Mountain View Cycles — Attraction in Hood River

I called to reserve an e-bike the other weekend and spoke with someone I believe was named Mike. He told me reservations had to be made online, even though my friend had just made one over the phone. Not a big deal.

A few minutes later, I called back to ask about their Rocky Mountain e-bikes (which aren’t listed on the website). I spoke with the same person, and when I asked what model they carried, his response was surprisingly terse: “The Altitude.” I asked for clarification since there are seven different Altitude Powerplay models, and he repeated, more loudly and dismissively, “THE ALTITUDE.” I didn’t get a clear answer until I started listing the models one by one, waiting to be cut off (which I was), with the model they stocked.

I get that not everyone wants to talk tech specs, but if you work in a bike shop, especially one renting high-end e-bikes, it shouldn’t be a hassle to answer basic questions. The conversation really took the wind out of my sails.

I ended up renting a Trek Rail+ instead, partly because the spec was better (which was the point of asking about the Rocky Mountain model in the first place). The website claims their rental/demo bikes are “meticulously maintained and tuned by expert mechanics,” but unfortunately, that wasn’t our experience. One of the bikes wouldn’t turn on and needed a software update just to shift gears. It wasn’t fully charged either, which cut our ride short. The bikes were also dirty, again, not a huge issue, but disappointing when you’re renting $11,000 bikes.

I had to look up the base suspension settings myself, which is not a dealbreaker, but having that information on hand would have gone a long way in helping us get the most out of the ride. If the goal is to provide a top-notch demo experience and ultimately sell bikes, giving customers the tools to enjoy the ride would be beneficial.

On the trail, I noticed the brakes on my bike were not in great shape. Under load, the levers pulled nearly to the grips, and braking performance was weak. I adjusted the controls to make the bike rideable, but the lack of reliable braking really limited confidence and speed.

When I returned the bike and mentioned the brake issue, the mechanic was dismissive and borderline argumentative. He told me the brakes were fine and I could “just move the controls out,” which I had already done. He finally said, “I’ll have the guys take a look at it,” rolled his eyes, and wheeled the bike away.

The younger staff at the shop were friendly, but overall, this was a frustrating experience. I hope they work on improving customer service and bike maintenance, because there’s real...

Hoped to write a better review given all the other positive reviews…. I had mt view rebuild my rear shock. When I got it back, they had knowingly replaced one of the spacers with a different size than the original without telling me because they did not have them in stock…? I realized the problem before I was going out of town on a mt bike my trip. Jeff said they would have to order them but they would not be in for a week or two. Since they created my problem, I had hoped they would offer to call the other local shops to see if they could get me up and running, but jeff was uninterested and unwilling to help. After some pressure he did offer an in store credit if i had to buy the spacers elsewhere……. HR has a lot of great bike shops, I would have hoped mt view would have gone the extra mile to fix a problem they created, instead I left feeling like I was a nuisance, I had to go thru a ton of effort to fix a problem they created and after taking my money, they were indifferent and uninterested in making things right. I’ll take my biz up the...

If Mountain View Cycles were in my local area, it would be my go to shop! The customer service was above and beyond. We’re just a couple of vacationers riding the local trails, but we were treated like long time shop patrons. Rafe spent what seemed like over an hour trying to trouble shoot some suspension issues with suspension and electronics that we DID NOT purchase from MVC, but he took us in despite an overbooked schedule. He then gave us a non-condescending education on our suspension that was easy to understand for the lay person. The shop treated us like we purchased the most expensive bikes on the show room floor. I didn’t even purchase so much as a tire lever! I’m an a**! I’m probably going to head back today and buy a bunch of stuff I don’t need. I actually have purchased bike apparel/ parts from this shop in past visits to Hood River and they have a great selection of...