights.

++Chalet is pretty good. Each crop of shop dudes has their hits and misses, but that's hardly different than most shops. Tom is a good guy in the back. Good selection of skis and boots. Best location in town.

++I like Kevin at PhD. Sure he's a nut, and I only believe about 2% of anything he says. But, as noted, that's where Stu comes in if you want a more sane and honest perspective. Shop guys are typically really good. I've only had good experiences there.

+-Northern Lights is sort of entertainment for me. They have a huge selection. I would never have them do any ski work, but if I need to check out tele or AT boots or jackets or all kinds of shit, it's a fun eye candy stop. They are starting to carry a more interesting lineup of skis (4frnt, movement, icelantic, atomic). I've always found one or two of the upstairs staff who are fun for some gear slut chit chatting.

??Roundhouse. I have known many people who worked there over the years, some of them very knowledgeable and fun. I've never bought any ski gear there and have never had any shop work done. I can't put my finger on it. Larry owns both Roundhouse and Chalet, but Chalet has always been a better shop for me.

--Barrel is a waste of downtown space and anyone's time. Sorry, but I just don't get it. Micro-selection, non-existent service, .. Good idea, good people, but hasn't worked for me. Interesting to hear NL bought them? That's kind of crazy. I know NL bought some shop up in Missoula.

------------------
+++++++++

I get down to the CO Front Range quite a bit and have lived more than a handful of years down that way.

Larry is the man in Boulder. He fitted my first plastic tele boots back in the early 90s when he was at the first Ski Deals location. If he was local, I would buy all my boots from him.
I've been ordering things from Bentgate for awhile. I made one special visit to try on some boots, and they were super helpful.

backcountry.com is always a solid retail option for me.
telemark-pyrenees.com is another solid retail option, depending on exchange rates, of course.

[butterscotch]

Not to beat a dead horse, but Bozeman shops...

I agree with most of what's been said here.

- Chalet is solid. Ph. D. is weird. Is the owner that guy who wears bright colors and a scarf at Bridger?

Here's where I disagree:

- Northern Lights. I got great help trying on AT boots last spring. And I had them mount up some Fritschis and they were fine. When I dropped the skis off, I forgot to mention what line I wanted my skis mounted on. I caled when I got home, and got the "Yup. No problem." Recipe for disaster, right? Nope. And they we're done fast.

Also, the dude who did all the shop work last year is a buddy of a buddy. I'm told he's a solid tech.

[single]

I have a tech friend that works at northern lights. She is a great tech and a good skier who knows whats up. Things might be changing over there. The recent acquisition of barrel is interesting...

As an employee of the round house, I should speak up too. I would definitely say that good work is done there. Better than what I though before I worked there. Colin (hardgoods manager) is a great bootfitter. Our techs know their shit, and we will be doing some really competitive pricing this season. Come in and ask for specifics, it is worth your time. Plus we have the new moments in

Bottom line, and I think the same goes for PHD, if you buy shit from us, you get better care than if you buy it online and bring it in. Same goes for any local shop, really. The internet murders local small business.

As for kevin. You do business with him and he will stand behind his product. Stu is a great guy too.

To whoever said that there arent good shops in bozeman, I dont know what you are talking about. There are plenty of good options.