POSITIVE experiences with cycling-related businesses

[Jude]

Of very local interest, but if you're ever in Harrisonburg, Virginia, look for Ben Wyse...he runs a bike repair business out of his house on Chicago Avenue and has a trailer full of mechanic stuff he'll roll around to places. Also, East Coast Bicycle Academy in Harrisonburg has good service although it seems to be staffed most of the time by teenagers who are competent but not experts. The owner, Les, knows apparently everything about bikes but isn't there all that often.

[mario333]

HI,
Does anyone know of a Canadian based online bicycle business?
Looking for a Campi Gruppo.

thanks

[noglider]

I notice there's http://www.canadabicycleparts.com but I don't know about them.

[estabro]

Big Wheel Bikes in Alexandria, VA

[thomast]

I had a valve seal wear out on my Blackburn floor pump. This is a dime-sized piece of rubbery plastic that probably costs 30 cents; with it worn out my pump was useless. I shipped my pump back to them (per their instructions) expecting them to replace the valve seal. I come to find the pump is no longer made and there are no parts for it...but they want to replace it with a new pump! A week and a half later FedEx shows up with a new floor pump! This thing rocks! Please support Blackburn, they stand behind their product. I haven't been this happy with a large corporation. Ever.

[JonnyHK]

Mike at Universal Cycles - emailed to let me know that something was going to be a bit big to ship cheaply (I'm international) and did I want to revise my order. Nice to know that someone is paying attention.

Psimet - great service and great prices.

[2dois2b]

Both thumbs up for Counterbalance‎ on Blakely in Seattle.

This used to be TiCycles. The old TiCycles was an ok store - kind of high end and boutiquey. The new owners seem to be emphasizing more general bike commuter stuff, singlespeed/fixed, etc. Nice folks, nice selection, Ortleib, Brooks etc and still lots of high end stuff.

I walked in there the other day because my usual go-to LBS was out of a couple things I needed. Anyway, I find what I need and a mechanic even walks away from what he's doing to help me out. They even had the 27" tires I was looking for. I was really surprised they had what I wanted in stock and were nice to me too.

[pwdeegan]

Eugene, Oregon. I've been on a tour of all my local bike shops (there are a lot in this town), but i wanted to give a shout-out to my favorites, and offer my reasons. In order of my preference:

1. Arriving by Bike.[link] The owner, Paul, is a really nice guy, and the whole store is about outfitting bikers for daily cycling. The shop has the best selection of Showers Pass and other real-world cycling clothes, racks, amazing bike bags, panniers, and baskets---i love it. Plus, there is a real lack of spandex snobbery here (and the prices are excellent).

2. Blue Heron. A university favorite, but it is a true mom-and-pop. This place is purely utilitarian, but there's no fear of the dreaded up-sell or snob-cycle. Downside? Parking here is very limited (and i mean bicycle parking!).

3. Pauls Bicycle Way of Life---i like the 5th Ave store, but i do get mixed service here. Sometimes it's just another meathead cyclist with no customer service skills. Still, the product line is good.

The other stores in town i don't love so much, and one in particular (on Pearl and 18th Ave) was a super-duper rip off with endless up-sell.

[gamecock]

I did not read every word of every post in this thread, but I am suprised that I saw no mention of either Rivendell or the Touring Store. Wayne Burroughs at thetouringstore.com is a great help for people trying to match racks to bikes and packs to racks. He generally has a sale, and gives candy with the order. Rick and Harry at Rivendell Bicycle Works (rivbike.com) would not sell a bike to me until they were satisfied that I was getting what I expected. Then, when assembling the bike, the assembler dropped a tool and chipped the paint. They touched it up, took me a while to find it, it is about 2mm square, and they called and told me--also gave me a substantial gift certificate.

Good people both

[DX-MAN]

A few folks here talked about Chain Reaction Cycles; let me start there.

First, shipping is free for an order above a certain amount ($244 US, I believe at the moment), so ordering a fair amount at once makes 10x the sense.
CRC has things I've only dreamed about from other retailers.

Price Point has been nothing but rock solid for me over the years; never a problem! I LOVE dealing with them! I order from them at tax time every year!

The few times I've dealt with Performance, they've been good to work with. Shipped what I wanted with no muss, no fuss.

