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I got my locked-up bike stolen straight out of the locked bike room of my locked downtown building. Yeah, it sucked - big time.
But, River City Bikes gave me a happy ending to the story. After getting a new bike approved by insurance (after deductible of course), I shopped around at several different shops for my replacement bike. I chose River City for three reasons - (1) selection, (2) customer service, (3) price.
I ended up with an awesome new Cannondale with lots of customization (at a good price) and this bike is my pride and joy. River City did an awesome job with the custom-fit, allowed me to come back as many times as needed for additional adjustments and even replaced my tires at no charge after they popped after only a few miles of riding the new bike (we found out the tires were the wrong fit for the bike).
I am a regular customer of River City Bikes now.
Come here if you're looking for:
A. A retro steel framed Bianchi bike à la "Breaking Away" to go with your faux Italian accent & microcephalic bike cap.
B. The last of the US-made Cannondale carbon fiber road bikes at $1000-1500 off MSRP (Yup, Cannondale went belly up & was sold to Dorel, a Canadian conglomerate which will be using frames made in Asia after this year.)
C. Don't mind having to leave work early repeatedly to try to road test a $2K carbon fiber bike because the staff had you try the wrong size frame then sold out of your size despite making an appointment for you to test ride a different size the next day then hadn't assembled the new arrivals the third time you come rolling in.
D. Think that you want to spend thousands on a bike in a store that has you literally take a number just to speak to staff & has a business plan along the lines of a conveyor belt system.
Those of you looking for state of the art carbon fiber Bianchi's that make you moan reflexively as your fingers twitch spasmodically over that sleek elliptical down tube or the luxury of actually having a bike ready for you to road test after you've made multiple appointments should keep on pedaling to the multitude of other locally owned shops in PDX.
If I were Mt. St. Helens spewing praise for River City Bicycles, as opposed fiery hot lava, I would have to cover the entire Pacific NW and most of Canada, as well as Hawaii and Alaska, to equal the amount of praise this stellar business deserves.
I am not a worthy bike owner, I am ignorant, I have no tools, no mauals, nothing...the worse type of customer...but the folks at RCB treat me as if I am Bike Messenger Royalty!!
Although everyone at the shop deserves passionate praise, I'd like to single out JESSE and RYAN for their prompt, curteous, professional, and kindly service. Will someone in charge buy these guys a beer? They deserve a keg of HOP Works best brew!! THANK YOU RIVER CITY BICYCLES!!
I went in on a busy Saturday because I'd made up my mind on my first road bike purchase. No matter the place was swarming with people, they are always staffed to handle it. I got superb one on one service - the guy probably spent about 2 hours working with me. He did a great job with my fitting. He even picked me up when I fell over on the mini course upstairs. Ha! I wasn't treated like a freak because I wasn't a bike geek.
I see some gripe about prices. But I checked all over the place and their prices are right in line with MSRPs. How could they not be?
I admit, the bike mechanics can be intimidating. I take my bikes there for fix ups. You'll see them chuckling about stuff and whispering about your bikes private parts. But it's their world and I'm just a lowly pedaler so I don't really care. I love my bikes and that's all that matters. Ahhh....
These guys are the Bianchi dealer in Portland. That says something. I heart Edoardo Bianchi, since 1885. Innovator of track bikes since day one. If he was still alive, he'd be racing at Alpenrose Velodrome and woopin your ass. Go RCB (River City Bikes, not Red Cobra Bloods)!
I love the mini track they have upstairs with the bumps in it. Super fun to demo $10,000 bikes even though you are not going to buy them.
Little slick, but good peeps.
Their staff is generally helpful and knowledgeable of the products, but you have to know who the regular employees are from the seasonable help.
They have a good selection of road, mountain and other bikes, but not exactly on the budget side. It seems to be geared toward performance cyclists and people who take their riding very seriously. But, it's irritating that a good deal of smaller parts like chains and cables are not in the open for perusal and you have to ask for a mechanic to get the part for you. That makes it very difficult to compare parts and prices.
Their service department seems capable enough, but sometimes you have to make an appointment for any work other than a quick adjustment.
The free coffee is a nice touch.
I bought my Surly Long Haul Trucker from them in Jan 2008 and have been buying many other parts from them for some time. They were quite accomidating after I needed to swap my bike for a smaller frame after one week of riding. This made me very happy :-)
I bought a kick ass road bike here. I did the due diligence. I shopped around A LOT, road tested a bunch of bikes and wanted to support a shop that has consistently good customer service. I bought here because they had a sweet deal on a sweet bike and I didn't get any bike-a-tude from the staff. My advice to those shopping around is to find out what brand of bike fits you best because every shop is licensed to sell certain brands to avoid crazy competition. Happy riding!
I've been into River City several times mainly looking for cycling clothes, miscellaneous equipment, and accessories. They always have great options in these areas, but you probably don't want to go here if you are bargain hunting. Well, I'm actually not sure where to find any cycling bargains in PDX anyway. The staff is really helpful and always has a recommendation in mind.
I am going to repeat what everyone has stated already. i just need to say
that I had an extremely positive experience here over the weekend. I have been here before but never to buy a new bike.
