Review Date
May 2, 2008

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Customer Service Rating
 5 of 5

Technical Expertise Rating
 5 of 5

I visit this shop:
Once a month

Reviewed by: trailboss69 ,  Weekend Warrior

Shop Summary:
I have been coming to Big Ring for a few years now...but not for mountain biking. I bought my first road bike there...a giant tcr. What a nice bike.
I always regarded Big Ring as a "road" shop. Recently i decided to give mountain biking a try. Dusted off the old Trek 820 and off I went. So, I fell in love and figured I might as well buy a new one (every little bit helps, right?) Started shopping around and hit all the "popular" shops. Found some great bikes but was a little annoyed by the customer service...or lack of rather. Anyway, after hitting the Golden shops and a few other big stores I had to go into Big Ring to get my road bike serviced. I never really noticed, but they also have a lot of mountain bikes! I never really thought of Big Ring for mountain bikes. Needless to say, they specialize in high end bikes, and that goes for the mountain side of things too. They had a bunch of Titus, Ibis and Cannondale bikes o ride and play around on.

Customer Service:
Spent a good while being "interviewed" by Jason. Based on our conversation and a surprisingly thorough bike fit (for a mountain bike), he directed me toward a couple different bikes that suited me, my riding and my budget. They have a lot of nice bikes, so it was nice to have someone listen to me and find a bike that suits me. At the end, I had it narrowed down to a Cannondale Rize and the Titus Moto Lite. Ended up on the Moto Lite for various reasons (but that Lefty fork is something else on the Cannondale). I would have to say I was treated very well. Jason was upfront and honest and the service guy (Alec I think) took a bit of time and talked to me about suspension setup and maintenance .

Other Comments:
Has to be one of the areas best kept secrets...always well known for road bikes and my new favorite mountain bike shop.

Review Date
February 12, 2008

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Customer Service Rating
 5 of 5

Technical Expertise Rating
 5 of 5

I visit this shop:
Once a month

Reviewed by: Reporterkyle ,  Racer

Shop Summary:
I don't know about others, but I walk into a lot of shops and think, "They don't have a single bike in her speced the way I would want to ride it." When I was buying a new bike a few years ago, I literally walked out of half the shops in Denver because they didn't have anything close to what I wanted when it came to a high-end MTB. Walk into Big Ring, however, and it is a complete drool-fest. They carry bikes that hard core bike junkies want and they are built the way we want them. It's not a huge operation, but, geez, they have the sickest inventory -- road and mountain. That makes Big Ring pretty cool. They recently built my pretty much dream race bike for me. I don't know, maybe we are all just used to walking into a bike shop and seeing a bunch of low-end or mediocre stuff. The good stuff doesn't come cheap, but Big Ring is at least one of the few places that carries it.

Customer Service:
I wasn't initially impressed with Big Ring's customer service when I first went in there 4-5 years ago. But they've changed locations (the new shop is a HUGE improvement), some staff has come and gone and the place has grown on me. They've always given me fair deals on parts -- whether it is for a road or mountain build. They guys in there like cools bikes and they like to talk about them. In my experience, they haven't tried to sell me things I don't need and are looking to put on the right equipment. Start going in there regularly, and you get treated right. They don't have as many small parts in stock as bigger shops, but that's not really their gig.

Other Comments:
Big Ring has always been known as a high-end road shop, and they still are. They've got the sickest road bikes I've ever seen. But they've also branched out and expanded their MTB line lately (finally carrying things other than Cannondale, too).

Review Date
December 9, 2007

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Customer Service Rating
 5 of 5

Technical Expertise Rating
 5 of 5

I visit this shop:
Once a month

Reviewed by: mountainking ,  Weekend Warrior

Shop Summary:
High end. Thats all they deal with as far as sales. I had heard that they were the guys to go to if you need a high end road or mountain bike and living 30 minutes away from there, I thought I would give it a try. I ended up buying a $6000 Ibis Mojo mountain bike here, so you can bet my review is pretty positive.

Customer Service:
From the minute I walked in to the minute i walked out, i felt like the president! From picking out my bike, to specing it with the best and lightest components they actually had good input, not just trying to sell me up on stuff. I could spent more money, but i wanted a bike that was light AND durable. I took their advice and two months in, they were spot on. The service after the sale is top notch too. I can trust them to get it fixed and in a timely manner. I actually enjoy driving down to the shop to chat and have a coffee with the guys when I make it down that way.

Other Comments:
All in all, one of the best shops around. I make it a point to support them because they support me. Even for tubes and gels and small things, Ill wait until i am in the area to stop by and stock up.

Review Date
June 27, 2007

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Customer Service Rating
 1 of 5

Technical Expertise Rating
 5 of 5

I visit this shop:
Once a month

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 3 votes

Reviewed by: MeCycleBoy ,  Racer

Shop Summary:
They are a high end bike shop in Golden and I’ve been to them a number of times. They know their bikes and can give you in depth information on anything high end. They will charge you an arm and a leg for it, but they will customize any standard high-end bike they have to meet your specifications. This is something a lot of bike shops won’t do on common brands like Cannondale.

However, they have a very bizarre atmosphere. They are a high end bike shop and look down on anything under $4,000. But it is more than snobbery, they boarder on rude; particularly toward woman. They act like woman are stupid. To be truthful they act like everyone is stupid but it comes across stronger toward woman. They are not mean; they just don’t care about the customer. There are a high number of locals in Golden who find them so put offish that they no longer will go to the shop. On my race team and local group rides if you bring up Big Ring you get, “Why would you go there?” I’m not sure they even realize that they come across as jerks.

Also, their mechanics are some of the worst around. They usually don’t get the problem fixed then they look at you as if you were stupid when you ask them about it. They will either not acknowledge you or grunt at you for giving them a tip, so don’t waste your money, tips are below them.

Go here if you are looking for a great bike fit and great knowledge and if you enjoy someone looking at you like you are an idiot.

Don’t go here if you are looking for a friendly, good time atmosphere.

**** on the bikes they carry
**** on their bike knowledge
0 star on atmosphere
0 star mechanics