REI — Attraction in Tysons

First visit to this location two Thursdays ago! This location is spacious and so worth the trip. Thanks to the Fairfax location for suggesting I stop by because of this location’s great selection of bike sunglasses!!

So true! I picked up a pair of Smith Resolve sunglasses, a couple more packet of electrolyte tablets, had a quick bike check and requested that my clip on pedals to be replaced with flat ones!!!

All of this was completed with Alex’s patience and help as this was a final dash to REI before I joined the 50-mile 2023 Bike to the Beach Ride for Autism the next day! I tried on several pairs of glasses and finally settled on the Resolve with Alex’s feedback! These “men’s” sunglasses actually fit best/perfectly, look good and felt great riding with them on the following day! Received countless compliments, too!

Most importantly, I am so appreciative of Alex’s expertise/knowledge as he explained the type of gears on my Fuji bike and the specific gear I’d shift in order to get up that “hill” into Dewey Beach! For a recreational biker, shifting gears remains a daunting challenge for me! I knew that it would be hot on bike day and that I’d need to get to the Finish Line before 1:30 PM!!

Thank you, thank you, Alex for putting aside your personal judgement/reservations of my biking abilities (understandably so). Instead, you helped make it possible for me to ride on one “optimal” gear setting confidently on the hottest recorded day and get to the Finish Line by 1:25 PM!!! I only shifted when absolutely necessary without getting anything scrambled!

In closing, I admit that I have rapidly grown to value and appreciate REI’s products, services and staff who are knowledgeable in specific areas. I’m thrilled to...

Here’s what I did: I found something on the REI website I wanted. The website confirmed it was available in medium at this location. This was after hours Friday, then I got there a few minutes before opening Saturday - that is, zero open minutes transpired between these two times. Furthermore, the item still showed on the website as in stock in that size this (Saturday) morning.

Of course, the item was not there. I had someone help me look for it, and she was rude, and could not find it. She suggested calling ahead - but the point of this functionality on the website is that you don’t have to call ahead, AND since I live a 25 minute drive away from this store, if I called at opening, and they said they had it, I could drive here and it would be gone.

Of course, I could order it online for pickup at this location! BUT, they looked for it and said it wasn’t here, so I assume had I done that the order would NOT have been completed by noon like the website said, AND I wanted to come get it this morning, not at noon.

Bottom line, stores that can’t live up to the promises implied by website stocking guarantees shouldn’t use their websites that way, and locations that can’t keep track of their stock should be excluded from showing it on the website. I wasted an hour of my time this morning because of REI; it’ll be a while before I give them the chance to...

REI is hands down the best place to buy any outdoor equipment, especially bikes. This was the second time I've purchased a bike from REI and my experiences could not have been better. This time, the mountain bike I picked out had an issue with the from brake assembly, the techs at REI Tysons Corner caught it before I left the store, tried to fix it while I waited. They kept me updated the entire time they were working on it. After a reasonable amount of time, they let me know they weren't going to be able to fix it as quickly as they first estimated. So I came back the next day to pick it up. They were apologetic and extremely friendly about it. After taking it on the first ride, I hit a rut on the trial tried to correctly quickly and the handle bars spun so they were parallel with the tire. I of course went down. Banged up the bike. Took it back into REI and said with those two issues, I'd rather exchange it for another one because it seemed like that particular bike had some issues. The only question they asked was if I was ok from the fall and exchanged the bike no problem. Couldn't believe how easy the experience was and how helpful everyone at the bike shop in the Tysons REI was, would absolutely recommend to anyone....