Gail, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Therefore, 15 people will give you 15 opinions. That being said, try Gotham Bikes near Chambers and West Broadway.

"At the risk of repeating myself (a non-cycling skill at which i am quite adept), and as a past Wrench, myself: ""Great Wrenches are not born, they are Forged""

As with any life-relationship, the bond between a rider and mechanic needs to be based on communication, trust, respect, and (most importantly) PIZZA.

You need to take the time to get to know the Wrench, her/his wrenching style, equipment preferences, cycling philosophy. To be effective, the Wrench needs to know you, your ride style, your expectations, preferences. This applies especially to Bike-Fit, which should be viewed as a process rather than a procedure.

You and your Wrench need to establish a level of trust. You need to trust in the advice your Wrench dispenses. Your Wrench needs to trust that you are not abusing the machine.

Your Wrench may share advice and opinions on cycling. Understand that these are based on years of experience and the experiences of other riders. Always be willing to learn from your Wrench. And remember - Bikes don't break, Riders break bikes.

As with any relationship, the Rider-Wrench partnership needs to be nurtured. And there is no better nurture than PIZZA. Especially when you come to pick up your bike. Pizza will also give you the opportunity to speak with your Wrench, to get to know each others strengths and styles and, if you play it right, can sometimes get your repair to the head of the line.

Also, as cycling season opens, try not to expect very short turnarounds. When you decide to bring in your bike for a full overhaul remember that 1,000 other people have just had the same idea.

My Wrench is at a shop on 87th and 2nd avenue, has a Fit-Kit, and appreciates 'thank you's and the occasional pizza.

'Nuff said (probably too much)"

"BikeWorks:
http://www.bikecult.com/works/
The shop does not look like much but it is great service oriented shop. Dave is a great shop owner/manager/mechanic. I had him build me a single-speed commuter from some old bike parts I had. He did such a great job I had him then build my new road bike. He can do fit very well (he races) but it is probably not the type of work they see every day.

Sid's:
http://sidsbikes.com/site/intro.cfm
Very good shop. You will pay dearly for service and sales but you will get fitted very well if you push for it to be included with the price of the bike. Just make sure you get what you want and they do not push a bunch of unnecessary crapp on you that you just do not need.

Stay away from the ""Metro"" shops especially then one on 6th ave at 15/16th. The prices may seem good but the service and fitting are not great.

Gotham:
I have dealt with the uptown version ""Toga"" before it was merged with the downtown shop. The service was great in the past but the ownership has changed and it seems they now cater to the expesive hybrid or unnecessary overpriced road bike crowd that owns bikes as trophies but does not actually use them

Take this all with a grain of salt..I am opinionated!"