MOST of the time, JensonUSA has been the same, but I won't detail the lone shortfall.

I started using online retailers in 2001, and have done so every year since then; frames, parts, occasional clothing bits, upgrades and replacement pieces -- I won't even buy a ready-to-ride bike any more! I'll build my own, have on it EXACTLY what I want, and to hell with the extra cost!

[masont]

I just wanted to mention Jenson USA somewhere, as I was very impressed with them this morning. I recently bought what I thought was a pair of American Classic skewers - the picture showed two, the item description was plural, I thought that both the 130mm and the 135mm came with a 100mm front skewer.

I was a bit dumb and probably should have realized this, but I bought them in a bit of a hurry, and was a tad annoyed when only one came. I got a pair of skewers that work the other day with a pair of hubs I bought, so I just figured I'd return this one, as the weight savings and bling factor for ti skewers that match the hubs on my wheelset just aren't really worth the price. I called Jenson, first asked if it was supposed to come as a pair, it wasn't, then asked if they refunded shipping as well, and the customer service rep simply refunded my purchase price and told me not to worry about shipping it back.

I was really impressed, and now I even feel a bit bad. I wish they had 100mm skewers in stock so I could buy it from them - and they'll now be my default company to order from when prices are similar.

So, if you're about to place an order at a competing site, maybe head over to Jenson and see if their price is comparable, and if it is throw some business their way. I'd appreciate it.

Edit: Good crud, in their product description - "NOTE: This is a single skewer, not a pair."

[noglider]

I recently discovered a local bike shop in Scotch Plains, NJ. It's called The Bike Stand. As far as I can tell, it's manned only by the owner without employees. Steve is extremely experienced and knowledgeable, as well as helpful, and he gives a square deal. I'm an expert myself, yet I've learned a good deal from him. He also likes old bikes, which I have a lot of. He understands that buying new stuff is not the solution to every problem, which is the approach many bike shops take. He says he does some online sales, too, though I don't know anything about that. He's ten miles from my home, which isn't exactly convenient, but I've managed to get there twice. I bought some special Park tools there, and his price was competitive with online prices.

There's a company by the same name in California where I recently bought something, through ebay. I don't think there's a connection between the two businesses.

[bikegeekmn]

I scored quite a deal w/ my LBS.I clean the carpet in their shop as a side job.I get the full cost of the work as store credit.I hope to save for a new bike but it's tough not nickel and diming it all away.It ends up being(with other work)about $1200 a year.Those tubes,cables,casings and Thompson seat posts just do'nt let me wait to get a CAAD9

[xtrajack]

I would like to add Winkku to the list. I e-mailed them asking if their product was/is available in the U.S. I immediately received a response. I tried to order online--had some issues, e-mailed them asking them to call me. They called me the next day.

I feel that if their product matches their customer service, then it will be an awesome product.
I can't wait for it to get here.
.

[sc0ch]

I've had great service from Ibex and Exposure lights, especially with warranty issues. Additionally, Dinotte lights has been fantastic - they even supplied small parts for free when I had problems installing their lights.

Terracycle has been less forthcoming. I ordered their ties to clip lights on my seatpost. The ties were just a tad small, and they wouldn't exhange for the next larger size. Instead I was made to purchase the next larger size and now have surplus ties lying around.

BikeBling.com is horrible. It took greater than one month before they shipped an order I'd been charged for. Shipment only transpired after calling several times to demand a refund. They sounded overworked and were liable to make empty promises.

Universalcycles.com seems to have everything. I order there frequenly and have never had a problem.

[TejanoTrackie]

Ben's Cycle in Milwaukee, Wisconsin - They sell online both through an internet store and eBay. I bought a set of carbon track wheels, and they accidently sent 2 front wheels, instead of a front and a rear. Also, one set of carbon brake blocks was missing. I called their toll free phone # and was immediately placed in contact with Dan, who promptly shipped a rear wheel with brake blocks. He asked if I could return the extra rear wheel pre-paid via UPS, which is much cheaper than USPS, but when I told him that I would have to take it to a UPS dropoff point to do that, he offered to pre-pay via USPS instead, since I could simply leave the box outside my front door for the postal carrier to pick up. He sent the return shipping label with the rear wheel, so I just had to put the extra front in the box and the label on the outside. In short, they were prompt, courteous and saved me any further cost or inconvenience. I have dealt with them previously, and they have good products at reasonable prices.

