Baby and bike boutiques in the Big Apple

February 19, 2009 8:11 AM

Headed to New York City, and looking for toddler-geared stores and bike shops.

The lovely Mrs. Writer and I are headed back to NYC for our wedding anniversary, and we need guidance on your favorite stores.

We need help finding:

1. Baby/toddler stores in Midtown, Theater, SoHo, Upper West Side, especially clothing. Nothing along the lines of a $90 couture Tshirt, but something unique that we couldn't order online. Something touristy could even count, like a small I (heart) NY shirt for our little 2-year-old girl.

2. I'd like to find a nice bike store to kill some time and support them with a purchase of a store jersey. Ideally, an LBS geared more toward road and pro cycling, if that exists in the city.

posted by fijiwriter to shopping (3 comments total)

For midtown, if you go to Rockefeller Center, there is a store in the concourse downstairs (same level as the ice rink) that is called Hippototamus, that is for tots, obviously.
posted by Grither at 8:24 AM on February 19

I'm not sure Recycle-a-Bicycle sells jerseys but they are awesome and a purchase supports their program. They are in the East Village and Dumbo.

A couple of other options are Bicycle Habitat in SoHo, Toga/Gotham Bikes has shops in Tribeca, and Upper East and West Sides, and I see NY Magazine has a whole list of shops.
posted by plastic_animals at 8:43 AM on February 19

Bike Works on the Lower East Side sells their own kit. In fact, if you don't have it already, you should also pick up shop owner Dave Perry's encyclopedic tome "Bike Cult", full of all kinds of history about bicycles. Check out the site for more info, don't miss the chainring kaleidoscope or the archive bikes. Dave could tell you about his days as a racer back in CA, also talk about the 4 person rollers he brings out to Velocity Nation events (which often have guest pro racers).

I prefer Bike Works as an LBS, but some other shops (geared more towards expensive race bikes) include Gotham and Toga. Not sure if they sell their kit or if its just for their sponsored teams. Another good shop to check out is NYC Velo.
posted by stachemaster at 8:45 AM on February 19