My car broke down over the weekend and thought that was the last sign; I needed to go get myself a new bike. I have been wanting a commuter bike for a couple months. I have been riding a used Klein mountain bike for a couple years now. It just wasn't working for me to be riding it like a commuter. I wanted something lighter and faster and have the ability to have a rack to carry all my crap.
I went in with my boyfriend (who has been working on and riding mountain bikes for 15+ years) who doesn't know too much about commuter bikes since he only rides mountain bikes. Well even he was quite impressed with Jamie, our salesman/helper. He was very friendly and knowledgeable and extremely patient with us. I went in with two Specialized models in mind and came out with a totally different Specialized bike. Jamie helped us for quite some time and got me all set up.
I love love love my new bike!!
I have been to this shop a number of times and only patronize this place because they tend to have harder to find parts in stock. I usually call 1st before coming in and the people in the service department are great and seem to know what they are talking about.
My biggest issue with this shop is the lack of customer service from their sales/floor people. Today I went there to purchase a Cannondale stem for a friend. I went directly to the service department and they guy brought out all the sizes that they had and compared it to the one that I brought in to replace.
Once I got to the cash register though it was a completely different story. This girl...can't really call her a lady because she was so rude was 1st to notice me, I put the stem on the counter on top of the sales slip that was to be used to check out with. She asked me if someone had already helped me like was I still looking for more things and I said yes someone in service took care of me. I then looked at her and said "Are you asking me if I need to be rung up?". She said "Yea..duh" while rolling her eyes, then proceeded to turn around and have someone else ring me up.
To the owners and managers of this shop. I know that your average sale is much more than the measly $60 that I spent at your shop today but unless you teach your staff what customer service is then experiences such as this will be shared.
You're shop already has a less than fair reputation amongst mountain bikers in the Portland area. So may I suggest that you just sell road/cross and commuter bikes? That is all that your sales staff pays attention to.
Also on a side note...barely any of your staff smiles or shows a friendly face...well unless you are looking at the high end road bikes on your floor. They seem to congregate there.
Wonder how many people will read this and the other bad reviews you have and will go to another shop to buy? Think about how much your staff has cost you by treating a $60 purchase like an inconvenience. Just a thought.
I want to love River City Bikes because they are an independently owned bike shop that has its heart in the right place. Their bikes are beautiful and they are stocked to the gills with everything bike related.
On the flip side, they are spendy as heck and if you get a repair and are not a die-hard DIY biker then make sure you have a thick skin. I have taken many of my bikes here - everything from my old touring bike to cruisers to my cargo bike - for tune-ups or repairs. The staff is always knowledgeable, but they are kindof jerks. There I said it. I have never dealt with a single friendly bike mechanic at this place. I feel like I get treated like a schmuck because I am not a die-hard bike geek. And I am not one of those rude, arrogant bossy type customers who sits yacking on her cell phone while I bark orders, either. So. Yes, I could probably repair the bike myself. But is it worth it to me to pay $12 to have someone change out my flat tube and not get my outfit or myself dirty? To me, yes. Yes it is. Sorry not to embrace the DIY mentality or to ask someone to do a repair that is below their station from an expertise perspective.
So I realize that this is basically MY problem and no commentary on the expertise or the quality of their work - that's all great - beyond great. If you want to soup up your ride, get some fancy new components, or have a tricky repair I am sure these guys will get all geeked out with you. River City is definitely the place to go in that case. If, however, you just need some simple repairs or maintenance that you should probably do yourself but would rather not, there will be other shops that will happily and courteously take your money!
One of the few Bianchi dealers in Portland which is why I went here. The other place is 21st Avenue Bicycles in NW. I have shopped at both and like both of them pretty much equally.
I do think 21st has a slight edge over RCB however. 21st is a much smaller store and more personalized over RCB. I recommend RCB for those who already have a bike and just need a repair or some biking accessories. If you're going to River City, make sure you arrive when the shop opens. An hour after opening the place is always packed especially on weekends. Anything you might ask will probably be rushed from one of the employees. I don't think RCB is anymore expensive for repairs than any other shop in Portland. Granted, people might gripe about paying $12-15 for a tube repair....why not do it yourself? $4-8 tube + 10 minutes of your time. For more technical repairs I find RCB to be pretty competitive in their pricing.
River City is in my top two bike shops in town. They have a great selection and friendly staff.
I went in there on a Saturday to look for a new commuter bike. They had what I was looking for, but didn't have one built up in my size. The salesperson called up their warehouse to see if they had one in stock. They did and would have it ready for me to come in for a test ride the next day. That is what I call service.
Let's talk about River City Bicycles for a minute. When it comes to beautiful bicycles, a wide selection of accessories, clothing, parts, etc, this place is right on point. I would love to give it 4 stars, but their prices are ridiculous. Now, I use that word liberally but to describe an honest truth. If you need to find it, River city probably has it, but expect to pay some bucks.
