Newington Bicycle & Repair Shp
| Category: | Bicycle Repair Shop |
| Address: | 1030 Main St, Newington, CT 06111, USA |
| Phone: | +1 860-667-0857 |
| Site: | newingtonbike.com |
| Rating: | 3.6 |
| Working: | Closed 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–7PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–5PM 12–4PM |
Location
Photos 1
Reviews 5
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A Private User
I have been to Newington Bike several times, and stuck to the shop because I am a member of a tri club that gets a discount there. However, the first time I went in looking for a bike I was handled by a woman who clearly did not know what she was doing. I said I was a beginner, and she took that to mean she could put me on any bike and not worry about the fit; she just made sure it was a cheaper end model. Luckily I didnt buy, but after talking to others I found out that she should have done measurements and tried several bikes on me, made adjustments, etc. She didnt. I finally bought a bike secondhand from a friend to tide me over until I could afford a new bike. It wasnt a great quality bike or anything, I just needed a set of wheels. I brought it into the shop and asked if they could tune it up or do anything like change the pedals or seat, and the guy looked at it like it was a piece of trash. He claimed the seat post was a width that wouldnt work with any of their saddles, and said (dubiously, I thought) that he would take it in back and take a look at everything. After bringing it back out he asked if I were interested in a new bike. I said no, and left, and after taking the bike out that night and having trouble with the breaks I wondered what was wrong. I had a friend who knew bikes come look at it, and he noticed a few things right off the bat; "Your wheel in front is loose, both need to be trued, the shifters are loose, the brake line is frayed, the handlebars are way too low"... the list went on and on. As I told him that I had taken the bike to the Newington Shop he looked really surprised. "They let you go home with the bike like this?" I even mentioned the problem with the seat and after a quick look he said, "This is a standard clamp, what are they talking about?" Needless to say, Im NEVER going back. Its one thing to not like a persons bike very much, its another to tell them its safe when its not. Im not impressed, guys.
AR
artmoods
The 5 stars people are clearly old time customers and have spent a good deal of $$$ with Newington Bike, which is the main point of my story. I am not a pro and do not want to spend $1500-1600 on a bike if I dont even know whether I will keep biking on a regular basis. I felt the sales person threw me on a Trek 7.4 without fitting me properly (yes he checked the angle of my knee when the pedal is down but thats about it!). I now know that he was supposed to do more than that; but I have a feeling that because I wasnt buying an expensive bike (mind you the 7.4 is still $769 --not pocket change for me) I wasnt worth the time. I now think that the bike is actually too short/small and my back hurts every time I ride more than 20miles. The problem is that I have had the bike for about a month and it has scratches everywhere making it impossible for me to return it without making a scene (not my style). THEREFORE, I will go out of my way to tell my story with Newington Bike and warn first time bike buyers. ON A MORE POSITIVE NOTE: REI in West Hartford are awesome! Their return policy is incredible. The people are super helpful and they have fitted me and added $50-60 handlebar parts that make the ride much better and YES the bike should have been a bigger size!!! But Newington Bike didnt have it in stock and so I got stuck. Thanks to REI though things look much brighter and I hope I can enjoy riding as much as $1,200 bike owner can.
GA
Garrett W
My wife and I bought two entry level hybrid bikes here in the past couple weeks. Jeff the salesman was terrific, spending 2 hours with us answering questions and showing us other options but not up-selling. They let us try whatever bikes we wanted, adjusting the bikes and giving pointers as we rode them. My bike was a 2015 floor model (last of a discontinued bike) so they got it aired and lubed up and sent me out with it. Unfortunately, 2 days later the front tube split by the valve and a week later the rear did (probably stale from the bike not being sold for a season). When I took the bike in, they changed it for free, no questions asked because it was a new bike and seemed like a defect. They also got me hooked up with tools and instruction to change it next time myself! Good service. They had to order in my wifes bike to get the right color and size. It came in and was built quickly, but I failed to realize wed entered the wrong size. Without hesitation, Dave (owner) ordered the right size bike and offered a brand new bike as a loaner in another color over the weekend until hers came in. What service! Overall, weve been treated with respect and got the bikes we wanted at a fair price with a years worth of tune-ups included! They have plenty of employees, seem to enjoy their sponsored rides, and have a good selection of bikes, accessories, and knowledge to share. Happy we chose Newington Bike!
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A Private User
RUDE AND DIFFICULT!! I have been to Newington Bike Shop many times and it has always been an uncomfortable experience because of some of the RUDE people that work there. They are very eager to sell you something, even if it isnt exactly right, but then they give you a really hard time if you have to return or even exchange it. Their attitude is really not to be believed! Its like they think they are the only bike shop around! Its ridiculous!. On two separate occasions they sold me womens riding jackets (zipper on the opposite side) and Im a man. They wouldnt take them back because the tags were off. Then on another occasion they sold me a Bontrager tire that said "ontrager" on the sidewall of the tire! lol I couldnt return that either because, as they said, I had already ridden on the tire before I noticed that the B was missing! Who looks for something like THAT when you buy a tire!! lol Wouldnt you replace it for a customer anyway? Do they buy defective parts on the cheap and sell then to their unsuspecting customers at full price?!?! There have been other incidents as well, but you get the general idea! And Im only ONE customer!! I think that they should treat what remaining customers they have left a little better than that.
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A Private User
After traveling a good distance to assist my dad in a bike purchase, we arrived at the shop. All of the employees were attentive and engaging upon arrival. They had the bike my dad wanted and after discussing between ourselves we decided that if the bike had a few modifications it would be exactly what he wanted. The experience went downhill from there. 1) The young salesperson was more interested in getting the bike out the door then listen to what the customer wanted. 2) The salesperson kept telling us how great a deal the bike was since it was on sale. The problem being that he inflated the original price. (The bike was 600 dollars in the shop, yet somehow he claimed it was sold at 700.) 3) I can appreciate a shop that needs to make money, what I dont appreciate is a shop that wont listen to what you want and tell you the bottom dollar with tax and upgrades out the door. 4) Once we threw out a price of what we thought the bike should go for they ended their service. It was though we had a contagious diseases and no one would speak with us. There are many other instances of dissatisfaction but its not worth my breath. In conclusion, I would never give this place business. Terrible service and customer satisfaction.