These guys rock!! My last Mt. Bike I purchased was back in 2001. Had to learn a lot, since a lot has changed in 13 years. I worked with Jake, and spent an hour going between a medium and a large. Ended up with a large, as Jake adjusted both bikes to my liking. No pressure, no rush. Two weeks later, I then saw the bike for a better price, sent Jake an email, and he took care of me. This is how bike shops need to be, all about customer service. Did I mention they also include free lifetime service. I highly recommend these guys. read more

I've purchased 3 bikes from Alameda Bicycle, the first over 10 years ago. Each time the service was perfect - informational and not too pushy. The employees cared about me getting the best bicycle for my size, style of riding and budget. I will continue to go back to Alameda Bicycle for my future purchases, especially since they're a local community also providing local services to Alameda, like the family bike rides and clinics. read more

These guys are friendly and knowledgeable. They know what they are doing and talking about so they will help you out with any bike related question you have. They helped me put together a bike I purchased on the internet and they really tuned it up nicely. It was $90 so I wasn't thrilled about the price but understandable when it comes down to it. I also wanted to add that they can service your bike, like putting in new tires for just a small fee. read more

My road bike needed wheels, a new seat post, and a new seat. I priced around and was basically told I had to spend a pretty penny if I wanted to get back in the saddle. I decided to stop into Alameda Bicycle due to their Yelp feedback and I was incredibly happy that not only were they able to get me going again for hundreds less than I was told by many shops, but they were incredibly kind, funny, and helpful in answering my questions. These folks demonstrate what it means to be in a community and definitely made me feel like that part of the community. Special kudos to Stephanie & Guy who were incredibly patient and generous with their knowledge and time. Thank you...I am a satisfied customer! read more

The staff members at Alameda Bicycle are SO knowledgeable; it was such a great experience bike shopping. They explained the basics of biking for commuting and let me test out a couple of options. There's a nice variety of bikes and accessories for those who are beginning to invest in a reliable bike. read more

My friend and I decided to get off the couch and get into some sort of excercise. We decided on mountain biking and proceeded to do some research. After visiting MANY bike shops, and searching online, we ended up at Alameda bicycle. Andrew was very helpful with steering us "newbies" to the necessities. He was very straight up when telling us that, yes, we were spending a @#$%^ load of money, and these are the things to put your money to and these are the things you can wait on. Customer service as compared to the other bay area shops, (mikes, lakeshore, etc.) was very friendly and very knowledgeable. You can't beat their lifetime service deal and all their prices were fair. Lifetime customer....... read more

Thanks Alameda Bicycle!! I come in Saturday -- but not just any Saturday -- the Saturday before Father's Day. Possibly their busiest day of the year. And do they turn me away when I have a rush request for a tune up? No. They go above and beyond and finish my bike by the end of the day. Amazing. Fantastic service. Can't wait to ride around SF tomorrow with Dad. Thanks again guys! read more

Alameda Bike 5/28/11 ABOVE AND BEYOND IN CUSTOMER SERVICE. They say customer service doesn't exist in the 21st century but I beg to defer. I have been a believer of small businesses in American for over 40 years. One such business located in the small town of Alameda, California by the name of Alameda Bike is in fact a testament to how a small family owned business should be operated. I recently purchased a "Giant" folding bike and shipped it to Phoenix, Arizona but somehow I damaged the bike upon its return to California. I returned the bike to Alameda Bike for a quick repair and the chief bike mechanic, by the name of Daniel, immediately indentified the problem. As it turns out, the problem was far more severe that I initially thought, which meant that a particular part would have to be ordered. I started to panic because it was within weeks of my next venture out on the new folding bike to Brooklyn, New York. As it turns out, that part was not available at the "Giant" factory and it would take several weeks for it to arrive. