Bicycle Bills

my family has been bringing our business here for years, but I’ve finally had it with this place. I recently purchased a new bike that I mostly assembled myself. I’m not too skilled with bikes, so I wanted to get everything tuned up before riding, and just to make sure I put everything together correctly.
after getting my bike back and riding it, it appears that I payed $ 65 just to have them put air in my tires. in the few weeks since then i’ve had chain problems, crank problems, pedal problems, and gear problems, all of which I have had to try to fix myself, because I can’t bring myself to spend any more money. they literally did… nothing.
too bad, because this was the most convenient bike shop for me. never again!

I wish I could give this place less than 1 star. From the moment we walked in (and ignored because we didn’t look like bicycle enthusiasts) we were treated like dirt. I brought my bike here that I had just gotten, so that it could be tuned up. I left it with Arty I believe his name was, with spider webs on my bike, and he said it would be ready by 2. When we returned at 3, he seemed pissed that we didn’t pick it up right at 2. Sorry, were we under a contract to pick it up at 2? I then examine the bike. It still looks like hell. Spider webs are on it, and it seems like no work was done on it. He proceeds to charge us $ 60. We walk out, and then walk back in, not liking the service, and explain that nothing looked like it was done to it. So he spouts off all these things that he supposedly did to it, expecting us to know what it all meant. We had to pump answers from him too since his answers were the simplest ways out kind of answers. We expressed that we felt unfairly charged for what was done. So he gets extremely hostile with us, and runs to his register and grabs the money back out of it and gives it back and says «you people from Boston don’t know anything about business!» I said to him that I would like to at least pay half price for the service, and he says «this isn’t ‘Let’s Make A Deal’», and he says to take our business elsewhere and to never come back! Who in their right mind says that?! Even on your worst day, you never want to tell a customer to never come back, especially one who tried to pay you something instead of taking the full refund. What a joke. I highly DON’T recommend this place. If you want sarcastic bitchy remarks and simple answers to more complex questions, and poor service, then this place is for you. Otherwise I encourage you find another place.

I decided to check out a few bike shops around the Boston area just to see what was out there, and knew about this place, and paid it a visit.
I’m not a major cyclist by any means, but I know a decent bike shop when I see one. I literally have no idea how this place is in business. I guess they must have incredibly cheap rent or just do illegal things or something. The inside of the shop, as well as the outside, looks like this place maybe, might have been a decent shop, in like 1970. Inside and outside, dust tinted windows and displays, and literally only shwinn bikes. I saw a few good bikes in there, which turned out to be customer bikes, and I have no idea why theyd leave their bikes inside there, for service or otherwise.
There’s basically nothing good about this place. I wouldnt be surprised to find out it was shut down before I even wrote this review.

I really wanted to like this place. It looks cool from the outside and they seemed to have a good selection, but the staff I met were the worst kind of bike snobs.
When I went in to have a new straight rear brake cable put on my bike last fall, they quoted me $ 20. I’ve been an avid biker in different mediums for about 15 years now and had never paid close to that much. I told them this and their response was, «Well, then you should go to another shop.» So I did and paid $ 12 for cable and labor. Great work, Bicycle Bills.

Hooray for living in Brighton — someone stole my bike seat and slashed a tire, so I headed over the pike to Bicycle Bills.
When I walked in, an older gentleman (the owner?) was there with a ratty-​looking dude and a kid, all watching a bike race on TV. I wandered around the store for a few minutes, listening to the dude giving excited commentary. Eventually I had to interrupt, and when I did, the older guy listened. I liked him. Helped me pick out a couple of new tires.
Then, the younger dude gave me a new tube and sent me packing. 60 bucks wasn’t bad for two tires and a tube, so I wasn’t unhappy. When I got home, I realized it was a tube with a shcrader valve, and my wheels take a presta. Yes, I should have asked, but so should the dude.
So, back to the store I trudged. When I walked in, the dude was saying goodbye to a customer, and there were like 6 teenagers hanging around. I had called ahead, so we switched out the tubes no problem, but in the meantime, he and the teenagers started mocking the girl who had just left, talking about how stupid she was. Huge turnoff.
It’s not a bad shop, and I’m sure they know what they’re doing, but I was completely underwhelmed and a little skeezed out. I’d rather hook my bike onto the bus, and head down to Ferris Wheels in JP. It’s a much brighter, cleaner, friendlier place, and I’m happier giving them my money.

