BikeCo

I put down a deposit in July for a new Ripmo frame that they were going to build for me… Chris told me it would take a few weeks since its a new model. No worries... I wait and wait and wait and listened to the crickets serenading me the Jeopardy theme song... 47 days later I told Chris to just cancel my order. He then was right on contacting the Ibis rep who told him hopefully they would get a frame mid-September. No thanks... I wasn't going to wait forever.

The rub for me was they were silent. Never gave me an update or anything. Only when I contacted them did they seem to take an interest in my order.

It feels like my order was lost in their system the way it played out.

A funny thing happened 2 days before I cancelled my order... a friend of mine and long time member here posted up his new Ripmo frame he ordered off Backcountry here in the bike forum. I was like WTF??!!

I've had them build 2 bikes for me over the years... no more.

I also got their email for the demos of the new Yeti's... never ridden a Yeti so I sent Chris an email and he told me its $100 per day and that money goes to store credit... but it expires within 90 days... was like WOW that way more than another shop in Newport who demos Ibis and Yeti and their credit doesn't expire.

These are some big money purchases and you really need to treat people better. How hard is it to provide updates on customers who put a deposit down for a build??

I am also done with this shop.

 

BikeCo has had issues like the above for its entire existence. I have always been treated well there, but my friends have had experiences of inept workmanship, lazy or negligent repairs, confusion and more. I've never bought a complete bike from them (I did buy a 2009 Yeti 575 frame there), but again, they have never screwed me over. Why they do so with such regularity to so many others is a mystery. Maybe once they read this, I'll get treated poorly too!

 

I have never heard of this practice of charging to demo a bike. I have always just handed over my ID and credit card, and was on my way.

 

EXACTLY!
One more lost sale.

 

these are shop rentals not factory demo bikes from what ive been told by two local shops. the rental fee gets you shop credit for same amount.

 

I rented a few bikes over the years at the path. Mostly for out of town family members.
When I bought my new bike ( in 2014) at the path, they applied every rental fee to the cost. Think it went back about 3 years and a couple hundred bucks. Made me a happy mtb'r! That was unexpected and great service.

 

Does it get worse than this? I hope not!

 

Now that we are talking about bike shops... fullerton bikes once had my bike for a week.. they promised to fix by Thursday... I needed the bike by the weekend..
they called me and said.. sorry we so slammed bike cant be ready by thurs.. will be done by Friday 5pm..
Got there... picked up bike no worries.. all good... they also did extra work on the bike just b/c they saw it was needed... b/c late no charge...
love that shop...

 

Much better story, one that is more enjoyable to read.

 

I wish BP Bikes had the service. (BP bikes is a sister store in Buena Park)

 

Talk to Mike.

 

Hate to lump onto the Bikeco S. Pile, but...

My buddy bought a brand new fox x2 from bikeco a few years back. He also paid for their custom tuning because he thought the shock was not in the weight range for his size. That was a $250 pill on top of the $800 for the shock itself. Well, a month into riding the bike puked oil right after the portapotty, in Aliso. We had just rode rock-it and was heading back to the car. He took the shock in and they found a hairline dent on the shock body. It was in an area where the top tube covered most of it and the way it was dented looked suspiciously like someone used the incorrect sized vice clamp. All these facts could have gone either way for me in terms of culpability, but here is where they lost my business.

It took over 3 weeks to resolve the issue, but wasn't resolved in anyway acceptable. They had the shock and then blamed my friend for causing the dent. So he accepted this BS, but then ask them to repair it. It took 2 weeks of him calling every other day to find out that they can't get the shock body from Fox. Wait what? Then they sold him on an epoxy patch job for 200, because hey, shocks get damaged during use and sometimes you can't get the parts to repair it.

Here is the kicker, My buddy rode it a few times, and to their benefit, it was working. But it looked like a booger stuck on a kashima. So he sent it into Fox and guess what, they had those shock bodies ready to go. Its one of those items that gets regularly replaced and it only costs $38. He told the fox rep the entire story of the ordeal and the rep felt so bad, that they warrantied the whole shock free of charge.

