Review Date
April 22, 2008

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Customer Service Rating
 3 of 5

Technical Expertise Rating
 2 of 5

I visit this shop:
Every few months

Reviewed by: lewingard ,  Cross Country Rider

Shop Summary:
It's okay, not the best overall shop in town.

Customer Service:
They kind of have a chip on their shoulder most of the time. But most shops have that.

Review Date
March 13, 2008

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Customer Service Rating
 3 of 5

Technical Expertise Rating
 4 of 5

I visit this shop:
Once a year

Reviewed by: huboon ,  Weekend Warrior

Shop Summary:
Seems like they specialize in higher end equipment. To be honest I haven't examined their inventory very closely however they call it John's "Serious" Cycling.

Customer Service:
Went in there in mid-2006 when I was looking to buy a Cannondale cyclocross bike. The lady who I talked to seemed helpful. She was supposed to call me with a quote but I never heard from her. This left me with the impression that, as a person who only had $1500 to spend, I wasn't important enough to bother with. As a result I bought my bike somewhere else.

Went there again last year to get some spacers for a new stem. The mechanic was very helpful, found some that matched my sample exactly and sold them to me for next to nothing.

Review Date
October 16, 2007

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Customer Service Rating
 5 of 5

Technical Expertise Rating
 5 of 5

I visit this shop:
Once a year

Reviewed by: KevinK ,  Cross Country Rider

Shop Summary:
Many high end road/mountain bikes. Also, very good selection of cloths, shoes, helmets. Will order anything they don't have in the store. They don't price match. I asked for my WTB Weirwolf UST.

Customer Service:
Worked with Christian. He took my order for my Titus Talus Switchblade, took an inventory of all the parts I needed, built my wheels, communicated with me on the status of my bike. He also warned me that Titus is notorious for shipping their bikes late, and he was right, so I was already prepared. Once he received the bike, he had it ready in two days. Went in a few weeks later, and they switched out my tires for free. Went there a over a year later to change my stem, ordered the part, and put it on....no charge for labor. I don't think customer service gets any better than this.

Other Comments:
Fantastic experience. Highly recommended.

Review Date
January 19, 2007

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Customer Service Rating
 2 of 5

Technical Expertise Rating
 3 of 5

I visit this shop:
Been there once

Visitors rate this review
1.50 of 5, 2 votes

Reviewed by: andrew7mm ,  Weekend Warrior

Shop Summary:
Lets put it this way they carry high end bikes and equipment. Santa cruz, cannondale, ellsworth, titus. and a whole bunch of clothing.

Customer Service:
I was there once to get tubeless rims for my bike built: Promise time was off by over one week, I asked for double butted spokes.. I was charged for double butted spokes but when after 2 weeks I picked up my bike it had regular spokes and I never got the money difference refunded. I think the employees are on commission cause I got the feeling they want to rip you off. I would defenitly reccomend helens cyclery instead..

Review Date
November 18, 2006

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Customer Service Rating
 2 of 5

Technical Expertise Rating
 5 of 5

I visit this shop:
Every few months

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by: bearded1 ,  Weekend Warrior

Shop Summary:
As the others have noted this is a high-end shop. Merlin, Litespeed, Titus, Ellsworth, Look, etc. Great stuff really and provides a lot of fun for browsing. John now has 3 shops going - he's opened one in Acton and another, smaller one, in Northridge. He puts on charity rides and sponsors a couple of teams as well so he's definitely giving back to cycling. Also he seems to hire a lot of racer-types as salespeople. They know their stuff, as long as you don't get a mb racer when you're looking for a road bike, and they are serious. But they are racers and, if you're not, you may not get the best advice. I mean, the Truth, the Racer X, or the Blur may not be the model that's best-suited for the riding you do and your skills. That said, if you've been riding for awhile and bring some knowledge to the shopping experience, you'll do well here. (Btw, this is no place to buy a BMX bike.)

Customer Service:
I bought two bikes here - the new one was a Santa Cruz Superlight for my daughter. In fact John sold me the bike himself. The bike itself was fine but the purchase experience wasn't great. I was promised the bike in 4 or 5 weeks. After 7 or 8 weeks I called the shop and asked if my bike had arrived. No, it hadn't. This happened a few more times. I understand now that Santa Cruz is notoriously slow, but the shop should know that. I always had to call them to find out what was happening, they never called me. I had plunked down $2500, and it seemed they had lost interest. All in all I was left with very mixed feelings. The other bike I bought was a rode bike they had on consignment - no problems there.

Other Comments:
I want to like Bicycle John's because I think their heart's in the right place. But I have to admit that I heard so many reasons why my bike hadn't come in on successively promised dates that I began to seriously think I'd been stiffed - not a comfortable feeling.