Pockymonster

I don't like Bayview Cycle either. I was in there looking at some Trek bikes and the owner had the nerve to tell me that no, they don't give free tune-ups because "trek bikes are so good they never need tune ups" even though its advertised on their site that they give free tune ups on a bike. They also watch you like a hawk as if you're going to steal something. I took my business elsewhere and picked up a Trek at Trek Toronto instead.

Yan 

When I buy a soda from a restaurant, I expect them to pour it in a glass for me. When I spend money on a rack, I expect the shop to take 5 minutes and put it on my bike for me.

When I buy a soda from a bad restaurant, and have to pour the drink into the glass myself, the waiter doesn't stand there and say "you should have just paid me extra to do it".

The employees in this shop (Bayview Cycles) are only interested in getting your money. I had never seen as drastic and swift a reduction in helpfulness as during the moment I paid for my rack there. As soon as I paid, the man began answering my questions with a look of contempt and impatience on his face.

By the way, $10 for a 5 minute job works out to be 240,000 dollars a year for 40 hrs/week (50 weeks). I wish I had a job that earned $120 an hour.

bbgobie

Do they cut your food for you too?

You ever tip a bartender to pour you a drink? How long did that take? 10 seconds? Hey, he makes more than you too...

ISaacG

Bike shops sell parts, not service. Or at least when you buy a rack that is the case.
You can buy service at some, eg tire truing, tuneup etc. But if you buy a rack, you are only paying for a part and not for service.

aMull

Are you actually comparing waitressing and a bike shop? You paid for the part only, you pay for labor if you want them to install it, if not do it yourself.

Yan 

Fair enough, I stand corrected and I've revised my review:

Bayview Cycle Centre is a good bike shop, though with less spectacular customer service and employee attitude than some other bike shops I have visited in the past.

James_Kim2

Would you buy a car solely based on internet reviews and/or your friends' opinion without actually driving one? Yeah, I though so. They tend get really busy at times and dont want to spend hours talking about specification of the bike. Rather, they want the bikes to sell themselves. :]

Manada

I'm coming in late to this conversation -- but I'm also only now forming my own ideas about shops (vs. last season when I was relying on a friend to just take me, and my bike, to his shop and set me up). So as a noob, and someone who likes the opportunity to figure things out on my own while having my questions answered.....

But I'd like to weigh in with another plug for Urbane - I've been in there twice this week, and while I had to wait around on Friday (when it was quite busy), when I was helped the guy was super nice. Yesterday I just went in and took my bike straight to the service counter where the woman there helped me adjust my bars and made suggestions for changes in the future that will definately improve the bar fit. Both times I came out with lots of suggestions & information, without the pressure of a hard-sell --- much appreciated and I'll definately be back.

I also really like MEC, their customer service there has always been awesome, and they usually seem pretty willing to answer questions and explain equipment I might not be familiar with --- definately less intimidating than some of the bike shops I've been in.

And can I throw out CBN as a favourite shop/organization? I've gotten SO much help there with learning about how my bike works and how-tos... they're an excellent resource.

James_Kim2

Mine too, I volunteer quite regularly and I recommand a lot of people to go there.

bwinton

Perhaps free service with purchase is one of the signs of a better bike shop, then?

I've had free work done at Urbane (most recently they fixed and lubed my rear gear shift when it stuck. I bought a couple of bottles of lube in appreciation), CyclePath (installed a couple of racks which I bought there, and replaced a tire on my kids' stroller, I think.), and SportSwap (on Bayview). (I forget what they did, but they let me test drive a Kona Paddy Wagon while I got my front brake fixed recently. Fun ride!) Even the places which want to charge for work seem to be more than happy to loan me tools so that I can do the work myself, but maybe I'm just lucky that way.

z3n

Service / maintenance of the bike was a concern for me while shopping around. Many offered 1 year of free service while a few offered 2...wheels on bloor offers free service for the life of the bike with the original owner...they've even taught me a few things.

thier stuff is most higher end but the sales are great

cyclocommuter

Just my 2 cents here but the best bike shop for me is one which sponsors a dynamic cycling group, better still when the owner, or the mechanics themselves ride with the group... a group which will not only looks out for members when mechanical trouble strikes but also when the almost inevitable accident happens.

