Bike Connection

Category:	Bicycle Store
Address:	2011 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94306, USA
Phone:	+1 650-853-3000
Site:	bikeconnection.net
Rating:	4.2
Working:	10AM–8PM 10AM–8PM 10AM–8PM 10AM–8PM 10AM–8PM 10AM–8PM 10AM–6PM

Location

Photos 95

Reviews 6

Chris Fox

Ive been in here a couple of times looking for bikes for my kids. Found some good options but ultimately bought somewhere else because the bikes fit better, but the crew here was very helpful, friendly and accommodating. I usually get my own bike worked on at a shop closer to home, but as I was here I asked if they could have a look. I was having some fairly pronounced creaking on a very expensive, high-end bike and all my usual haunts had work backlogs of a couple of weeks. I explained the problem and Manny took it out for a ride, and in a matter of minutes had diagnosed part of the issue and already adjusted the headset, eliminating a good bit of the issue. So rather than filling out forms and scheduling drop-offs, I was getting solutions. Good stuff. Dropped off the bike for a full workup and they took care of all of it. No more creaks anywhere on the bike and its running like a champ. Reasonable work rates, about on par with what Id expect around here. If youre from out of town labor here will seem expensive. Anyway. When I got the bike they had forgotten to do one of the things I paid for, but as soon as it was pointed out they dropped everything else and fixed it in 10 minutes. Didnt like finding the error, but cant complain about how they rectified it. Cant expect more that that. All in all very helpful and solution oriented. They dont sell my brand of bike but they seemed very up to date on how to address the problems for my particular headset, linkage and bottom bracket. I bought the bike on closeout online, so I understood I was going to have some work to do getting the setup perfectly dialed in. I had spoken to a local shop who is a dealer of my bike about working on it, and got the normal raised eyebrows about "why dont you have it worked on where you bought it", which is fine and which I totally understand. Fair enough, and Id rather buy local but $1200 is too much a difference to pass up. Bike Connection just got it done with no questions and no hassle. On-floor inventory is pretty good. Fair selection of Santa Cruz mountain bikes, as well as Scott and Marin which have some pretty nice bikes in their lineups as well. My review is mostly about their repair shop. Mikes down the road has a significantly better on-floor selection of bikes.

A Private User

I recently took my older road bike there for service. At first they seemed friendly, and sold me a decent replacement wheel for an okay cost. The day my bike was supposed to be ready, I received a call that said they did not have the wheel I purchased in stock (Odd, since I held it in my hand). Then they said the one I purchased was a hybrid wheel. (Again, odd, since the wheel I purchased was clearly a road-bike wheel. The first sales guy even compared it to a hybrid wheel!) Then the guy on the phone attempted to up-sell me a different wheel for about $40 more. (But he insisted it was on sale and a good value.) I said no, and went to the shop the next day. Another salesman helped me, managed to find another road-bike rim for the same cost of what I purchased (though a different brand) and said "They didnt look hard enough." I agreed to the change, and they said the bike would be done by the end of the day. Not having time that night, I came back two-days later. The bike had not been touched. I was told it would be done by the end of the day. I came back the next day, the bike had not been touched, I insisted they give me my money back. (Which they did, but the guy clearly did not know how to use the register, and shorted me a few cents.) All in all, they were slow and very unprofessional. Palo Alto is full of much better bike shops.

A Private User

The store is a great place if you are looking for a mid to high end bike. I have such a bike and they treated me exceedingly well, offering excellent, fast service to get me back out on the road almost immediately. There were a number of people in full biking attire with bikes exceeding $4k, helmets that cost more than my bike, etc. and everyone was being helped on the spot with no appointment--pretty awesome service--but keep in mind they are a higher end store. The downside to this is that I did notice they werent as keen to help people with lower end bikes. While it doesnt sound right or seem fair, it does make sense. A bit snooty for sure, but they certainly intend to cater to the high end market and dont try to hide it. And similarly, you wouldnt expect to take your Hyundai to a Porsche mechanic, nor would you want to, so I understand where they are coming from. Basically, if you are looking to buy or repair a budget-line bike go to their sister store down the street, Cardinal Bicycle Shop, and if you have a mid to high end bike definitely go visit Bike Connection.

Mani Varadarajan

These guys are dishonest. Dont trust them. Heres my story. I came here to buy a bike for my daughter. We found one we liked after a bunch of test rides and put it on hold to pick up the next day. I come by the next day first thing in the morning, and surprise! The bike had been sold. The salesman apologized and said he had no idea what happened. I was surprised but willing to accept that mistakes happen. So we look around and try to find another bike. We find a similar model and tell the salesman that wed like to buy it. He looks the bike over, starts doing the paperwork and I pay. As the bike is in line to get prepped for delivery, I take a closer look at it and notice a lot of tell-tale signs of use. I ask the salesman whats up with that - is it used? He apologizes again, talks to his manager, and comes back and says, you know what - its part of our rental fleet. Do you want $50 off? I promptly ask for a refund and walk out. Two bad experiences in a row sounds like a pattern. That salesman is still working there as of this writing. Dont trust these guys.

A Private User

I was worried about going into any bicycle shop because Im not a cyclist at all and was worried I would be treated differently because I was certainly not going to be buying a 2 grand bike. After reading many reviews and getting an idea of what I wanted and what shop most people seemed to be happy with, The Bike Connection, my search started and stopped there. I ended up getting the cutest bicycle which suits me very well. They let me ride around a bunch of different bicycles and were very helpful and not intimidating or pushy in the least. Also, I noticed a lot of people in the store seemed to know everyone which made me feel even more comfortable about buying a bike there. I got an Electra Amsterdam and I cant stop riding it! I can only speak for a person like myself, who doesnt know much about bicycles, but I know Im very happy with what I got and the experience I had. I will certainly go back there and buy anything else I need for my bicycle.

A Private User

Had a wonderful experience. I recently moved to California from Chicago and was never was that into biking. After being in California for a few months I started to ride my low end mountain bike more. This lead me to start looking for a more road friendly bike. I had very little knowledge of the biking industry and the guys at Bike Connection were great with filling me in. Bike Connection was the first place that I stopped to start looking at bikes, they had a nice selection, but I felt I needed to look around. I went to about 5 other places in the area and no one was as helpful as these guys. So I went back to get my bike from them. I was expecting to pay full price but without even asking they offered me a 150 dollar discount. They also gave me discount on all the accessories I bought. I am the new proud owner of a 2012 Felt fx75. Bike Connection is now my go to place for all my bike needs.