Ride Brooklyn — Local services in New York

I chose Ride Brooklyn because it was extremely well reviewed and after visiting my first time, the staff was very helpful with all my questions and kind. So much so, I decided to buy my bike there after doing a test ride. Although I really wanted to leave a great review, things really fell through that affected my experience.

I placed an order for my bike which was quick and easy. And they quoted anywhere between 1-2 weeks. They only asked for my phone number and did not provide a receipt of deposit of half the price of the bike. They said I'll be texted when it's ready.

After waiting a week and a half, there were no updates at all. I called to check in and the bike had not come. I checked in a week later and they received it and was waiting to have it set up saying it was going to be ready by the end of the week. The end of the week came and no text no updates, so I called to check in. They said it would now be ready after the weekend on Monday. Monday came, radio silence. And I called to check in and it still was not ready until a few days later. Though, I got a call that same day that it was ready, which was confusing.

After picking up the bike, everything seemed good until I got home and realized that the paint was chipped pretty badly, which they did not mention when picking up the bike and it was very hard to miss when working with the bike. I acknowledge that this could be a result of being hit during shipment but being transparent about it and giving options to get it fixed would have been great. So I ended up having to buy paint touchup which does not match the paint on the bike.

As you can imagine, after ordering a bike, being excited and have absolutely no updates as to what's happening with the bike for over 3 weeks is pretty frustrating. Then on top of it, the bike paint is chipped, and the stem is not even put on the right way because the logo is upside down. For a shop that has the amount of reviews it has and as highly rated, I expected much better attention to detail and transparency.

Again, the shop staff is very kind and answer all questions and I can see that they are passionate about what they do. They definitely seem like a really busy shop but from how busy it was, came at the cost of my own experience with my bike.

In the future, I recommend updating customers about their bike and the status of it in the journey, having a higher attention to detail and being transparent. I do think my experience is a one off and I hope others keep having top experiences as Ride Brooklyn is...

Horrible.

Normally I wouldn't leave a review like this, but the experience was too bad to be ignored.

I left my bike in the shop to have set of Tannus solid tires installed. It took almost three weeks before I heard back, which normally wouldn't have been a problem, if the results were good. I asked them to take their time and return a reliable bike. I don't live in NYC and found their shop as partners on Tannus' website.

They notified me that it's done and saying a price almost $90 higher than their original quote was. After calling them out on it they claimed that "there was a mixup" and I'll pay the original quoted amount.

When I came to pick it up and paid, I asked if the rear brake can be tightened a bit. They said, that if I can leave there for an hour (?!) they can have a look at the brakes. I thought whatever, and left the shop instead and found out shortly after, that the new tires are making a weird noise. They were crackling and squeeking. Based on that I'm not even sure if the bike was taken out for a test ride after the repairs. I took it back to the shop and asked them to check on it and I had no other choice but to leave it there without knowing exactly when they would have a look on it. They also "lost" my previous set of tires&tubes which is ridiculous.

I had to stay overnight, only to find out the next day, that "everything is installed correctly and the noise is there to stay".

Communication was poor the entire time, I was promised "callbacks in 10 minutes" which never happened and there wasn't any sign from their side that they'd like to help me.

I asked for a partial refund, which they hesitantly approved (we'll see, hasn't posted on my account yet) and left. I thought it's somewhat fair and I can call it a day and leave.

But shortly after my rear wheel dislocated making the bike unrideable and I had to HAND CARRY it to the nearest train station. The new tire is rubbing against the frame and the friction was damaging it. (See photo)

So after 3 weeks of waiting and wasting time and money, It's not better at all, than if I was to do it myself. The quality of the repairs were bad, zero empathy and ownership to solve the case and a lack of proper...

I have had mostly negative experiences at Ride Brooklyn and will not be going back.

I recently needed a quick flat fix that I didn't feel like fixing myself, and after doling out more than I'm used to on labor and a new inner tube, I took my bike home, where the same tire promptly went flat again.

I brought my bike back the next day, and Ride Brooklyn did some more work, charged me for another inner tube, explained that there was a problem with my tire rim tape and they should have fixed it the second time. I brought my bike home — and the same tire went flat again.

Very frustrated, I brought my bike back to Ride Brooklyn a third time (only because I didn't want to pay to fix the flat again) and the team adjusted my rim tape again and purported to fix the tire (and thankfully agreed not to charge me this time). I rode my bike home, took it for a 45-minute spin, and lo and behold... the same tire was flat again — again. Truly unbelievable. Anyone who has been stranded far from home with a flat knows how annoying it can be.

To make matters more frustrating, when I called Ride Brooklyn to complain, a manager (Dan, I believe) was not apologetic and was defensive — oh, bike flats happen, etc. It would have been nice if I’d been offered some kind of compensation for the money I wasted and the annoyance of dragging a bike back and forth to the same bike store for the same problem.

What happened to the tire, you ask? I brought my bike to my favorite old-school hole-in-the wall spot in Manhattan, Champion Bicycles, where the owner adjusted the rim tape and replaced the tube for two-thirds of the price that Ride Brooklyn charged me (...the first time), and I have not had a problem with the tire since. Thanks, Champion Bicycles!

The #FlatFiasco is not the only issue I've had at Ride Brooklyn — when I needed my gears realigned, I paid for a tune-up only to have my gears go unaligned shortly afterward.

Worth mentioning, too, that prices at Ride are high, both for maintenance and for nicknacks/parts.

I'd recommend other bike shops in the neighborhood before coming to...