Budget Bicycle Center

Category:	Bicycle Store
Address:	1230 Regent St, Madison, WI 53715, USA
Phone:	+1 608-251-8413
Site:	budgetbicyclectr.com
Rating:	3.8
Working:	9AM–9PM 9AM–9PM 9AM–9PM 9AM–9PM 9AM–9PM 9AM–7PM 10AM–7PM

Location

Photos 43

Reviews 5

Stacey Martens

I have purchased several bikes from Budget over the years and had mostly positive experiences until I bought an electric bike from them 3.5 years ago, a Giant Freedom Twist. I had multiple issues with this poorly made bike--two batteries died, the first one at 9 months, the next one about a year later, and the charger also didnt charge after less than two years. This bike is housed INSIDE year round, parked in indoor, heated parking so is barely exposed to the elements. The motor died because the gears are PLASTIC. Giant does a good job with other bikes, just not electric. But what was so disappointing to me is that Chad was far from the usual friendly service I previously got at Budget previously. He tried to bate me into saying I did something wrong. For example, when I said that the charger didnt work, he said, "When you charge it, you stand it up on end, right?" I said that no, I lay it flat because thats what the directions say. They replaced the first charger free of charge, and when that one died would not replace the following one saying that it had been through a trauma. Well, maybe when they shipped it from Europe it got tossed around, but my charger has always been kept at work in a drawer and isnt even transported to and from work. Chad was accusatory, rude, and I am very disappointed that Budget did not stand behind this bike, trying to blame me, when it was clear this bike and its parts had not been in a trauma. Hope not standing by that bike was worth it BBC, because I just spent $2,500 at Trek on a new bike, and buy a new bike every 5ish years and I wont be back.

Daniel Briscoe

Im sorry to say that i have been very disappointed in this place. The mechanics and service people were nice, raising my review to two stars. I have received parts that were much above retail price here and have had a friend effectively scammed. I had a mechanic broke one of my parts. Although it was not totally his fault the only thing i was offered was free installation, of an overpriced part, which i could have done myself. Time for scam story. A friend bought a mountain bike from budget around a year ago. It was for roughly 500 dollars and was using a old racing frame. Now that I have more experience that friend could have picked up the parts or bought the bike for less than 250$ . After some light trail riding quite a few problems were discovered. The forks bushings were worn out (had trouble starting its stroke), the brake pads dead, the brakes themselves were fried, and inconsistent shifting. These problems were "covered" by the warranty, except for the fork. However when the warranty took effect the parts were replaced with the cheapest part possible, this induced the worst disk breaks i have ever seen in my life. These were much lower quality than the shimano brakes that came with the bike. Unsurprisingly all of the problems came back within two weeks. they were replace again, with the same noname brakes. This happend AGAIN. At this point he went and got a new bike, and a $20 in-store cupon Overall i would recommend against going to budget. If you are looking at new bikes go to the trek store. If you are ok with a used bike go to dream bikes or freewheel

Erin Kennedy

Had great phone service but unfortunately it did not carry over into the actual interactions or service. There was clearly a disconnect between whoever is answering the phone and those working in the shop. What sounded so easy and quick over the phone - 1 adjustment and installing 2 simple accessories basically while we wait - turned into needing to leave the bike and pick it up later. Not a big deal in the long run, but I would say under-promise and over-deliver might be the better customer service policy. There was also some additional work recommended which I did not opt for at the time because I wanted my bike for the next day, but trying to get find out why it needed done was a lot like pulling teeth, Im not sure if the tech didnt know the answer or just wasnt good at expressing his knowledge (hopefully). And finally, after looking at a few of the reviews already posted here I remembered their adjustment and tune-up policy for bikes purchased through them probably should have covered my front brake adjustment or at least given me a discount. In my discussions on the phone and with the tech it came up that I had purchased the bike there and neither reminded me of this policy. I even still have my receipt which states that having their dealer sticker on the bike is proof of purchase so the tech would have been able to tell very easily. I had a good experience when I bought my bike and another time when I had some accessories put on, but this was so disappointing! Cant say Im anxious to bring it back for any additional work.

The Granite Shop of Madison TGS

I have had a great experience with Budget Bicycle Center. I recently purchased my second bike from them and received excellent service. They were willing to exchange the tires at no additional cost, exchange the stock grips for ergo grips at no additional cost and threw in a bottle cage. I appreciated the fact that it wasnt a hard sale and the honesty when it came to components and value. I feel like I got a great deal, especially considering the warrantee that they offer. My first purchase was also a good one but it did come with a malfunctioning cassette. When buying a bike, used($700 used) or new from a retail store, I would expect everything to be functioning properly. When I brought it in to the service shop the first rep I spoke with literally said "Thats what you get for buying a used bike." That to me was an issue and poor representation of the company. Upon hearing that, another service tech, who obviously realized the guy was being a jerk, jumped in and spoke with me. In the end, he replaced the cassette, replaced my stem and acknowledged that the wrong shims were installed prior to my purchase and replaced them all for no charge. He went above and beyond to fix the bike and left it better than when I purchased it. Outside of the one instance with the rep, which I chalk up to the "college kid curve", Id say theyre a great company whos service speaks for itself and I would (and have) recommended them to friends.

Tim Yuan

I went in for a tune-up, and the bike mechanic sold me a re-build. I dont know a whole lot about bikes, so my opinion may not be as valid, but it felt like he was trying to pull one over on me. He told me things I could die any moment riding a bike like mine. That it needed to be completely rebuilt and he wouldnt do any less than that. My bike is 4 months old bike, and he ended up doing the following things to it: Trued tires Tightened Cassette lock ring Removed BB Cups/Greased Threads Tightened pedal cage bolts Removed housing + cables/shortened Housing + rerouted housing Adjusted Brakes + pads Adjusted derailleurs Tightened derailleur pulley hardware. This ended up costing me a total of 158.25 including tax. Was I overcharged? Honestly, I dont know. If you know a lot about bikes, youll have a better idea of how much this should cost. To me, it felt like I was being suckered into paying too much for things I didnt need, but I knew I wanted to make sure my bike was in peak working order. The bike rides very nicely, and I think they did a good job with it. I just didnt get the feeling the mechanic was someone I could trust.