Local Bike Shops of Research Triangle , N.C …( part 2 of 2 )
Lunch at Al’s Burgers was next up… Yes, I had a big ‘ol nasty chili chesseburger called “The Bobo”…. with AMAZING sweet-potato fries…!
Nothing like loading up the gut to drive / walk around, browsing businesses. Traveling between shops builds up quite an appetitie for serious grub. Al’s aimed to please, so naturally I caved in and grabbed an outdoor picnic table seat
.
Back Alley Bikes..
After lunch I then headed over to Back Alley Bikes. Back Alley Bikes stands up to the name as a true “we ain’t fancy, but we know our stuff” type of bike shop. Upon walking in , I was promptly greeted by the official shop Dog ( never got the pooches name unfortunatey), but he/she had their own couch, replete with lots of duck tape for that “lived in” look.
They had this remarkably inventive homegrown tall bike /“lamplighter” sitting out front doubling as a secondary shop sign, attraction of sorts. I wasn’t brave enough to try riding it.
Back Alley carried a fairly large assortment of Salsa and Surly bikes… including a Long Haul Trucker and a Moonlander.
The Pièce de résistance was an 8-Ball post-chandilier of sorts placed front and center of the main entrance…!
Cycle Logic: “I’m a flight instructor as well”…!
Wedged in between a Pipe shop and a Tattoo Studio… is Cycle Logic. Upon entering the shop I was promptly greeted by a slight lookup from the floor by “Nick Nick”,
(so named after Nikola Tesla )
You would never know by walking into the main floor of this shop that lying beneath is a literal dormitory of bikes.
“Ed”, the shop’s owner (also a glider plane instructor), told me to go “have a look see” after handing me a flashlight.
Although wedged in like sardines, the basement was fairly well organized with what could best be described as cardboard “aisle signs” like a department store.
The shop had quite a few interesting vintage 
bikes as wall displays, as well as, some interesting bike art pieces hanging from the ceiling.
While Cycle Logic does have some new bike sales ( Raleigh and Fuji mainly), they also do customer build and project bikes and have an large inventory of used bikes .
Flythe Cyclery
My last stop on this trip was to a bike shop perched above a skateboard shop called Flythe Cyclery. “David” gave me a quick tour of the shop , which included an impeccably organized back room. Flythe’s major brands included Trek and Electra.
The shop was very neat and organized with small “customer lounge” replete with an impressive bike badge coffee table.
My day rounded Rouding off with a cup o’ “Lamplighter” at the Yellow Dog Bake Company 
There are other bicycle shops within the greater Research Triangle Park area..but hopefully this will give you a taste of what you can find if you find yourself passing through the north-central North Carolina area.
