Clever Cycles

I haven’t ridden a bike in about 15 years, but I wanted to start commuting to work by bicycle instead of spending a ton of money to park downtown. Enter Clever Cycles. I was taken on a tour of the different styles of bikes best suited for my needs, and was then able to test ride every one that I wanted. I was given the full run down on helmets, lights, locks, saddlebags, etc. I ended up getting a Breezer step-​through, which I really like. I would highly recommend this place for someone who doesn’t know anything about bikes.

Great bikes, great service, great people.

Outstanding customer service from the four different sales people I dealt with in choosing, test riding and purchasing a Linus city bike. I’m a novice commuter who had a zillion questions and not once was there an iota of disdain or impatience in our interactions. Yes, the products are high end but the price tags honestly aren’t bad. I’m super happy with the ride they helped me choose.

11 dollars for tube. You have to be kidding me. This place is a prime example of why Portland is going downhill fast.

I went in and told the sales person I was interested in a bike I had been researching, the Vanmoof S5, and he let me take it for a test ride. I liked the bike and purchased it from them, right on the spot. What makes this transaction unusual is that I got the bike for fitness, and am really quite a bit overweight. So talking about biking with a super skinny, ultra biker, sales person would have been a bit awkward to say the least. At Clever Cycles they were people like me, not 19 year olds with 1% body fat, they understood the needs of a middle age guy with some pounds to drop and were more than willing to steer me to a bike that would hold up to a person of my size. These nice people get an A+ from me.

The Clever Cycles team was so helpful! I was looking online for a Dynamo Hub for my bike, after getting a relatively expensive quote from a local bike shop for a new wheel. I sent and online inquiry to ask about a wheel/​with hub as I was looking into the different options.
Few of my local bike shops stock dynamo hubs, and I was getting conflicting advice about whether or not I needed a wheel, and the differences in the hubs.
Justin advised me on hubs and lights with recommendations and reviews via email and was extraordinarily helpful in steering me into a decision! (And I sent a million emails. ;)).
My order about to ship and I feel empowered enough to get it all installed at my local bike shop. Customer service was excellent, even for online shoppers like me!

This is thee place to go in Portland for «Dutch style» bikes as well as folding bikes. You won’t find any road bikes at this shop. Most of the bikes they sell have internal gear hubs (IGH). They even have cargo bikes!
I had a great experience here renting a bicycle for a week. Later I bought a new bike here. The staff was very patient and helpful.
Below are some of the bikes they sell as of October, 2014:
–Breezer
–Linus
–Brompton folding bikes
–Tern folding bikes (similar to Dahon, but supposedly slightly better quality and a little more expensive)
–Quality cargo bikes
In addition to selling bikes, this bike shop is known for having a large selection of quality rain gear. They have lots of Showers Pass jackets, pants, shoe covers, as well as some high end rain capes.

When I moved to Portland, I visited 14 bike shops (!) in three days before finally buying a nice hipstery-​looking bike from Clever Cycles. A year later, when that bike was stolen out of my backyard (LOCK YOUR BIKES EVERYWHERE, PEOPLE), I went back to Clever Cycles and bought another bike from them. It was a no-​brainer. They’re friendly, they have a great selection, and their repair/​maintenance team is top notch (shoutout to Adriel, great guy).
When my bike was miraculously returned to me a week later (REGISTER YOUR BIKES, PEOPLE), I brought the new bike back, and Clever Cycles returned it, no questions asked. I cannot recommend Clever Cycles highly enough.

Had a good experience with these guys. If you have kids this is the place to shop. They are super chill and let my little boy ride around on their bikes.
They let us try out several bikes and it was one of the better experiences i’ve had in a bike shop in a long time Great bike options as well.

If you are a mama wanting to bike with your little one around town, this is your bike shop! I needed a bike to haul my LO on, nothing super fancy or expensive. Went in and had someone give me the lowdown on what’s best for my needs and why. Took quite a bit of time to show me all the options and answer my questions. Before buying, I checked out about 7 – 10 other Portland bike shops. This one was by far my best experience for what I was looking for!

Stopped by at the end of a bike trip to have them adjust the internal hub on my brompton. I had to change out the tube while out and the person helping me (and myself) didn’t know anything about internal hubs. It was working okay but not quite as well as it could. They were able to look at it right away (I came by when they opened at 11am) and just a few minutes and dollars later it was fixed.
Of course that was enough time for me to wander through the store and pick up some new bike shorts from Club Ride. I really appreciate the straight forward opinions of the staff and their general helpfulness.

From an internet search (from Seattle) Clever Cycles was the closest place that I could get the Ortlieb QL3 panniers in Aubergine that I coveted. I ordered one, easy as could be, and it arrived nearly instantly (in a few days), and was great. I then got one for the other side, all was good. But that alone doesn’t warrant 5 stars.
One of the latches cracked in half when I pulled on it a bit with a full pannier two weeks after they arrived, so I wondered whether Clever Cycles and Ortlieb would stand behind their products. Within 30 minutes of emailing my problem to Dean, a replacement bag was on its way, with a UPS mailing label for me to return the broken bag.
Service doesn’t get any better than this.

