RIDE Cyclery

I’ll spare you the details, but we had a very unique situation just happen recently where Ride Cyclery’s customer service was put to the test. From the time we arrived in the store through the follow up on the phone, every single employee in that store was over the top understanding, friendly, and kind. They generally have a no returns policy on bikes (which is understandable) but they made an exception for us, which is the kind of service you can really only get from small, locally owned shops. They are clearly extremely knowledgeable and have a passion for what they do. Should I need a bike in the future, Ride Cyclery will be without question my first and only stop.

Today was my first major purchase at Ride Cyclery, and to summarize — I think I can understand why some people might have negative things to say. In my case, I have nothing but genuine praise. Here’s what I mean:
If you’re looking for the cheapest service for sub-​$ 500 bicycles, you probably don’t need the level of expertise of the guys here. I’d probably direct you to Performance instead.
Just like my review of Performance that gave 5 stars for prices and value, but with the caveat that if you have a $ 10k+ S-​Works or Pinarello, you probably need to go to a high-​end shop. Well, this would be an example of a high-​end bicycle shop. It’s not that they don’t stock really affordable bikes and inexpensive parts — they do, and can give you a great value — but where they really shine is their inventory — or ability to rapidly get — the complete line of S-​Works bikes and accessories and provide expert service on everything they sell.
To illustrate the difference between a high-​end bike shop like this and the bargain ones like Performance, let’s say you bought a new Audi from the Audi dealership. When it comes time for service and parts, you could probably get cheaper prices from an independent repair shop because they’ll likely use generic parts installed by technicians with a general skillset not necessarily specific to your equipment. If you have an ’85 Audi, maybe this is fine. However, if you have, say an R8, RS7, etc., you’ll likely get the highest quality parts and technicians with the most familiarity with your machine if you go to an Audi dealership.
I bought my wife a Christmas present in the form of a Specialized Diverge (she’s doing BWR… I’ll be driving the SAG Wagon and getting drone footage — no really, I INSIST). I could have bought this bike at any of the several shops in the area selling Specialized, but after meeting Brent, Nick, Chris, Owen, and Brock, I knew that I had to buy it here and would be in good hands.
I’ll update should anything warrant a downgrade from 5-​stars, but after yesterday’s experience (where Nick took a look at my headset and quickly fixed the problem — and three other nagging issues I had become accustomed to riding with), I’d give them 6 stars if that were an option.

Chris, who helped me, is a really cool guy and a fellow New Yorker. Got great customer service and a really nice bike rental for the day. I’d come back in a second.

Damon was awesome! Went in and an hour later walked out with a bike that I loved. Customer service was awesome. He knew a lot about bikes and found me a bike for my needs! Aka cruising around looking cute :) thanks guys! Service guy was awesome too!!!

ZpExcellent customer service. Very accommodating and looking out for the customer. I had a bike built and nick worked two hours over time to get me back on the road. Brock made sure that everything was right and was very helpful in getting my saddle positioned perfectly. For once I didn’t feel like I was getting gouged.

My wife and I have been riding up and down the 101 for a few years now but have never been to this bike shop let alone even knew it was here. After buying 2 Fuji road bikes a few weeks ago we’ve been riding further and further afar but usually always up or down the 101. Today we had not long turned around in Carlsbad when my wife noticed her bike got a lumpy ride all of a sudden. Turns out the rear tube was completely punctured and the front one had a slow leak. We googled a bike store and Ride Cyclery was the closest. After walking a few miles and stopping for lunch we made it here and took her bike straight in to the bike repair shop out the back of the store. A very polite young fellow named Nick diagnosed things quick as a flash and proceeded to change the tubes out front and rear. The tubes were 7 bucks each and the labor charge was around $ 11 for each wheel. We saw on our way out that they have a big selection of bikes in the showroom. Nick told us his store recommends the Specialized brand. We’ll come another day and have a look.

Clearly, the customer is never right at RIDE Cyclery.
I called to order my new $ 3000 bike. I had to remind them to order pedals.
It took almost 2 weeks to ship and I had to keep calling until the bike was in. I was told unless I spent $ 6000 on a bike, I would not get a proper bike fit– only a seat adjustment.
I did get a seat adjustment– but it was 1.5 inches off. (I went elsewhere to get bike fit.) The store also forgot to give me my cleats for my new pedals.
On my 2^nd trip to Carlsbad store, I had them put the new cleats on. They were put on incorrectly. I went back the 3^rd time to the Encinitas store as my bike was unridable due to pedal issues (I had 3 of my male cyclist friends try to clip in and adjust cleats to no avail). I could have been seriously hurt if I was a novice rider.
Brent the owner said Speedplay Zeros were mostly for men… And that I should stick with my current pedals. I had to ask for the price adjustment for the pedals.
I have purchased 2 other bikes previously– one from Trek and one from Nytro — both stores did a bike fit.
I was told that the Carlsbad store is new and they did not have a bike trainer in order to do bike fit.
The Carlsbad store is not new and how could the store owner not know there wasn’t a bike trainer to do bike fit!??
I was told they would send me something for my troubles.
Still waiting…

