Ladera Cyclery

[Lefty Kev]

I don't know if it's convenient but another OC shop worth a mention is Ladera Cyclery in Ladera Ranch town center. The people are knowledgeable and friendly and encouraged me to tag along on one of their Saturday morning shop rides on my first visit.

I have a Cannondale Prophet and they are a licensed Cannondale dealer, so know a lot about the brand (for those of you who may own one). They also gave me honest advice regarding a new saddle, steering me away from some of the more expensive ones they carry.

Generally, just a very good vibe.

Anyway, just thought I'd add my 10 cents worth

[Pain Freak]

They also have a very fast road club out of there.

[Koke]

Nothing but great service, excellent prices and top-shelf people in my experience with them. Besides Cannondale they also carry Felt, Yeti and Scott mountain bikes (I got a Scott Spark from them, 4.5 inches of travel and only 22 pounds for the total large frame bike). They also do pro bike-fits and VO2 Max testing.

[Von-Skipp]

Ladera Cyclery is a really good shop. They offer many different things that most bike shops won't.

Kokesh already mentioned the brands but they have plenty of mountain bikes, road bikes, cross bikes and tri bikes.

Part of the shop is also dedicated for Triathletes and a few clubs are based out of Ladera Cyclery.

Along with their professional bike fittings they other a VO2MAX testing teamed up with Shane from Core Chiropractic.

They are also the main sponsor of Team Geoladders.


Yesterday I demo'ed a 2007 Yeti ASR from them.(as I'm looking for a race bike). I also bought a Fox Flux helmet from them. Sweett shop, highly recommended if your in South OC. Also is the closest bike shop to San Juan Trail.

[northshore]

Thanks....

[Cragar]

Yes a very good shop, they also sell Jamis bikes as well. Almost bought one from them before I got my Giant. They are right behind me on Crown Valley very convenient.

[Waldo]

Maybe one of the mods should merge these posts into the LBS Reviews thread to make it easier to find in the future. My $.02

[kingaucho]

+1 on this being a great LBS! I have only great things to say about Ladera Cyclery. I've always had positive experiences there. I am still new to mtb-ing and the staff there is always more than helpful w/ suggestions and info. I've dealt w/ Pat, Matt and Chris (looks like he is on STR every once in a while) and they've been great. I went to a basic bike maintenance clinic that Matt did and it was really cool. His dad, Pat, actually took me on my first ride around Ladera and was very patient and helpful as I was still a total newb. Highly recommend this store!

[Padre]

Very friendly and helpful there. I've twice had them help me fix something on a night before a race and they did it on the spot.

However, I would not have wheels built there.

[pitmang1]

Originally Posted by Koke

Nothing but great service, excellent prices and top-shelf people in my experience with them. Besides Cannondale they also carry Felt, Yeti and Scott mountain bikes (I got a Scott Spark from them, 4.5 inches of travel and only 22 pounds for the total large frame bike). They also do pro bike-fits and VO2 Max testing.

Any idea on how much they charge for VO2 max testing?

[Koke]

Originally Posted by pitmang1

Any idea on how much they charge for VO2 max testing?

I don't know what they charge but you can call them after 10am at 949-429-7784.

Originally Posted by Padre

However, I would not have wheels built there.

Several friends of mine have had lightweight XC race wheelsets built by Ash at Ladera Cyclery and they are very happy with the builds.

[Padre]

Originally Posted by Koke

Several friends of mine have had lightweight XC race wheelsets built by Ash at Ladera Cyclery and they are very happy with the builds.

I had a wheel trued. The kid doing it handed it back to me and I asked, "Was the tension off everywhere or did things not get too out of control?"

He took the wheel back, grabbed some spokes with his hand and said, "yeah, the tension is fine."

I asked if he had a spoke tension meter...and he looked like this-->

[OMR]

One of the best guys that ever built a wheel for me was Bob Savage (old Wheel Precision in Lake Forest). He didn't use a spoke tensioner... just feel. It seemed his wheels would stay in true the whole racing season. He built Kathy Sessler's wheels as well as several other team wheels. The really good ones seem to use touch as much as the tensioner.

Tim at Switchback builds a good set of wheels. (IMHO)

[thephat]

Originally Posted by OMR

One of the best guys that ever built a wheel for me was Bob Savage (old Wheel Precision in Lake Forest). He didn't use a spoke tensioner... just feel. It seemed his wheels would stay in true the whole racing season. He built Kathy Sessler's wheels as well as several other team wheels. The really good ones seem to use touch as much as the tensioner.

Tim at Switchback builds a good set of wheels. (IMHO)

Tim is at Switchback is good.

Touch and judgement are key in wheel building. The tensionmeter is a key tool for the best possible wheel. I firmly believe that even the best wheel builder will build an even better wheel if they properly use a tensionmeter.

I also think that it is important to bring an artfull aproach to all craft. Consistently great wheels are built one step at a time. There are some complex issues that must be understood, but it is not as nebulous as some wheelbuilders will make it out to be. It is a process that can be broken down into strait forward steps. One must master some skills to execute the steps properly, but this is true of most technical tasks.

I have heard good things about the shop in the OP, and the tech dpt there.

You can get a pretty good feel for tension with your hands if you know what your doing. There's not really any point in throwing a tensionmeter on there unless you are going to retension the whole wheel.

BTW, I became engrossed in the wheel discussion and forgot that this is a bike shop review thread. Once I remembered, I had already posted. I definetely am not trying to review bike shops. I have nothing but respect for the shops in this thread.