R & A Cycles Inc
Categories: Sporting Goods, Bike Rentals [Edit]
Neighborhood: Brooklyn/Park Slope105 5th Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11217 (718) 636-5242
- Nearest Transit:
Bergen St (2, 3)
7th Ave (Q, B)
Union St (M, R)
- Price Range: $$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Good for Kids: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
17 Reviews for R & A Cycles Inc
This was the fifth bike store I went to when I needed to buy a new bike. It was the first one that actually measured me (and not just my legs) and talked to me before pushing a bike on me. They have a huge selection of models and makes and know the strengths of each. They won't try to sell you whatever makes them the most money. I bought something on the lower end of racing bikes and I was treated with respect.
If you need a new bike, go here first.
Sure R&A has a lot of nice, sparkly bikes and accessories but the cashiers and the salespeople here have NO CLASS.
what is it with the bike shops in park slope? Generally, I find bike shops to be staffed almost universally with (at best) completely aloof or (at worst) arrogant bastards who make leisure bikers feel like losers. Whenever I go to a bike shop, i find myself wanting to get the hell out of there asap, before my self-esteem takes a tanking.
To top it off in Park Slope, the customer service is THE WORST I've seen in any business. No one has a smile, no one speaks a helpful word, no one seems to want to deal at all with customers. Makes me wonder why they're even in the retail business.
The least problematic customer service-wise is probably On the Move, but they're weird in there too. I heard the young woman in there going off on someone one day. She seems a bit crazy.
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I walked into this shop a few weekends ago to get my bottom-bracket looked at. It was a beautiful day out, and there were quite a few eager customers in front of me. So I waited patiently with my bicycle until those folks had been helped. I really wanted to give this local shop a chance on my first visit. From the window, it looked like the place stocked a healthy collection of bikes for little kids as well as bikes for spendy adults. I thought that was kinda' cool.
As I looked around in line, I realized that I had made a mistake. I hadn't worn shorts!
Mind you, I wasn't streaking 'round the slope and making people cry. I did wear jeans; I just hadn't worn the ass-pad spandex shorts some of the other patrons were fond of. I just felt...under-dressed.
Still, when my turn in line arrived, I smiled and I asked the clerk, "Hi, I was wondering what your mechanic's rates are? I'm looking to get my cranks and bottom-bracket mended. "
He looked me UP and DOWN. He paused. (I think he was looking for my spandex shorts! Surely they were in my back pocket? I had been FOUND OUT!) After sizing me up, he replied dryly, "We're not taking repairs for a week."
I blinked for a moment. I waited for him to offer...I dunno...a waiting list or something. Nothing. Not a grunt. (I heard Somebody snap their bike shorts in the distance. )
It was time to leave. I replied, "Well, thanks anyway. Have a good one." , I turned and I walked out the door feeling confused and naked...without bicycle shorts. I didn't even bother to check out the rest of the shop. From the clerk's tone, I just didn't feel like I'd be helped at all. I had asked the clerk about Mechanic rates; it wasn't like I was asking him to fix something for free. I can deal with a wait, but I just don't like being sized-up n' brushed-off.
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Consistently terrible service. the worst in the city, I don't know if it is the training manual but they are all super dicks. I had a con ed guy come to read my meter when I lived near by, and he went out of his way to tell me not to shop there.
EVERYONE HATES YOUR SERVICE. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
The guy who works there who think he is hot shit is a joke. You look like a retard with your shaved legs by the way.
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I have NEVER in my life been treated so poorly. The men that work in that store all need a good slap in the face.
The first time I entered the store I was completely ignored. The second time I went in was because I need to find biking shorts. After I looked through their selection and tried a bunch on a older man approached me and asked if I needed help. I told him I was biking across America and needed a couple of really padded shorts. He took a pair off the rack and told me to buy those. After I told him it was not padded enough and I preferred shorts with no gel, he told me to put butt cream on and get over it then walked away.
The nerve. That store is filled with pompous assholes and I will never go in there again and advise EVERYONE I know to go else where.
Dumb move. Being rude to customers is uncalled for and I am amazed by the overall negative response I hear about this place.
Advice...Stay away from R&A.
