Baltimore Bicycle Works — Attraction in Baltimore

BBW is over-hyped and under-delivers time and time again. Prices are consistently the highest in the area. Frankly this shop is the epitome of "hipster service." On multiple occasions I've waited extensively as the only other customer in the shop. The person behind the register carried an extensive conversation, while I just stood with my products in hands. I'm not writing this after one negative experience. Instead it's a trend i've watched over the years as I spent thousands of dollars at said shop.

They've managed to market themselves really well and as such have fooled those with little knowledge of the industry into thinking that BBW is the primo shop of Charm City. Too many have drunk the "co-op" kool aid and can't honestly critique this local bike shop on its own merits. There's nothing wrong with catering to a consumer base that doesn't know any better, but I can't help but cringe when I overhear someone new to cycling raving about the wonders of this shop. Truly a caveat emptor situation going on. Anyone reading this is better off taking their money to Joe's... heck or even Pace Race FFS.

I can't speak to the technical prowess of their mechs since I work on my own bike, but I imagine it would be similar to something like the automotive equivalent of taking a Honda to a Mercedes dealership for maintenance. They'll get the job done and you know they do "good" work when you look at the invoice - or at least that's what you tell yourself as your wallet recoils.

TL:DR mediocre bike shop has cornered the market by offering marked up products and services with sub-par customer service to boot. consumers will just accept this bc of the "cool points" when they tell their co-workers that they not only bike commute, but that the machine in question was purchased from a local bike co-op. Marketing is...

i didnt have the tool to remove the bolt to a weak, nearly broken kickstand that was attached to an old bicycle frame i bought, so i came to the coolest looking shop with a kitty cat hanging around.

i showed them the new kickstand i had ordered online and explained that i didn't want to wait for the tool to remove the old one, so i'd gladly buy something here instead or pay for them to remove the current kickstand (since i could easily install the new one with the included tools).

the representative said that they refuse to remove my kickstand because it clearly looks like i built the bicycle myself. he said that removing, replacing, or selling me the tools to work on the kickstand was a "liability" issue and that my request was unacceptable.

i asked if anybody else working there might be able to help remove the kickstand and they just said i can go help myself, because nobody there would. a nice way of saying, "go f... yourself."

made me feel like an an absolute piece of trash for building my own bike and for trying to support others that are like to work with bicycles. all i needed was a screw loosened or the tool to loosen it, since i didn't have that tool in my kit and i didnt even mind paying a heavy premium or buying the tools from this shop instead of online, since i thought they liked working on bicycles.

i drove up to the shop on charles st and got the tool i needed, as you would expect from any shop really. what is even going on at this shop. what kind of people are these?

absolutely the worst customer service for a bicycle shop i've ever experienced. i do not recommend that people...

I came to this bike shop with my eBike, hoping to get my rear tire tube replacedand, they told me that they could not do it, something about the machine that they use, hooks onto the seat. But I know the process, and it's not that hard to Jack a bike up and remove the tire. They just did not want to do it, For whatever reason, i think i know why, but i wont go there. I called back, and asked them how they fix flat tires, and the man told me that they work on irregular ebikes all the time, bring it in...(not knowing that I just left there) so I know what that person told me was B.S. I waisted $ getting air to get there, waisted time from my lunch break at work, and gotta waste more $ filling it with more air just to get home. I will never come back here again, Nor recommend to anybody that I know, to come there. I really needed my tire fixed, even a patch and they/them did not want to help me, giving me a B.S. excuse like I was stupid. So ima tell everybody I know to avoid this place at all cost, because I really HATE...