Venture Sports Avon — Local services in Avon

I had a bad experience here, but the manager (Matt) was extremely apologetic and generous in refunding my money. 1 star for the initial experience, 5 stars for the damage control. I went in there telling them I was about to go on a several-hundred-mile ride to Utah and I needed the bike ship shape. I needed them to order and install a rack, rebuild the fork (yearly service), and generally go through the rest of the bike to make sure it would get me there with no problems. I had to wait 4 days or so to get the bike in, but I dropped it off before they opened on Wednesday with the promise that it'd be done by 10am Thursday. 10:20 on Thursday I get a call from the guy working on the bike telling me he just started, it needs a couple parts, he'll be done soon. I told him go ahead and put the cassette and chain on, went to pick it up, and got on my way.

First problem: The rack had about 1/8" of clearance from the rear tire. I thought that didn't seem like a lot but I gave them the benefit of the doubt, they're the pros. 100 miles into my trip the tire is rubbing on the rack. Turns out the rack wasn't spec'd for a 29er tire. Bud knew what it was going on when he ordered it. This could have been disastrous if it had rubbed worse than it had and I hadn't been able to ride the bike out in the middle of nowhere. By the time I made 130 miles or so (about as far as I got before I aborted the ride), the tire had worn the rack very obviously.

Second problem: I paid them for a shifter tune and to go through the bike. 15 miles into the trip the front shifter started separating to the point where I had to squeeze it together to shift the gears. I should have turned around then but didn't; 80 miles into the ride it exploded completely. Meanwhile the rear shifter wasn't set up well and the bike kept trying to pop out of gear when I was ascending hills. I stopped on the side of the road to adjust it myself (what did I pay for?) and discovered the rear cable was very frayed at the derailer. Could have been pretty bad if that had broken too. So much for looking over the bike.

Third problem: I paid for a brake tune, which to me would involve taking the brakes apart, cleaning/scuffing them so they don't squeal, then reassembling and adjusting them. To them it meant taking about 15 seconds to loosen the mechanical adjustment at the calipers and tighten the brakes until they're in constant contact with the rotors, and therefore constantly squealing. After 30 or so miles of this I was about to go crazy and stopped to readjust them back to where I had them before. Again, what did I pay them for?

Forth problem, pretty minor: they rebuilt the fork but didn't pay attention to anything when they did. When they put it back together the damper knob was assembled in a different orientation (super minor), the handlebar height and shock pressure were different. Again not huge because I can fix these things myself, but I shouldn't have to.

I came in there pretty livid because not only did I pay for things that weren't done right, but they could have put me in literal danger with their negligence on some of this stuff. I made sure to tell at least three different people that I was going on a huge ride and this was sort of important, and I guess none of them were able to register that. Matt listened very patiently to my experience and refunded me for the brake and gear tune, half the fork rebuild (I told him he didn't have to do that but he insisted), and took the rack back. He was very apologetic about the whole thing, acknowledged their substantial mistakes, and told me they don't want my money if I'm not happy with the experience. In my book I couldn't have asked for a better experience on that end of things, so that's why they get 3 stars instead of one. Hopefully they learned something but if you go there, you might be wise to check behind...

2 years later and coming back to emphasise how great this shop is. The customer service is impeccable and pricing very reasonable. I popped back and they remembered me - how cool! Even if you don’t necessarily need anything, you won’t regret dropping in to say hallo.

This should be your first choice to rent from. These folks really made this new town feel like home and I know when I’m back it’ll be the first stop to pop back in. Not only is it a local shop you would be supporting instead of the chains, but you’ll meet the most wonderful people. Zach, Cooper, Tyler, Katy - everyone! - took such great care of me from the first phone call to book my demo skis. They actually printed me out a map of the mountain and highlighted what I should try out, and they were more than happy to give me advice for other stuff too. They also let me change into my boots at their store which is a 2min walk from the riverside gondola up to BC. Skis I purchased were very well priced and these guys are honest and kind. Thank you so much to everyone at...

This was the best ski tuning place, I went there for years to get my ski tuned every 2 to 3 weeks. But it seems in the new year they hired new people who are completely incompetent. Already when droping the skis off the guy at the front was completely confused when I asked if a 87/0.9 tune is possible and he said "huh whats that?". I should have left then. But I left my skiis there to get them tuned. The next day on my skiis I almost instantly almost killed myself because they they sharped the tips and tails without any detuning. I had to go all the way to Christy Sports to buy a gummy stone to fix my skis while on the pist. The tuning guy there was also applaud by how bad of a job it was and said what the hell. I am so frustrated because this was my go to ski tuning shop ruined by incompetence and now I do have to find another tuning shop.

I called them, explaining the problem but they just said I should go to a different tuning shop if I don't like it.

They also gauged my tips and other spots on the base while...