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As many triathletes, I am guilty to indulge too much in gears and in particular, bike gears. In the past 4 years, I bought 6 bicycles and more wheels that I can remember. I had bought a lot of this stuff at R&A Cycles until I felt that the relationship was only a one way street. Last year, I decided to buy a Look 595 Ultra equipped with the best stuff I could find. I worked with R&A Cycles for that. I first started to get annoyed when these guys tried to push on me all the most expensive stuff regardless of what I actually needed. "You should really buy these $4,500 Lightweight wheels as your training wheels; the Tour de France guys use them". Then, I got really annoyed when they priced the whole bike at standard price. In truth, I did not care that much about the money but I found that their attitude was just wrong. I decided to buy the bike on internet and actually saved more than $3,000 in the process. If they had offered the tires I would have been happy and they would have sold a bike. Silly, isn't it?
Given that I am a nice guy (and also because R&A have a large selection of quality products) I went back again this year to get a Z4 Zipp wheel fixed and also to buy some more stuff. Some of it was just for fun such as a new Blackwell fork for my Guru Crono Tri bike and some of it was needed for my upcoming races. R&A told me that it would take some times to fix the wheel and that they would have to order a few things that they did not have on hand. I had no problem with that. I bought my fork and few other things. I paid full price as always and regardless that by now I had spent more than $30,000 in the store. I went home excited to see how the fork would do on the Guru.
Then the wait started, 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month and still nothing. I sent a mail asking what was going on and got the usual "it is not our fault it is the vendor". I had allowed for plenty of time so I was not worried that my stuff would not be ready on time for the beginning of the racing season. My first race came and still nothing. Then, I got really frustrated and told them to at least ship me what they had already received and that the wheel would have to wait. Their answer in a nutshell was "pay first, will ship latter". By then, it was too late and I had to go to SBR Multisport in emergency to get what I needed.
The bottom line is this. I can understand that unexpected difficulty may occur and I can even understand that it takes 2 months to fix a wheel. What I don't understand and won't accept is that R&A Cycles did not make any effort to make things less painful by for example shipping to me the part of the order they had already received. They made me run at the last minute to SBR who actually saved the day. Guys this is not cool.
R&A Cycles, not only you have seen my last dollars but you can count on me to advertise your quality of service.
Regards,
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I'm new to the area, coming from Upstate, NY, where there are dozens of small friendly shops. I'm accustomed to going into a shop, being greeted by a mechanic or salesperson and having my questions answered in a kind and polite manner. This was not the case at R&A. Not only was I ignored by the sales associate at the counter, when I told him that I would like my bike appraised so that I could register the lock I was about to purchase, he said that he was unable to appraise my bike because I did not purchase it there. In the booklet that is attached to this lock, it clearly states that in order to register for the lock's insurance policy, a bill of sale or fair market value appraisal from a bike shop is needed. It shouldn't have been a problem for them considering that my bike was similar to those that they sell, and contained many of the same components that they carry. Apparently, R&A is not a bike shop, it's just a space full of jerks who are unwilling to assist a potential customer.
I walked out and headed up Union to Dixon's, where I was met by a nice mechanic who listened to my questions and concerns. I ultimately decided to purchase the same lock that I was going to buy at R&A, at Dixon's because the staff there was helpful and patient.
This place is a real piece of work. I bought a $2000 bicycle from them, and went back in there 6 months later, and saw a guy getting fitted by 'Felix'. Looked like he was doing a good job, so I asked him if I could get fitted...His first question was "How much did you spend on your bike?" As if there was some cutoff to what he'll work with. He proceeded to laugh at my seat and bars, and tell me I needed to get new ones before he could work with me. I asked him for suggestions, and he told me he couldn't give me any because if I didn't like them, I would blame him. Furthermore, he told me to go to a different store to try out seats, etc, because "we don't do that, but other shops do." And then come back to him to buy it, and have him fit it...When I told him that was horrible customer service, he walked into the other room and told me he didn't have time to deal with me.
Stay away from here!
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By far this bicycle store has the best selection of bikes and cycling gear in Brooklyn and perhaps of all of New York City. It sells mostly high-end, very expensive bikes, as much as seven thousand dollars for a bike (or more), so it's not your typical shop and probably more suitable, especially cost wise, for the ultra cycling enthusiast. If you know your bikes you'll be familiar with such brands as Bianchi, Colnago, De Rosa, Giant, Merlin, Pinarello, Trek, Guru, and Kestrel, to name a few. There's also a great selection of bike clothing, helmets, and various other accessories and gear.