[cnnrmccloskey]

The Belmont Bicycle Repair Collective is a shop just up the street. I've been coming there since before I can remember with my parents, over the past years I've been becoming a bicycle mechanic and they have been so friendly in helping me learn and fix my mistakes. The other day I went in asking to have a fork milled, I was full ready to pay for the labor but upon asking the price the mechanic said "Well I wouldn't feel right about charging you for that, so I'd just have you do it" He handed me the race cutter and gave me some quick pointers and away I went.
Awesome for an aspiring mechanic for me but past that they are even cooler, I've seen people come in asking for a full overhaul and had them look over the bike and decline noting it was just a simple derailer adjustment which he did for free

[noglider]

Wow. I should put that on my list of must-see places for when I eventually make it to Portland. I haven't been there yet.

[ortcutt]

The Broadway Bicycle School in Cambridge MA (co-founded by Sheldon Brown) deserves praise. The staff there have more than once refrained from attempting what would likely have been a successful "upsell," thereby saving me from my own stupidity. I haven't found many shops that treat their customers this way.

[Kip]

Topeak I had my Trek 520 stolen last year. Attached to it was a mounting bracket for a Topeak handlebar bag, though the bag was not on it. To replace the bracket I checked with REI and my LBS. Neither could help me so I called the Topeak customer service desk. The representative asked me about the bag to determine the appropriate bracket, asked for my address and told me I should have it in a few days, No charge. A positive experience indeed.

[amd89_9]

NASHBAR: super friendly employees and shipping is fast and easy, never had any problems not even when i had to return things
IN CORPUS CHRISTI TX
SHORELINE BICYCLES: EXTREMELY friendly staff and if they dont have anthing they will order it for you right away, took my bike in after my first accident and had back in less than a week considering they had to order a new derailleur and straighten out the handle bars
THE PEDAL BIKE SHOP: HUGE selection of products and awesome staff members

[xray1978]

I have had good experiences with:

1. chainreactioncycles.com
2. VeloOrange.com
3. Oldroads.com
4. bicycletires.com
5. Flying Pigeon LA (have not bought anything here yet, but they have been friendly and patient with my many questions.)

Notice how there are no LBS mentioned? I would like to support my LBS but, I can't until they pull their heads out of their backsides.

[*Scuba]

I have had very good experience with Charlie the Bikemonger. Bought stuff from him a few times over the years. Prices have always been reasonable and his shipping fees have always been the cheapest for me from the UK to Canada.

http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/
http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/Charli...__W0QQ_armrsZ1

One time I hit BUY IT NOW twice on Ebay for one item by accident, he took care of it for me right after I sent a message to him.
Another time, I ask him if he had only just the front skewer available for the Halo Hex, like a spare one floating around the shop or something. He actually dug one up and set up an Ebay buy it now for me, sent me the item number via e-mail. That is good customer service in my books consider I am just buying one of a pair off a product and it is only a few dollars.

[sptybabe20]

Center Street Cycles in Brunswick, Maine. Went in just to pick up gloves and had a good chat with the staff. I've just recently begun biking again and got some tips on the roads (and road conditions) in the area, and immediately was given info on the local bicycling club AND a summer bike rally. I'll be back, because I need more tubes and grip tape. Support your LBS!

[SunnyFlorida]

Palm Bay Bike Shop, Palm Bay, Florida.

Clyde the owner advised and put together my trike. He also helped me with a scooter I temporarily had besides doing the current upgrades on my trike.

He's the type of owner that honnestly wants you to be a bike user as oppose to a bike owner.

He's a sweetie.

Two times he came by the house to tweak the trike rather than have me lug it in my sister's van to him. One of those times was a Sunday. He wanted to make sure the trike was okay for me to ride to work on Monday. I just needed the handlebars lowered and some other minor adjustments. Now how's that for customer service!

He seems to have a wide range of customers and his stock reflects that mix, which is a good thing for me when I'm ready to replace my trike for a crank forward cruiser.