admittedly, while i have heard a lot of crap about duke's, i have had good service myself. my road bike is from there, as well as a few pairs of SPDs. when one of my brake/shifter levers on my road bike went wonky shortly after i bought it, they just took another from another bike to put it on instead of waiting for shimano to warranty it; as well, when a strap on a pair of SPDs cracked after only a few months of use, they took them back and credited the full amount to another pair of shoes. i tend to find service at duke's is better if you already have an idea of what you want, rather than going in without research already done...not saying that is good, just that i have had decent service.

aside from the other good shops, e.g., urbane/cavern/biseagal/etc., of the 'bigger' (higher-end?) shops, i have had good service at 'wheels of bloor' and 'chain reaction', too. 'sporting life' is sucky.