I can not say enough amazing things about my experience at Ride! I had spent the day looking for an Electra beach cruiser. I went to a couple of bike shops in Oceanside. One which was terrible (Alan’s) and one which was ok with super nice help, but just didn’t have a bike I wanted. Then… I ended up at Ride.
First of all, I’m not a cyclist. Im a beach cruiser… literally. It could have been very intimidating as when I walked in, I was surrounded by high end road bikes and people that were clearly serious about riding. Yet the moment I walked in I was greeted by the nicest sales girl named Cynthia. She listened to what I was looking for and then walked me in the back and stayed there in a helpful way and answered every question I had, which, might I add, was a lot. I chose an electra beach cruiser and then wanted to customize the fenders, grips, seat and a couple other things. The other two gentleman that were in the shop were available and also so nice. They were able to modify my new bike right then and there and 20 minutes later I left with a fully customized, absolutely adorable Electra beach cruiser!
In return, Ride Cyclery now has a new customer for life who is happy to tell everyone who asks what a great experience I had.
Thanks to everyone at the shop for such a wonderful experience and a kitchen new bike!

Overpriced pretentious little bike store in Encinitas. Great for those riding the wave of the triathlon culture of the wannabes. I dropped in for a tune up job and they quoted $ 250. For a regular Giant with some rust on the chain and two flat tires? They obviously wanted to change every piece of it. Why is it so hard to keep it real?
I went to REI and the down to earth guy working there did a magnificent job for the $ 45 tune-​up service. This is what I call keeping it real.
Yes, if you have spent $ 5,000 dollars on a bike that you ride over the week end so that it makes you feel like you are a true athlete, by al means, this is the place for you. Enjoy it.

Good selection of parts and accessories on location. Service is fair to good; decent turn around time on maintenance. However, they have a hard time keeping to their word on booking out parts and overall quotes. Bad experience on getting a groupa priced out. Quoted a great price on a Dura Ace 9000 11 speec crankset. Went to finalize the work order and service «back slid» on the price of the crankset. Basically used «their word against mine» tactics. Then mentioned it was a different crankset for the quote which didn’t even match up with the groupa! Why on earth would a hi-​mod machine, that has a common set groupa (all Dura Ace), use lesser grade parts that don’t match? SRAM crankset matched with Dura Ace shifters??? C’mon! My business has gone elsewhere since.

Be very careful to ask what Ride’s return policy is BEORE you purchase anything from this shop. Even if you purchase something as a gift for someone, and it doesn’t work out/​they don’t like it, Ride will NOT give you your money back, and policy is you pay them a 15% return fee.
While I realize this is Ride’s business decision and perogative to set whatever return policy they want, they don’t communicate their policy… until the time you come back to return something. I’ve been buying stuff from many bike shops for several decades and this is the first time I’ve been denied my money back for returning a product in new, unused, perfect condition with tags/​original packaging, put it back on the shelf and no one will know it had ever left the shelf in the first place condition. Ride won’t even give you your money back as a token of good faith. Many other bike shops have a higher standard of customer service, as policy, and have set the bar higher than the bar Ride sets for itself and for its customers.
BOTTOM LINE: While Ride has an attractive, cool space, sells sexy bikes and gear, and has friendly, helpful, chill staff, if you care about customer service when it really matters, think twice before you buy here and be CERTAIN that the thing you’re purchasing is EXACTLY what is required, because once you give RIde your money, they won’t give it back to you, even if it’s the right thing to do and is the standard of expectation. If there is even a .0001% chance that your purchase might not work out, resist the urge to buy here… there’s many other shops that will do the right thing for the customer and who are glad to deliver a good customer experience to you.

