{original post was accidentally from my Forum Admin account, hence the repost so it's from "Shannon"
}
I hadn't chimed in yet since my experience is limited to San Antonio, and I'll largely be repeating myself from earlier threads. However, here's all the gaps I can fill in -- hopefully it's enough to help you have some options.
Also, San Marcos is a college town. I'm *certain* there's probably at least one or two good local bike shops there; I just haven't a clue what they are. Google to the rescue: Search results for
San Marcos Texas bicycle shop
We never had to go to Austin for our bike hunting, although we did call an Austin bike shop for info; I think it was the "Bicycle Sport Shop" on 517 S. Lamar Blvd.; 512/477-3472. We were initially looking for Women's Trek's, and no one had them locally; turns out they were few and far between in Austin, also, and those that were available were way over our budget. So, I dropped Trek from my wishlist (It was a vanity desire anyway, a sort of "ride the same bike Lance Armstrong won the Tours in".)
For Austin, here are Google's search results for
Austin Texas bicycle shop
Justin and I are in San Antonio, and we bought our bikes here in town at the Alamo Heights Bikeworld store (their largest store in San Antonio, so we went there for the best selection.) We LOVE our
Bikeworld stores -- we also have one much closer to us (we realized later), literally down the street about 10 minutes away, on Blanco Road. And there is a brand new one coming in even closer to us, on the access road to Loop 1604; I think it may be open by late spring or early summer.
I'm pushing Bikeworld fairly heavily here because they are by far our favorite local bike shop, and their multiple locations (and semi-sanctioned weekly bike rides) are definite pluses for locals. However, we have literally visited every single bike shop in town (that we know of), and all are worth a visit. None would be a wasted trip -- even if they don't carry a huge selection of bikes, the employees at all of these stores are VERY knowledgeable and many ride together weekly/daily and some competitively.
For other options in San Antonio, here are Google's search results for:
San Antonio bicycle shop
Hope this helps! Let us know what you choose! Take it out for a spin at the store if they will let you. It really helped (A) being on a bicycle again after so many years (all I'd been on were stationary bikes as part of my knee surgery rehabilitation; Justin hadn't been on a bike since puberty! )
(B) Taking the bike out for a short spin helped bring to light just how much has changed in bikes over the years -- all good; totally different and better shifting controls, SHOCKS! if you want 'em, sturdier frame, LIGHTER, etc.)
(C) No short spin is going to tell you if the bike's perfect, but for those of us who learn through doing, it helps seal the sale more than staring at a bike. I was ready to go home and do more research when the bike store employee assisting us kindly offered a quick spin out back to test how the bikes feel.
Proper fit is especially important for women, since unless they're petite (I'm not), a women's frame won't suit them at all but some men's frames will be far too big or poorly proportioned. I still have some issues with my reach (to the handlebars) and may invest in a special set of riser handlebars so I'm not leaning quite so far -- your elbows shouldn't be LOCKED when riding... elbows are shock absorbers in riding, and locked ones are useless for that. Seat height can make up for a lot of issues, and I learned early on that my seat height needed to be even higher than I thought to help reduce back strain and limit how often my elbows lock to reach to handlebars.