Case in point, I was in an accident in a group ride and needed to be taken to the hospital via an ambulance... the group members I was with contacted the LBS which sent a vehicle to fetch my bike (probably 30 kms from the bike shop) and to top it off assisted me when the time came to file my claim with the insurance company (witness statements, etc.).

operator

*LOL*.

You buy a rack, and you expect the installation labour to be FREE?

I really can't believe there are customers like you out there, but apparently there is. Holy cow. What next, buy a spoke, get a free spoke replacement?

Buy a fork, free replacement? Buy a BB, free facing and installation?

If you think the shop is making millions a year off of rack installs, you might want to rethink that. I should be driving around in my ferrari going to my 200ft yacht everyday with strippers on the deck.

Give mea freaking break. Clueless, is what you are sir.

ISaacG

+1 for Urbane. I slightly tweaked my route and just so happened to bike by Urbane, so I dropped in.
The customer service person was very nice and friendly. They even let me test ride a fixed gear! (Never rode one before.) I picked up a bell and splatter guard. I'm gonna have to drop in again to do some browsing. They look slightly more costly than MEC, but they carry stuff MEC doesn't have.

Indie

I haven't used Urbane, but I stopped in there once to see if they had a part I wanted (they didn't, but they said they could order it, and I haven't found it elsewhere so I might take them up on it -- nobody else I've talked to has mentioned being able to order it).

When my ancient whitewall tires started to rot, I found replacements at Bikes On Wheels. They were the only ones who stocked anything in 20 x 1 3/8". They had some vintage bikes on the floor and seemed to have a lot of variety in the parts they stocked.

My regular shop is Cyclepath on Yonge near Eglinton, just because I live close by and can stop in there after work. I don't know what to think yet. It really seems to depend on who takes care of you when you walk into the shop -- half of them won't even make eye contact, and one guy said he would check and see if a part could be ordered and didn't get around to it until a week later when I asked and another employee prodded him.

The tall skinny dude with the fauxhawk seems to know his stuff and is conscientious about his work. I left my bike there for a wheel truing, and their service was fast (it was ready a day before they originally estimated it would be). As to whether it worked, I'm not sure -- I asked for a truing, and it didn't clear up the problem I was having, but I may have just made the wrong guess about what needed to be done. Overall I think they're a shop for people who already know what they need done or what they need to buy, not for those who need more help sorting things out.

ISaacG

You can check to see if your wheel is true by lifting it off the ground and giving it a spin. Watch the gap between the brake pads and the rim closely and see if the size of the gap changes at all. Also, use a ruler and lie it across the fork just above the fork and repeat with that gap.

FROryder

Not the Bicycle Clinic!

Indie

FROryder, the Bicycle Clinic is no more.

https://www.citynews.ca/news/news_25204.aspx

FROryder

I know, just a weak attempt at humour

northernease

A small business manager who does not understand that those $10 and a smile were possibly THE cheapest way of advertising the store and making sure the costumer would come back again and again is an idiot. Period. The problem is, more in general, that most store owners/managers, not just in this industry, understand close to nothing about how to do business and treat costumers. The very few who do, of course, become millionaires.

Amen.

northernease

See my response to Rousseau, above.

northernease

Again, I really hope you don't own a bike store yourself: you'd be in troubles! But you do say something right: a shop that provided free (three-minute) labour (at a time when perhaps he was doing absolutely nothing) and a smile would probably be "everyone's" favourite! )

On the other hand, I live very close to tha store on Roncesvalle and, after reading the comment posted by the other friend, I will never use that store. I'm sure I am not the only one here to reach this conclusion! Was it worth $9?

Re-amen.

Indie

I think I've found a good one -- Europe Bound on Front Street (on the south side, just west of Church) has a full bike parts shop with a repair centre in their basement, overseen by one very smart and competent bike nerd. He might be my go-to guy from now on because he's close to where I work, and knows his stuff more than the guys at my Cyclepath near Eglinton.

bwinton

I've never had my bike repaired there, but they have the world's cheapest cycle computers with cadence. I think it's the CatEye something something, and I seem to remember they were close to $15-20 the last couple of times I've bought one, which is about half of what other brands/stores were charging.

airosen

Does anyone have any experience at the Trek store at Yonge and Eglinton? It's right across from Cyclepath, and I can't decide which shop has better service.