Fox won me over that day and Bikco lost my business.

 

Fox: Doin' it right!

 

If you live in the OC. Buy your bikes from the Path or Fullerton Bikes. Get your bike repaired at OC Bicycle Service & Garage.

 

Note to self: avoid BikeCo.

 

Not quite worse, but adding to the weight of the pile of to hit the fan! Better be ready to move when it does!

 

I was in BikeCo yesterday, buying grips for my new carbon bars and looking at dropper remotes, 1X conversion kits, etc. I mentioned this thread and they were aware of it and bummed. I'm also friends with @mtbfan and her boyfriend, so I'm unhappy for both parties.

Personally, they've always treated me well. Yesterday we talked about changes I'd like to make to my bike, largely due to my arthritic left thumb. I'll probably get an light action Wolf Tooth dropper lever and might pop for an NX 1 x 12 drivetrain (wish it was 50/10 cuz I like my top end). I tried running a rigid post and it just doesn't work for me. So dropper post with a new lever and maybe just remove the left shift lever and front derailleur. I can still manually move the chain back and forth if I need to.

While I was there, we also talked about Cactus in Whiting and Lizard in LCW. I heard rumors I wish I hadn't heard, and anecdotal evidence that the survey at the top of the trail might be purposefully skewed. Right off the bat, it seems problematic since it's my understanding it's being conducted only on weekend mornings. High usage time for the park and also when a lot of riders might be avoiding it due to crowds. Maybe there's a camera out there to keep everyone honest. Hope so cuz it's a popular trail. I'd suggest talking to the Rangers if you like it and let them know how grateful you are for it being brought into the system.

I'd say no shop is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. As @hill^billy says, it can take some time to find a shop you click with. BikeCo's working for me.. I like the staff, the clientele, the inventory, and the expertise.

 

The billionaire LA Times owner calls social media the 'cancer of our time'

I so agree!

 

How about we throw in MEDIA in general?

 

Ok

 

Well had they owned up to the mistake the first time instead continuing to try to cover it up, then perhaps the customer may have been more accepting. From the sounds of it, they intentionally or unintentionally sold an item that wasn’t as it was supposed to be. Then when later confronted with it, they didn’t correct the problem, they once again slipped up. That was the point that they should have owned up to the error and made it right.


Now are they bummed because of the errors? Or are they bummed because someone exposed their questionable sales tactics?

 

I see your media and throw in SOCIETY.

 

Society would be great if it didn't have all those people in it.

 

I used the word bummed. The guy I mentioned it to just looked disappointed. I didn't get into it with him because I know things can go wrong no matter how hard we try.

BTW, I was always happy in that little shop you worked in, and even the garage shop after that. My first favorite bike shop was Downey Cyclery and that set the bar. I can still remember when my Gios Torino came in from Italy and we opened up the box. It was like "Breaking Away!" Built up with Campy but what's wrong with me? I eventually threw a mtb cassette on it and took it on an ultra-light road tour. Yeehaw I love breaking the rules!

 

Bummed about it is one thing. Getting on here and making a commitment to the consumer is another.

BikeCo,
You could jump on here, and do some damage control. This is just a speed bump lesson that some are not happy with service. If I was you, I would be over joyed that folks are speaking up and now you can set new goals on customer service. Most customers just go away mad, bad mouth the business, and never return. Now you know some good fashizzle to improve upon.
Just say'n...

 

An LBS is just that....the chances that I'd ever use BikeCo, located in Lake Forest, are somewhere between slim and none. Too far away. But I'm also not likely to recommend them to anyone I meet from that area, either, with the above. So yes, it would behoove them to chime in with apologies/corrections/mea culpas.

 

Even we weren't perfect.....but we tried our best to handle it correctly when mistakes did happen.

 

You guys are making me work here. Stop going off on OC Park fashizzle on other threads. I just moved it all over to the Aliso thread... sheeeeeeeesh!

 

Just remember, you heard it here first.