BEST BIKE SHOP EVER! SUPPORT LOCAL BIKE SHOPS! I bring in whatever I need done, and they do it in a timely fashion with precise accuracy. Couldnt ask for better and such friendly service. You gotta love the neighborhood bike shops.

This place is a total rip off. I brought my bike in because I needed a new front derailer and they were the closest bike shop to where I was at the time. They looked at my bike and told me they’d have to order the part, which would be $ 30 plus $ 10 for labor. They wrote me a receipt and said they’d call when it was ready.
I never got a call from them but went back a week later. When the guy rang me up he said it was $ 58. I showed him my receipt which was for $ 40 and he said «well I called you to tell you it would be more». He did NOT call. Then he said he originally thought he could fix my bike with a used part and that’s why he said it would only be $ 30, but since he had to get it new it was more. ok– I never said I wanted a used part when I brought it in, so why would he just assume he could give me one and not tell me?
I paid the $ 58 but won’t be back. I wouldn’t have minded if they just told me $ 58 up front, but the sketchy way they tried to rip me off isn’t professional at all.

In general they have had what I am looking for when I went in, and they seem pretty knowledgeable about the products they sell. They even had a low cost suggestion for when I was looking for a rather specialized tool that no shop in the area carried.
I can certainly see where folks get the impression that the store is staffed with elitist bike snobs, but I think the cave like nature of the store makes it seem like that. The store is definitely not consumer shopping friendly, if I could make one change to the shop it would be adding more lights!

Someone gave me an old dusty Cannondale M400 mountain bike. It needed some serious love and Unilocal reviews said Bicycle Bill’s was fair in price. and friendly. Well, I’m here to tell you these guys are just GREAT. They fixed my tire, got me a seat clamp, tuned up and adjusted and lubed everything else. All at a very fair (lower than other area shops) price. They recommended a great lock and helped me install the holder clamp. My bike had a little speedo/​trip computer on it that didn’t work and Paul helped me try to figure it out. When we determined that it didn’t work/​was broken, he recommended a great replacement unit and even showed me how to install it and set it up. These guys go above and beyond the regular call of duty for customer service. I don’t know much about bikes… but one day I was riding by and noticed my tire seemed soft so I stopped in to ask… and they gladly checked it and put some air in for me…
This is a great neighborhood bicycle shop. The staff is friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. Their prices are the best in town and I HIGHLY recommend them for anyone BUYING a bike/​accessories or needing work done on their bike. I will be a Bicycle Bill’s customer for life… they treat you right at this shop and in this day and age (self checkout and online shopping) this level of customer care goes a LONG way with this Unilocaler… and the prices are not just average. but beat out the other shops in the area.
Thanks Bicycle Bill’s!

Nothing like rolling up to a summer fest only to have my rear tube blow out mere meters (Olympic mode!) from the rack.
My track record for avoiding inconvenient malfunctions whilst casually bicycling had been pristine until that point. Never a flat, broken chain, cracked dérailleur or a misaligned brake — I rode ice cold, no mistakes.
Real life proves to be a dick, and reminds me that I, too, am prone to endure first world, hipster woes. My tire flat, I scoured Unilocal for nearby help and discovered Bicycle Bills. Rolled the baby whip through the open front door and in to the scene of a rockabilly Sesame Street. Jovial banter amongst the cycling elite, shop talk and plenty of axel grease made for a completely snob-​free experience (albeit, unexplainably, still somewhat intimidating).
Prices were fair ($ 16 parts and service) and the job was done — with a thorough wheel and tread inspection — within minutes. And in those fly-​by minutes, I overheard a staffer tell an obvious regular, «I only charged you for parts. You’ve been ripped off too many times by (local competition) already.»
Ice cold.

