OT: AA Bike Shop
I need to take my bike in for a tune-up after I took a pretty bad spill last month. I've taken my bike to Campus Student Bike Shop before, but I was not thrilled with their customer service or the actual service they did on my bike. Any suggestions on a bike shop in AA, with price and quality in mind?
Thanks in advance.
I can't think of the name, but there's one on Packard near Mr. Pizza. The only time I've ever needed bicycle repair, they were cheap and did good work.
that would be two wheel tango's east ann arbor location. It is their original shop. The location on Jackson Rd. is their main location and shop now.
Just looked it up, and the place I was talking about is called "Ann Arbor Cyclery". I remember it being more of a Mom & Pop bike store, and therefore is probably a bit cheaper.
They (Packard near Mr. Piazza) are good, cheap, and pretty fast. If you need something minor they'll do it while you're standing there.
two wheel tango on Jackson Rd. by the Quality 16 theater. They are absolutely great. My friend is a cyclist and triathlete. He takes his bike there for all of his repairs and he has nothing but glowing reviews about them.
Bike fell off the back of my car on the expressway, had some bent handle bars and messed up pedals.
The owner was really friendly and extremely helpful, the price was also quite reasonable, much less than what I was willing to pay.
It's slightly hidden, and a little drive from central campus (Plymouth road) but the service was great
I would say it depends on what kind of bike you have. If you have a road racing bike or a high-end mountain bike, I would definitely take it to Two Wheel Tango. I am a rider and they are, without a doubt, the best around. However, if you have a run of the mill "bike" I would take it to Ann Arbor Cyclery or Great Lakes Cycling on Stadium and Pauline. Great Lakes is larger and could probably get your bike repaired much sooner if nothing major is required. At Two Wheel Tango the repair time is at least a week for bikes not purchased there ( I was in the shop this weekend and asked).
on Washtenaw.
But dude, fix it yourself. it ain't exactly rocket science. Seriously, with a crescent wrench and some allen wrenches you can fix just about anything on a bike.
but having the space/whatever to do it is another issue.
For example I CAN do all the maintenance on my Jeep myself, but I can't do ANY of it at my apartment complex due to their rules.
Doing a bike tune up with lubricants and what not can be a mess, and maybe the OP doesnt want to make a mess
Or maybe they're trying to stimulate their local economy with a local repair shop.
I would second the nominations for those two stores, especially for repairs.
I do most of my repairs myself, and I go to shops mostly for parts. In the course of doing that, and shopping for bikes for my family and my kids, I've been to all of the shops in town. These two seem to have attentive customer service and, from what I can see, reasonable repair rates.
I was not very impressed with Two Wheel Tango. Its prices are quite high, and I'm not sure that it always puts the customer's interests first. A few years ago, I had an accident in which my derailleur hanger was damaged. I thought that it was irreparable and that I would need a new frame (and I was right), but I brought it to Two Wheel Tango, where I bought the bike, just to see if there was a chance to save the frame. The repair person told me there was not, and told me that I had to buy a new bike. That was ridiculous. The bike was less than two years old and had a full Campy gruppo. All I needed was a new frame. But this clown insisted that it would be cheaper and better to buy a whole new bike. He also tried to tell me that it was impractical to buy a new frame. It's hard to believe that he could really have thought it was cheaper or easier to buy a new bike instead of just replacing the frame. I think he was just trying to sell me a new bike. That really soured me on Two Wheel Tango, despite the fact that I've met the owner a few times and he seems like a decent guy.
Whatever you do, don't ever go to Student Bike Shop. They sell broken bikes at outrageous prices. God knows what they'd do in a repair. I've lived in Ann Arbor for 25 years, and Student Bike Shop has always had the reputation of being pirates. Stay away. Tell your friends to stay away.