BPA Seattle Bikes + Art

Bought a bike from Eric at Bike Swap last year. Immediately apparent that the "rustproofing" he had claimed to have applied was not effective. Brought it in and he essentially accused me of (somehow) making the bike look rustier (questioning, in his words "the legitimacy of the rust"). He recoated it, gave it back to me with a different set of pedals and a broken bike post clamp. Bike sealant was still ineffective in spots. I was unhappy with the experience, wanted to return the bike, based on his verbal "bring the bike back any time within 30 days if you're not happy, for a full refund." Denied that he had ever made that statement. Accused me of being deceptive, went on big-time email rant, etc. I finally bailed and sold the bike on Craigslist. Now, given what I've been reading, I wonder if the bike was stolen in the first place. No wonder it had been so carefully sanded down! And reading his reaction to being arrested, it doesn't surprise me that he claims he is the victim. And now they are closed. Hmmmm.

I stopped in here after work one day because I wanted to buy a used bike. I'm not a huge bike rider, usually just to the bus and back, and in the last year I have had two bikes stolen. One an expensive brand new bike and the other a used one one I paid a few hundred for. Because of this I only wanted to spend about $300 on a bike. When I first walked in I noticed that every used bike a saw was at least $700 or more. When I told the man working there my price range he went and basically pulled a bike out of a heap of bikes and said I could have that one for about $300. It was then that I noticed a Trek bike, I only knew the name Trek because I had had one before and liked it. When I inquired about this bike he said he could sell it to me for $250. I took it for a quick test ride and noticed a few things that seemed off but truthfully I just really wanted a bike and to get going. I also purchased a lock for $20.

On the way home I started to notice that there was a lot more wrong with it. EVery gear slipped, the front tire wobbled to the point I thought it was going to fall off. The seat kept sliding up and down and the brakees barely worked. I decided that I was just going to take it back and get my money back.

The next day I stopped at a pawn shop by my house and got a bike that road 20 times better for $125 adn the man who sold it to me saw the Trek outside and laughed when I told him how much I had paid for it.

I worked everyday that week and was unable to take the bike back to BPA till the following week. When I took the bike in I was told that they don't do returns and it was my fault because I took it the way it was. He then said the most he would give me for the return was 30% or what I had paid for it, or $75 for a bike I had paid him $250 for just one week before. Otherwise I could leave the bike and they would work on it. I chose to do this. When I picked it up it was better but still in no way worth $250. So now I'm stuck with a bike that I can't sell.
I just figured that a bike shop would have more integrity than that. Basically he saw a sucker and took advantage; Rather than being concerned with my satisfaction and maybe even telling me they didn't have waht I was looking for, he ripped me off and then knew that the bike wasn't worth what I paid and refused to give me the money back. DONT GO THERE!!!
THIEFS!!!

Waited around all morning to try to rent a bike today, I guess 10:30 isn't enough time in the morning for them to get to work.

A friend gave us a copy of Seattle Met Magazine. The journalist did an article in the October 2014 issue about what happens when your bike is stolen. It's often parted out and the frame painted and resold. They mention how Bike Pull Apart now rebranded as Bikes Plus Art was busted by Seattle Police. Don't understand why anyone would ever do business here? They should treat bike thieves like horse thieves in the wild west days.

I've been in this shop a few times and have been extremely underimpressed by their skills, knowledge, and got the distinct impression that they weren't to be trusted.

Most notably, when I test rode a pedicab - it was in dangerously bad shape (no differential, one wheel just dragged in turns). The owner, Eric, told me about the fatal pedicab accident at a company he was involved in. His tone was boastful, like it made him cool. I was disgusted. Also they referred to certain bikes for sale as "30 day bikes" - forfeited, because customers had failed to pick them up. I found this highly suspect, because of their flip attitude about it.

As for the source of this review, I have over 10 years experience working as a bike messenger and in bike shops. Trust me, these guys are worth avoiding.

Good costumer service. patient and attentive. however bad work. 75 dollars for new wires. when i received my bike - a full two days after it was scheduled to be picked up - only the break wires were done. the rear and front derailleur wire was not replaced.
took it back and they replaced it promptly and even offered to do it while i waited. but the following day as i was cursing around i noticed (because my gears kept slipping) that the front derailleur wire was not done. the edge was frayed and the wire was old.
i will not be taking my current bike or any other bike there again. which is unfortunate because they are nice guys and very convenient to where i live.

I stopped in to find some parts for my bike recently. Initially, the mechanic was helpful and offered me a part off of a used bike. After looking at the part closer, the price of the part was more than what it would cost NEW at Greggs Greenlake Cycles or Recycled Cycles. You would think a several years old part would be worth LESS than a brand new in a box part. Not at this place.

Undeterred, I still browsed around. Another mechanic offered his help by saying, " I can pull parts off that bike" - pointing to my side - "it's a 30 day old bike", he added. I heard the same thing from the supervising mechanic earlier and the second time caught my attention. I proceeded to ask him what that meant. The mechanic didn't have a chance to explain as his supervisor overheard the conversation and interrupted his conversation with another customer to tell him that he should focus on finding me my part .

I would like the company to clarify what these "30 day old bike" references mean because I am left with suspicions of an unscrupulous bike shop racking up hidden fees, leading to customers' forfeiting their bikes to a chop-shop style operation.

Some great kids work there usually for 1 or 2 months before they get ripped off and leave. I think if you can get in and out in one transaction you're probably fine although if you buy a bike who knows what the odds of it being stolen are.

Eric is simply a thief. Two bikes being sold on commission Eric sold them and I saw not a dime. Parts ordered with money up front never to see the parts or money. A bike motor sold without saying a word to me. Another bike that was supposed to get some work done, work not done came back to pick up pieces with some missing and others broken. Same yelling routine about his business and not storing. No phone call nothing. Just simple theft.

I think the main revenue is probably stolen bikes being sold on the internet. I'd like the shop to simply leave the neighborhood. I'm going to make the recovery a lawyers problem. Feel free to send me an email if you're one of the obviously dozens that have been subject to theft I have to pay the lawyer anyway.

Should have checked Yelp. The kids that come through are awesome and it's a shame they end up ripped off too. The idea of a used parts and service shop great, too bad the owner is simply a thief.

I left my bike overnight at pull-apart to repair the internal hub gears and when I came back to pick it up, the brakes were not put back together correctly. Good thing I noticed. They actually made the bike worst and made it was in unsafe to ride. The owner agreed and I left it again overnight for him to correct the mistakes. When I picked it up, it looked better but after riding it a couple times, I felt the gears skipping again. I brought the bike to another shop and they found a bunch of mistakes in the repairs. They cross threaded the hub, made the hub bearings loose and overall botched the repair. Learn from my mistake and go somewhere else.

Apparently the owner will send you hate mail if you write a bad review. I wonder what the better business bureau would say. I think I'll call them.