For my very first time at this shop I can honestly say that I had the worst customer experience ever. I literally looked at everything on their floor and not once was I greeted or asked if I needed some help finding something. I spent a good 15 – 20 min walking around. There was about 3 employees working maybe 4, and most of them weren’t busy with anyone. I find this disturbing as I work in retail and know it’s all about the customer. The fact that I was not acknowledged upsets me and therefore, writing this establishment a negative review.

I bought my Brompton from the Clever Cycles web store just under 2 years ago, so when I finally made it to Portland I had to go visit. I’ve had a funny ticking sound from my dynamo hub for a few months, so I asked about it — and what do you know? Turns out it’s a warranty issue they’ve seen before. And what’s the Brompton warranty period? 2 years! Clever Cycles switched out my front wheel on the spot, no charge! Fantastic service from Brompton & Clever Cycles :-)
Apart from that, lots of neat accessories — especially cool bike bags. Also lots of practical bikes for transporting people, kids, «stuff»…
It’s probably a good thing I don’t live in Portland, or I could see myself spending lots of money here :-)

Bought 2 Tern cycles. Susan explained the bikes to us. Got a flat on our maidwn voyageand got it fixed the same day. Did have to buy a new tube. Each day we wenr in we were told «we are short staffed.» I know about short staffing ! I just still get the job done, and do not bother my clients w the details.
Businesses should do the same.

I visited Clever Cycles for sales help and mechanic support. The sales staff is friendly and accommodating. I was shopping for a new bicycle for my fiancé and we were helped by two women who understand the needs of a female cyclist, especially when most bikes aren’t designed for women. Overall on the shopping side, fantastic and helpful.
On the mechanic side, the service was helpful but not as friendly. I explained that I had been troubleshooting a flat tire issue for some time and without much conversation I was told, «it’s something in the tire,» without any plans for resolution. I prodded further and the mechanic inspected my tire, finding that it was indeed something in the tire (not debris, but the tire itself had worn out and the cable was tearing my tubes.) Though his prognosis was correct, there wasn’t effective communication on next steps. They were efficient at solving the problem, but overall I didn’t feel comfortable during my interaction with the mechanic.

I made my first trip to Clever Cycles yesterday to learn more about better saddle options for my fairly well customized 15 year old mountain bike grocery getter commuter tourer trail rider whatever. I was pleased first to not be looked down upon for having an old Trek 830 as my favorite bike, and yes, that has happened at some shops I have visited.
The person out front (forgot to get her name) was very helpful in explaining the different saddle options and explaining a bit about Brooks saddles. The other person in the back shop (didn’t get her name, either) very efficiently installed the saddle and adjusted it’s height and angle. I left with a lovely B135 fully sprung Rube Goldberg looking saddle, perfect for the «oh it’s pavement, now it’s gravel, now it’s a dirt path, now its a grassy field» kind of biking I regularly encounter. A test ride confirmed that this was a good choice.
I saw a well-​organized, well-​stocked, welcoming shop, with a good selection of accessories and I will be back. Thank you!
If you think of bicycles as practical modes of travel, if you are just as likely to wear your work clothes while pedaling as lycra gear, then this is a good place for you.

If you’ve ever wanted to try out a Brompton folding bike, this is the place to do it. Just don’t go through the front; go through the back entrance on 9^th. The people working the front are kind of cold, while the service folks in the back — whom we dealt with mainly — were awesome and kind.
We were staying in the Southeast side; we chose it for the proximity of bike rentals and food carts. Be sure to call ahead to reserve bikes; we slept on it and were unable to rent during the weekend, though we were able to bike three out of five days.
Prices are extremely reasonable; a 24 hour rental is $ 35 and a four hour is $ 20. They do close early, round 6 on most days, so make the most of your rentals!
The shop people were decent folks. Made sure we knew how to correctly fold and unfold our Bromptons, and gave us tips on how not to look like dweebs doing it. Their advice was greatly appreciated. I occasionally looked dweebish, but that’s more about my slow motor skills.

Clever Cycles certainly owns their niche in Portland: high end European town bikes and the requisite lifestyle accoutrements. I guess if this is how you roll and this is what you need, then this is where you get it.
I’ve been in a few times looking for this or that, and found them not very friendly or particularly helpful. Last time I was in I spoke with (I assume) the owner, who was clearly in a Very Bad Mood and more concerned with the minutiae of her business then customers.
To be honest, I don’t get the high-​end ultra style Euro bike thing. Kind of like a Scion xB, you get it or you don’t.

Although I have (yet) to buy a bike from CC, I felt the need to review it. The female owner answered my questions on the phone («yes, I need a 15″ bike-​I am only 5 feet tall.») After answering my questions on the phone, I went in person a few days later to check their stock out in person. (Two stores in Portland have bikes in my size for less than 1k /​end rant!!!)
The same lady helped me and was super nice and understanding about my situation– total bike newbie. She answered every question I had in a nice, simple and no condescending manner. I rode the cutest Dutch bike I have seen and it is on sale! She let me inspect and ride wobbly around the corner for a while. even though there was no rental available in my size she allowed me to take an
«extended test ride» where a friend and I rode around the neighborhood for 30 mins.
Unsure after over an hour of chatter and questions, the owner told me to sleep on it with no pressure. She was nice and funny and I am still considering the Dutch Gazelle bike.