I grew up in Eugene, and I would guess that the LBS mentioned by Richard Long
"At a LBS in Eugene I bought a Motobecane touring bike of some sort, with full gear, at a price so low I can't even remember what it was because it left no imprint on my memory (or my wallet)."
was probably Collins Cycle. The other main bike store in town, Hutch's, was the Schwinn dealer.
Collins was the place that most of the serious bike riders hung out. Mr. Collins would let you borrow tools and repack your hubs, or whatever, in an out-of-the-way corner in the back. Great place. I think that one of the college students who was working there, Doug ___ (I forget his last name), now owns the shop.
They probably sold a boatload of UO8s to the college students back then. Price was about $105 if I recall (I'd purchased a $95 Raleigh Gran Prix as my first 10-speed, later a Raleigh Super Course with tubular rims / tires from one of the mechanics, and then the top-of-the-line Stella, all Campy including brakes, for $440 in the spring of 1972. A high school classmate, who knew I was a little nuts because I always rode my bike to school, pointed out that for that price I could have bought a car. Well, perhaps, but not the Ferrari which the Stella seemed to me to be then.
Raleighs, Peugeots, Gitanes, Motobecane, and even Colnagos (just a few, and the bottom bracket cutouts seemed scandelous and anti-structural to most of us then!) were sold there.
-- Joel Niemi, Snohomish, Washington, USA