Spin Cycle

The bikes are overpriced. I think they used to have better deals, but now even used bikes are a ridiculous price. I bought a decent beat-​up old school Schwinn continental (for women) road bike for $ 180 in fall 2008. It served me well until it was stolen on campus summer 2009. I went in to see about a replacement and anything remotely similar was at least $ 300. They almost laughed at me when I told them of my previous purchase. The limited selection, borderline rude customer service and un-​cleanliness of the store do not warrant the current prices.

After an a-​hole stole my bike seat recently, I went across the street from my house to a bike-​shop-​who-​will-​remain-​unnamed that didn’t have any seats priced lower than $ 45 and whose attitude proved they could’ve cared less if I shopped there or not.
I went down the street to Spin Cycle; love the eclectic and alternative vibe.
The employee working (Eric) was personable and knowledgeable. Replaced my seat with one better than I had before but at a totally affordable price; also bolted it down instead of the quick release handle so it couldn’t get stolen again.
Good to know where I’ll be going for bike shop and repair for my next few years in this town.
Thanks!

i dropped my commuter bike off for a tune up. Staff was rude on the phone and when I went to get my bike, they said they had to do extra work for the cables, which i never asked to be worked on. They should have called me and asked. A simple bike tune up does not mean rewiring the cables (which i know is a 100 dollars job).
These idiots were ego centric and arrogant. I was so pissed at their attitude and service. I wanted to slit their skinny jeans.

Awesome place with a lot going on. Ted has been running the show here for decades. Do yourself a favor and stop in.

Keeping it simple again:
Had an active leak in my rear tire, brought the bike inside to steal some air.
Worker said tires looked fine and gave them a «squeeze test» **. Said they both felt like they were at 40ish PSI.
I refuted the claim and asked for the air politely, they were at 20 PSI and below.
I have not had any real work done there, but it feels like a hipster hangout, not a place to get your bike serviced.
docked three stars because I HAVE experienced better.
** — lol

Spin Cycle is one of those places that is just the right combination of casual and disaster.
I looked at a bunch of bike places before I chose to buy a new Fuji commuter bike here. The place is fairly close to my house and the guy who waited on me helped me choose the right height and showed me a few different options before I bought mine. I originally wanted a cruiser, but once I explained my needs he suggested and showed me the style I eventually bought, and I appreciate that.
They have adjusted the bike for me a couple of times, and were reasonable about it, first adjust is included, a needed tune up was discounted since a previous attempt wasn’t done right.
About a year into ownership I slipped on some ‘liquid’ on the floor *looks at dog unhappily* and fell into the bike… ruining a wheel and destroying a pedal. The front wheel was replaced and the pedals upgraded to a better type.
The back wheel popped a tine when I hit a very deep hole one day when riding, and had to be replaced — again upgraded from the stock to a better type. The installer apparently missed (or forgot) truing the wheel up right and the owner was rather annoyed that it had left the shop that way, and immediately stopped what he was doing and fixed it on the spot when I returned.
This place reminds me of a number of places I have done business with over the years: Local, small, does right by its customers, dedicated to making you happy, but not as well managed as a chain. The focus seems to be on the work and the bikes — and I’m cool with that. I appreciate local places with that character, as long as they take care of me in the long run.
Only downside: They really suck at calling you when stuff is done. Expect that you will have to call them and see if its ready. If thats all I can complain about, then I’m a happy guy.

I was looking for an inexpensive used bike to ride during my 3-​month stay in Gainesville. Spin Cycle was one of the shop found by Google as selling used bikes, so I went to check it out.
A woman showed me the bikes they had, but she seemed more interested in eating her lunch than selling one. They had a mix of new and used bikes. Most of the used bikes were old and rusty with loose or missing pieces, and were sold for more than $ 100! They just had a handful of new bikes, which were beyond my budget at $ 300 and more.

After seeing that someone else had reviewed this shop, it sprang into my mind that I had not reviewed it, despite having been a customer here several times.
My first experience with Spin Cycle was buying a few random bike things from them – a bike light, a lock, and some Fox Racing mountain bike shorts. These shorts are very hard to find and have lasted for five years now so I am only pleased with them, and the other products and the staff’s friendly attitude was also highly encouraging at first. However, then I purchased a Mongoose mountain bike from Spin Cycle’ about a $ 1000 model which though nowhere near the top of the line, should be enough of a purchase to merit serious notice from the staff. Instead, they failed to properly make sure the bike fit me and more or less left me to fend for myself in selecting it. Because I liked the bike, I did buy it, but replaced it with a Specialized Stumpjumper about a year later because the Mongoose was not very well-​made. I took the Mongoose back to Spin Cycle to get it serviced and hopefully get it in good enough condition to sell or use now and then, but for a little under $ 100 they provided some services they felt apt for the bike, yet were rather defensive over its condition (suggesting nothing much was wrong with it), and thus left me poorer and stuck doing the rest of the work on it myself – on a bike which mainly I rode around campus for a year then found necessary to replace. This was not a mountain bike put through every possible trial and horror a mountain bike might face in off-​road riding, mind you. I didn’t blame Spin Cycle for the bike’s failings – clearly Mongoose made a product with problems – but they didn’t need to defend Mongoose so strongly when clearly the bike had issues. It’s not like I brought it back a year later and demanded they take it back and give me a refund: I brought it back and told them what was wrong and asked for them to fix it and was willing to pay for the repairs. From their attitude you’d have thought they owned Mongoose.
The first time I shopped at Spin Cycle, they were a Santa Cruz bikes dealer which seriously impressed me because Santa Cruz is like the BMW of mountain bikes. They no longer carry this line as far as I know, and most of their bikes now appear to be used with a handful of new bikes. The combination of screen printing business, outdoors outfitter, and bike shop seems charming on the surface but no one in this hanger-​like, hot, building whom I’ve ever encountered ever seemed too excited about actually helping their customers.
Gainesville has Mr. Goodbike which carries Kona and now Super Cool Bike Shop carries Specialized and Cannondale, too, I think. Both these businesses are run by friendly guys who seem keenly interested in being helpful. It’s in their best interest, after all: you buy a $ 20 part for your current bike and like the shop, you may come back and buy your future $ 5000 S-​Works ride from them, too. As for Spin Cycle, I really don’t know how they even stay in business.