As a total bike amateur with very little knowledge, I was nothing but happy with my experience at River City Bicycles. I admit I was a little afraid of venturing into this place, thinking I might be kicked out and scoffed at for knowing literally nothing about bikes in a city that is pretty bike-fanatical. I was approached by a super friendly and helpful staff member within a minute of walking into the place, and he spent nearly an hour with me, helping me pick out a bike, helmet, and backpack. He even helped me load it in my car, showed me how to take off the wheel, and shift gears. All in all a great shopping experience. I left feeling SUPER PSYCHED about my new bike purchase and I will definitely be going back to RCB for all my cycling needs.
I went here shopping for a new bike. The staff was really knowledgeable and friendly. I didn't feel pressured to buy a bike, I just felt like they wanted to help me find a good bike for me. Nice people.
Just had a great experience over there. And they didn't even look at me like I was a cheapskate for using my Chinook Book coupon. Great service, attentive staff, fair prices, considering the high end products they sell.
I'm an experienced cyclist and have been car-free since 2000. This shop has a great selection of bikes and sizes. The prices are slightly higher, but I've been to, and worked in many shops in two different states, and they are definitely one of the better shops. I've purchased a bike from them, and had it custom built at a reasonable price. The customer service was great for me, but I know what I need. Since I had them build wheels for my new ride, I was surprised when they gave me a loaner wheel off the shop floor when one of my rims had to be ordered, which got me on my bike a lot quicker. They also gave me upgraded shifters at no charge when the original shifters I wanted turned out to not be in stock. As with any new bike, I've returned to iron out the kinks, and the service was done immediately, and well. While some reviewers have commented on poor customer service, I can only tell you, that having worked in a shop, customers, especially non cycling customers that have impossible expectations are the worst, and can bring out the rude comments. All in all, if you have a great attitude, you will great service. If you dislike the service here, you probably have problems everywhere, and only your cats like you. And even they crap in your shoes when your not home.
Before my trip to Portland, all of my teammates had told me to check out River City Bicycles and Veloshop. While Veloshop is definitely cool and had amazing classic shop aesthetics, River City Bicycles is just unbelievable. Everything the serious cyclist desires is in stock, clothing from Rapha (who I never seen available in the U.S.), Castelli, Campy, Specialized, and more. Friendly sales staff everywhere, free coffee for visitors and of course, the bikes. Unbelievably beautiful Colnagos, Waterfords, and other high end bikes/frames on display and for sale all over the store. Plus a huge collection of race ready cross, track, MTB and road bikes at all price levels. If I lived in Portland, I'd honestly be broke by now just from shopping here, a must stop for all serious cyclists.
River city supplies the cycling crowd with beautiful new bicycles and outfits them with the appropriate spandex fashions and accessories. I'm sure this is a good bet to buy a brand new bike, as workers always appear to be knowledgeable and their selection seems great. Having never bought a brand new bike, I can't say I've ever had the pleasure of forking over a ton of cash here, but I can say it's a fine place to buy bike odds and ends like lights and helmets. For awhile they were dishing out free espresso drinks on Saturday mornings--can you beat that?
A very nice good sized all purpose bike shop. Friendly, helpful staff make shopping a nice experience. They pretty much only carry Specialized, Cannondale and Gary Fisher bikes (in mountain bikes, anyway, which is what I'm currently looking for), so if you want any smaller more esoteric brands, this is probably not the place to go, but nonetheless a very solid place.
My husband and I already have bikes that we love, but his bike needed some work on the wheel since it got stuck in some tracks. They were pretty busy when we went in, but they were able to get it all fixed up and back to us by the next morning. Lots of selection for tires, clothes, lube, and all sorts of goodies. We were like kids in a candy store looking at all the new, fancy bikes!
Excellent bicycle smarts and free weekend coffee. Seriously, I had barely been on a bike since high school, and needed a new set of wheels for a benefit 10k ride. I walked in, told the friendly dude (Alex) what I needed, and viola~ a sweet Specialized hybrid kinda cruiser for a hell of a lot cheaper than expected. An added benefit is the free 30-60 day tune up, and free simple maintenance on the bike for as long as you own it. The shop is always bustling, and they have every bell and whistle you could want, and clothes. A very good bike buying expereince, and they didn't make me feel like a out-of-shape bike dolt. Even though I was, and continue to (slightly) be.
Absolutely my favorite bike place in Portland! They special ordered my cruiser because it wasn't a typical bike they kept in the shop. The do free tune-ups if you bring your bike back within the next three-four weeks after purchasing it. And two years after I went back in for another tune-up and it was only $50! Granted, it is no street bike by any means, so expect to pay a bit more for your racing or street bike. But the staff is amazing! Very attentive and knowable about their bikes.
Prices on parts can be a little scary, but there is a reason this shop wins so many awards. Good mechanics and great roadie selection. I don't really mess with xc mountain bikes so this place wouldn't be my first choice for that (speaking from the DH/freeride perspective).
these are nice people in a bigger business kinda of way
Neighborhood: Southwest Portland
Category: Bikes
Neighborhood: Southeast Portland
Category: Bikes
Neighborhood: Southeast Portland
Category: Bikes
Neighborhood: Clinton
Category: Bikes
Neighborhood: Southeast Portland
Category: Bikes
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