Perhaps you’ve heard me describe the hunk of a man I’m dating in my past reviews-​At 6 foot 10 it’s a challenge for him to try any new sports or hobbies, as a lot of off the shelf equipment is just simply too small.
He decided recently that he was going to take up mountain biking-​no small commitment because unlike a general gentleman, he can’t just buy a starter bike and go from there. Oh no, even to begin it would have to be custom. So he went all out, and started researching to source the products he’d need to build one that would support him from scratch. If you’re into bikes, you know this is a pricey endeavour so we really needed a two wheel guru to come into our lives. Low and behold: Enter the dudes from RIDE.
We stopped into RIDE on a random Sunday for the BF to continue his research and to get him a helmet (My gift to the project! Protect the brains!) While browsing we got connected with Blaze and Chris. Blaze answered all his questions as we spent about an hour in the shop. These guys really committed to helping him achieve his dream bike. They helped us create a list of item’s he’d need to order-​and not even a bit of pressure for us to buy these parts through them. They told him what to get online and he agreed to have them build it when all the parts came in. While there I bought him that helmet and he was really happy with it!
Over the last two months he has sourced the parts, a huge Ventana frame, custom wheels, etc. Anytime he had a question or needed a suggestion he was able to call up/​email Blaze or Chris or any of the guys there and get help. THEN, all the parts where here and we took the lot of them to RIDE to be assembled.
We knew there would be odds and ends that the guys would need to get/​order and we were ready to start the process-​these things take time! I really believe this shop is committed to quality and that means when you give them a project they’re going to be up front and blunt with you about needs and costs, plus it could take awhile to get it perfect. The BF was totally cool with this and we settled in to wait for it to be built. Total trust in their process.
We had a wheel that didn’t fit that we ordered and had to return/​get a new one, plus a seat (all our own problems) but once it was all there, the bike grew to completion rapidly and the BF was so excited, like a10 year old getting a bike on Christmas morning.
The boys let us know the bike was ready yesterday and it was a sight to behold! I picked it up and it was clear that they had handled all our expensive parts with care and created an awesome end result. They gave further support with phone conversations with the BF on maintenance details.
I bought a utility tool during the pick up that they recommended to put the bike together and apart and happy with that purchase too!
If you have bike maintenance or need someone to trust to build one from scratch-​these are you guys. SHOP LOCAL.

Worst customer service I have received in a long time. Sad to say, I will no longer use this shop.

The guys in the shop were super nice, was just really surprised by the cost.
I bought a pair of Look Keo cleats at ride for $ 49.99. I later found the same cleats on amazon for $ 24.99.
Then the then store charged me an extra $ 10 to put them on my bike shoes.
This took all of 5 minutes.
I have to say I was surprised and pretty bummed,
The folks working there are very casual and friendly but I felt ripped off by this transaction
I usually don’t leave negative reviews for friendly local merchants, but maybe the shop will consider installing cleats gratis for loyal customers in the future.

The fixed two flats cheaper than the place where I bought bike-​Performance. The down side tire tube had to be adjusted. They got on it right when I brought the bike back. Also, when looking at the bikes they were super nice and didnt try and upsale just answered questions straightforward. Super attentive service folks kept asking if I was being helped. I would recommend. Only other shop to compare is Performance and the blew them out of the water.

Always a great experience! Whether renting a beach cruiser for out of town friends or buying a brand new Electra (with a basket and bell), the folks at RIDE are incredible. Special s/​o to Dylan who handled a rack snafu like a champ, hooked me in with the dealer and really helped me get set up. Thanks RIDE for helping us beach cruiser enthusiasts too!!!

Great guys that know their stuff…
Helpful and friendly every time ive been in there

First time I have been here. Friendly staff. My bike needed an adjustment which turned into a big tune up. My wheels were bent a bit, he gave me an estimate of 20 a tire which was a bit much. It took about 1 ½ hours or more to finish. Luckily there were many places we had to choose from to go grab cocktails and food while we waited. Once we got back and found out what all had to be done, the brakes were backwards, rims bent, lots of minor adjustments, it didn’t seem so bad. He did charge an extra 20 so $ 60 all in all for a tune-​up is probably a decent price. Not a great deal but not too expensive either. I’m just happy he did all that needed to be done. Knowledgeable, helpful staff. I’ll definitely go back fro any mishaps.

This is the second time I’ve stopped in here and have been disappointed both times. The first time i was actually looking for a bike. They are the only ones in town that i know of that carry Willier. Sales guy was OK. answered my questions, but was really pushing the BMC. Total turn off
Went in yesterday to just get a pair of socks. Walked in and saw the 3 guys in the mechanics area chatting. I walked around and couldn’t find the socks. I actually made 3 complete passes around the place and still couldn’t find what I was looking for. Went over to the area where the guys were. waited a few seconds for them to notice me … and… finally interrupted their conversation and asked where they kept their socks. One of the guys comes out and seemed a more than a little annoyed that I interrupted them. Shows me where the socks are. I asked if they carried SockGuy and he said no. I took his tone for dislike of the brand. Seriously? Get over your self.
Well Im in the hunt for a new bike and I can say that I will not return.

I was mountain biking in Laguna when the controller of my KS Lev literally just fell off after I hit a downhill section. I called a different shop at first and they said they could fix it. When I went there, the tech didn’t even know what a KS Lev was? I decided to not chance it and go elsewhere.
That’s where RIDE comes in. I called them and they knew right what I needed (re-​tap the controller). One hour later, my KS Lev was fixed.
Ride is a nice shop with great techs.