I currently own a Raleigh mountain bike fitted with road treads, but I think by next spring (2008) I want to sell it and purchase more of a hybrid bike (cross between road and off-road bike). And as a serious cyclist, I won't mind paying top dollar for a high-end, quality bike. This place definitely appealed to me and I'll definitely be back to consider the purchase of a new bike soon, for both myself and my girlfriend.
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Awesome selection. Great, you have capital.
Assholes selling bikes to people that don't want or need them. Great, you're schmucks.
I've never seen selection like i have at R&A, even here in SF. Too bad everything else about the shop was horrid. I wanted to talk frames with the staff, but they were too busy preying on unsuspecting hobbyists that had money but no sense. Too bad. Too bad.
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I have finally made up my mind about R & A.
Assholes.
Wanna know why?
1. Last year I was thinking about buying a Specialized Dolce, so I went to R & A to try one out. They wouldn't let me SIT on the bike without BUYING it. This makes absolutely no sense to me. How the hell do I know if I wanna buy it without sitting on it?! I said "eff you guys!" and bought the bike on EBAY. hahahahahahah! In yo face!!!
2. They are all MEAN because they all think they are really awesome bikers. I can't STAND pompous bikers. Get over yourself. Everyone rides a bike in this city. (By the way Carlos, how'd it feel when I LAPPED you in the park last week?)
3. Everything is ridiculously overpriced. I went to get my back wheel trued the other day and Carlos charged me fifteen bucks. ABSURD! I also bought a lil bike purse that hooks on the bottom of my seat. It was in the sale bucket. Everything was 10 dollars. Even though my lil purse was tiny compared to the others, they still charged me 10 dollars. LAMO.
R & A, our love is GONE. I am DONE WITH YOU.
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If you are after a road bike that costs 8,000 dollars, this might be your place. But if you want a bike to, you know, ride around on, then not so much. They are pretty pushy, a little rude, and not terribly interested in helping you find the bike of your dreams. I'm still looking for a great bike shop.
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I should just give these boys 1 star but they happen to have a good selection of the basics such as seats, shorts, tape, lube, break pads, spokes, pedals and etc. (these are all things I've bought from them). But they are so mean that I sometimes study the sidewalk as I go by so that they don't lock eyes with me and come out and ignore me to my face like they do when you walk in the store.
It's bike porn for those guys who ride around the Prospect Park Loop and shout at each other about drafting and calipers. But I must say they also have a great selection of trikes for tykes and they carry Trek which Dixon's doesn't so.... What can you do?
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They told me at the store that they are the most powerful bike store on the East coast. HA! Those rude, pompous assholes can shove it.
I crashed on my bike a couple of weeks ago. I went into R & A because from their stock of nice bikes, I thought they would understand how much I love my bike. Felix took my wheel to the back. He returned minutes later and told me that he needs me to be honest with him about what happened to the tire. I told him how I crashed, and he said that wheel was built poorly, which I know its not, and again, he told me to be "honest" with him. Why the fck would I lie to him? He charged me $20 to true the wheel. It's not even trued well.
I also asked him how much they charge to change handle bar tape. He said, "$8 or $10..... (he looks at me).... $10."
Felix is a cocky, pompous jerk that probably can't even ride a bike.
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Incredibly rude staff. Like, jaw-droppingly so.
I had one of the worst experiences ever dealing with these guys, and they almost made my girlfriend cry.
If they had just been a little friendlier, I would be in there constantly, as the selection is great, and the store itself is clean and organized and lovely. But even when I just go in for something quick and simple, they find a way to be snotty.
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WOW! That's all I've got to say about their selection. Being a triathlete from california, their selection was impressive. Not really sure who they are selling to b/c there didn't seem to be anywhere to ride at least in manhattan. Not sure who they cater to, but I've got a feeling that there is a high poser factor. Staff was very helpful to me..but it may be b/c I can talk to the talk. If you want to drop some coin on a nice ride this would be a place to consider. They've got it all here...cervelo, colnago, pinarello...they've got all the discs too (zipps, hed, mavic, etc.)
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Ok so I didnt buy here but stopped in because I saw the Ferrari Colnago in the window. Putting those two names together is heavy. The bike brand selection is insane for high end road bikes. I agree with the others, the personnel wasn't to friendly. Yes the bikes are costly but thats what a lot these frames etc. go for. I was a bit overwhelmed by what I had stumbled upon that all my eyes could see was great bikes. I'd suggest if you're not in tune with what you need to get started cycling you don't need to pay a lot for a great bike, especially for the type of riding you'd do around here so shop around
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