Cycle Loft — Attraction in Lexington

Terrible place for Trek warranty service or customer good will.

We had a couple of kids Trek bikes that we found out were under a Trek safety recall. We called Trek customer support and they told us that they still honored the recall and to just stop by any local Trek dealer for a replacement bike. We found Cycle Loft on the Trek website and since they had good reviews, we went in with the bikes.

Well, they were not happy to see us. They first complained about having to do the work to process the exchange because they weren't getting paid by Trek. Well, that's a problem between them and their Trek dealer agreement, not us. They agreed but said it would take 2 weeks because there were "a hundred" people ahead of us. We said OK, no problem, we understand it would take time.

Two weeks later, we stopped by for an update and the manager complained again that they were not getting paid for taking care of the Trek recall/replacement and that we should simply be grateful for getting two free replacement Trek bikes. We offered to pay them to switch the accessories from the old bikes to the new bikes but they were still unhappy. They still did not know when the replacement would happen.

We called Trek customer support again. Trek customer support was extremely helpful and understanding. Trek ended up having to call Cycle Loft three separate times to get the process moving along. Trek told us that the replacement bikes would be at Cycle Loft within 2 days.

True to their word, in 2 days, we had our replacement Trek bikes, no thanks to Cycle Loft.

Do you think that if we had a great customer service experience that we would buy other accessories for the bikes? Or when the kids need to get bigger bikes, that we would remember the great experience and buy them from Cycle Loft? Or that we would tell all our friends what a great place Cycle Loft is?

I can only assume that they don't care.

Note that the bad attitude and service we got were from the manager, not the staff so it is obviously a company-wide policy that if you aren't spending a lot of money with them that day (or have previously), then you aren't worth the effort.

Now we tell everyone to go someplace else if you care about customer good will or service. If you are in the area, check out Bikeway Source in Bedford. They actually care about good customer service.

Kudos to Trek customer support. They are great and our kids love...

I came across Cycle Loft while doing research on a particular brand of bike, also known more honestly as "bike lust". I became intrigued by some of the services they were offering including fitness testing, (e.g. VO2 max), and custom fitting with first rate fitters. My wife and I made the trip to Burlington from downtown Boston and found a staff and an owner dedicated to the customer, to building relationships, to treating each client as a valued customer from day one. The advice and attention we have received has been smart, individualized, and consistently on target. In the interest of keeping this short I will say that: My wife no longer has knee pain when cycling. My fitness level and cycling smarts have increased more than incrementally. I have test ridden and re-tested bikes in finding the right bike for me with Cycle Loft's owner pushing me to be thorough, as opposed to pushing me to quickly make up my mind so he could make a sale. This thoroughness has enabled me to make a clear decision with no "what ifs". And get this: After purchasing a bike Cycle Loft and their staff advocated with the bike manufacturer to make sure I got the best possible bike when they felt all was not as it should be. In other words, they were a better advocate for me than I was for myself.

What I have with Cycle Loft now is trust, and in the world of biking with bikes, accessories, and accoutrements befitting an equipment intensive sport and hobby, this trust in invaluable. While I do have a car I use it minimally, paradoxically usually for cycling related events. We are a "keep it as local as possible" family. For me, the drive to Burlington has been more than worth it. That said, I have already mapped out the bike route I'll be using from Boston to Burlington for my trips to Cycle Loft, on my new, intelligently fitted bike.! Ah..bike...

Cycleloft is the only bike shop I will ever go to from now on; let me explain why:

I just completed the B2VT, a 145 mile ride from Bedford, MA to Stratton VT. This was only possible through the help of Anthony, the owner of Cycleloft, who I met on Friday.

About a week before the ride, I had new cleats put on by a different bike shop. They misaligned the cleats, and put on zero float cleats - I was in serious pain. My knees hurt and my shins were on fire. I could not have spent the week in a worse way - riding 40 miles on misaligned cleats.

So I went to Cycleloft to get my ride packet the day before the B2VT. I show up early, and end up meeting Anthony, the owner of Cycleloft. I explained to him how my shoes felt off- he quickly explained how the cleat works, what float is, and adjusted. I was feeling better about the ride, and the next day, began the 145 mile journey.

Now at about 80 miles in, my knees start to hurt again. I wasn’t sure if this was from the original misalignment or what- but at the next rest stop I spot Anthony. I explained to him what was happening, and he adjusted my seat. Suddenly the pain left, I was feeling better than I felt all week, and had an amazing ride overall. Again, I felt better than before the ride- I should have gone to Cycleloft initially.

The point to all this is that people like Anthony are the reason I will go to a store. This is a place of true customer service- the people at Cycleloft love cycling- and more importantly- want to genuinely help the customer. I cannot speak highly enough of this place, and this is the only bike store I will use from now on.

Not to mention the fact it is a beautiful store, well stocked with inventory and filled with many other helpful people. I recommend it 10/10 to everyone, and am 95% convinced Anthony is a saint. Go...