Madison martial arts? Bikes? Other recs?

July 21, 2008 8:10 PM

Madison folks: I'm moving to Madison soonish, and I'm looking for recommendations. Specifically, I'm interested in finding out about good martial arts schools and beginner-friendly bike shops, though any other recs would certainly be welcome (I know there was a similar thread before, but it's three years old and doesn't address martial arts or bikes much).
posted by Vibrissa to grab bag (6 comments total)

Madison has a shitload of bike shops. The Yellow Jersey is on State Street.

If you're a student at UW (I am), you can join several martial arts clubs. I did kendo for a month and a half, and there's karate, tae kwon do, aikido, 'budo', and capoeira.
posted by kldickson at 8:23 PM on July 21, 2008

Revolution Bikes on Atwood is great. They are really nice and helpful to me, an occasional biker. There is also some Aikido center on Atwood, but I don't know much about it.
posted by sulaine at 8:25 PM on July 21, 2008

Yeah, all the bike shops I've been to are awesome. Budget Bicycle, Cronometro, Yellow Jersey, Revolution Cycles... there's even a collective called Freewheel who will help you build the bike of your dreams in their workshop.

Have fun-- it's a kickass city for bicycles!
posted by Rykey at 8:57 PM on July 21, 2008

I'm a big fan of Budget Bicycle Center on Regent St. -- I bought a used bike there when I moved to Madison in 2005 and it's served me well ever since. "Budget" is slightly misleading, since they don't sell ultra-cheap junkers -- but it's a great place if you want a fair price for a trustworthy bike (new or used.) Which is probably what you want if you, like me, don't know how to fix your bike yourself.

Madison is very well set up for bike commuters -- I've become one and I encourage you to do the same! Feel free to MeFiMail me if you have more questions about Madison.
posted by escabeche at 8:25 AM on July 22, 2008

All the bike shops mentioned here are great (Revolution is a personal favorite, but I've spent time and money at all of them). Yellow Jersey on State Street has a DIY toolspace (or used to).
There's great road cycling easily accessible in the county, but if you don't want to be on the street there are also numerous rail-to-trails and other bike trails--bike shops will have info.
posted by Mngo at 9:21 AM on July 22, 2008

Not sure about the martial arts bit, but Machinery Row bike shop just installed a vending machine-esque kiosk outside the store so bikers can buy the little pieces and parts they might need for a baby went boom bike at any hour of the day. There's also a mounting clamp thing on which one can secure the bike to perform said repairs.

Have also heard good things about Chronometro- specifically, customizing a bicycle to fit the rider, but it was a little pricey.

Both shops are in the Williamson Street neighborhood.
posted by mcbeth at 12:03 PM on July 22, 2008