These people are rude, plain and simple. They are extremely unhelpful and act too cool to want business. There are plenty of other bike stores in the Allston/​Brighton area! Avoid this place!!!

I’ve been in this store twice. The first time they ignored me. The second time they were completely condescending. I live 3 blocks away and would much rather go 15 minutes away than to this place again. Absolutely horrible.

FRIENDLY. HONEST. GENUINE, GOOD PEOPLE!
I’ve been in there twice and have had awesome experiences both times. I don’t know much about bikes, but I went my 2^nd time after going to the International Bicycle Center who told me I needed $ 75 in repairs for a flat tire and a chain and dérailleur replacement… thinking that was ridiculous, I go to Bicycle Bills and they tell me I was going to be ripped off by them, because all I needed was a flat tire replacement and WD-​40 on my bike. $ 10!
THANK YOU BICYCLE BILLS FOR YOUR AWESOMENESS!

Like some others on here that I noticed, we were hardly acknowledged. There were two employees there and one other customer. One of the two was «Bill» himself, or I assumed he was the boss.
We are not bike people, so we walked around the store like idiots before I had to ask the guy «are you working?» He ended up helping me out, but I didn’t like the service; I was buying a bike for charity, and they weren’t willing to give me a break in price at all. I had money to buy us both bikes, and definitely took it elsewhere.
The Bicycle Exchange, anyone?

These guys did a quick tune up and fixed the front flat for $ 15. My bike was ready for another season and it rode really well.
They have everything you need and they are really nice. It’s a small shop so the selection isn’t huge and even small items can get pricey, but I’m sure they would be happy to help you order something if they can.
What I do appreciate is their customer service. They are very knowledgeable and don’t make casual cyclists feel like outsiders just because they don’t live in lycra shorts.
Definitely will use them again.

You’re a jerk.
When I came in the door today and told you that I was looking for a bike, I was not asking you to make me feel like an idiot. No, I don’t know anything about bikes. Nor do I really care to become an expert. But I was asking you questions and giving you a chance to feel like a genius. Instead, you were completely condescending.
I’m still looking for a bike, but I’m not gonna get it from you. F&^% you. You’re a jerk.

Bicycle Bills is everything I want to see in an independent business. I want the sass that comes with staff who really know their stuff, but I don’t want rudeness or to be patronized. That balance is very much there and I loved it.
I brought my bike in on a Saturday afternoon because I thought I needed new tubes. The staff member took one look at it and told me my tires needed some air. I sorta argued with him a little bit because I had been putting air in my tires and they continued to leak, and I thought it would be better to just replace what was obviously problematic to me. But then I realized that he knew a lot more about bikes than I did, and I promptly shut up. Actually, I didn’t, I just joked that I’m a bike-​ochondriac. Har har har.
So he fixed that for me and as I’m riding off I realize that my brakes are rubbing up against my wheel. So after letting my friend try to fix them I bring it back to Bill’s where I was prepared to shell out like $ 50 for whatever work the bike needed. The mechanic wouldn’t take a dime and told me to go have fun on a beautiful day. What a nice guy.
This is the kind of shop where the staff and the owner (s) take such pride in their work that they’e not about to rip you off. They’ve earned my business for as long as I live in Boston. If I ever cave and buy a new bike, I’ll be making the purchase here. Until then I have plans to buy a new seat and maybe replace my brakes and both of these tasks will be goin’ down at BB’s.

Bicycle Bill is a beautiful bike building.
Im so pumped to ride my bike with my peeps, and to the grocery store, and to the tennis courts, I cant wait to take it everywhere, and not only is it because my friends have been pumping me up, Billy Bike has really given me an extra edge.
He was so cool, played some sweet requested tunes and was very genial and kind. His staff was also really pleasant, let me tell you.
These two girls came in with like serious sad faces, and staff was all like, ladies, ladies, turn those frowns upside down, he fixed em right up, and sure enough the sun came out for em. And then there was this boy, who comes in on the reg, i presume, and everyone was cool with him, so i suppose i should have been too.
though i am not too familiar with bikes, on a saturday morning at 1130 am, i felt i was so treated awesome and there are some cool bikey items in there, they had some cool little caps, and random helmets, a selection of locks, and some cuties workin it.
be back for some more items, Billz.

Yesterday I bought my first really nice bike ever at Bicycle Bills. What is there not to like about this place? Everyone that works there, especially Bill, is super psyched about bikes and what I loved the most is that they weren’t snooty bike messenger types that make you feel stupid if you don’t know bike lingo. The place is small and it is what it is, a legit little bike shop with great bikes and no fluff. Feel more comfortable here than at Landry’s I have to say.
I went in knowing exactly what I wanted which definitely helped. I wanted the Schwinn Cutter 2009 initially, but the guy who ultimately put my bike together steered me toward the Cutter 2010 single speed which was way lighter than the earlier model and as a bonus comes in a sleek white and a sparkle blue seat.
They were almost more excited than I was that I was getting it and Bill kept walking up to me with a huge smile telling me «you are so psyched!» I really was though. You know you picked the right bike when while test riding it, you have this uncontrollable smile on your face that won’t go away.
At first I thought the staff were just trying to get me to buy the bike that was slightly more expensive, but after talking to them for five minutes you realize they have a serious passion for bikes and it makes you trust them instantly. I’m glad I took his advice on which bike to buy because I haven’t been this happy with a bike since I was like 10.
I left without buying a helmet thinking I could find one cheaper on line but the desire to get on the bike that day was unstoppable. As it turns out the helmets at Bills were no more expensive than the ones on line and he even gave me 20% off.
It seems like it would be better for them to hire more staff but I could be wrong since I’ve only gone once and it is possible that they have less people on the weekends. I say this because they seemed a little overwhelmed with the amount of people that kept coming in and the guy that was building my bike was given the task of answering everyone’s questions. It took him longer than he said it would but I really can’t blame him for that.
It’s possible that I just caught them all on a good day but my experience with them was great and I feel comfortable going back. I will be doing all my bike shopping and repairs at Bills.

Really? I mean, come on. Really? Seriously?
So yeah. I had pretty much any bike owner’s nightmare when I discovered that my mountain bike had been stolen. After I’d done all my paperwork to find the damn thing, I thought I could call local bike shops to see if anyone had seen it or tried to sell it. First up? Bills.
When the guy picked up, I did my spiel, explained why I was calling, etc. I finished up with a simple question — «I was wondering if there was a chance it might have come in or someone there might have seen it?»
The answer was a curt, «NO.» What? I hadn’t even told Sylvia Browne over there what kind of bike it was. This guy was psychic! Since he seemed to know all about my bike and that he in no way had seen it, I figured I could also try asking him about where I had lost my car keys last year, or if blue really is my color. But this guy wasn’t exactly chatty (or polite), and I was a little bewildered, so I tried a follow up question.
«Well, have ANY bikes come in there, for sale or repairs?»
«NO.»
“Um, okay…”
«We don’t take bikes for sale.»
I didn’t even get to explain that my bike had needed some repairs when it was stolen, and that it might have shown up to be fixed. Nope. Bicycle Bill hung up on me.
The funny thing is that this place is the closest bike shop. I’m probably going to have to get a new bike, and I *would* have swung by to check out their inventory. From my experience on the phone, there’s no way I’ll ever go there for anything bike related.
Tarot readings and seances though — totally. I’ve been wanting to talk to Elvis for a while. I’m sure the «NO» dude can hook me up.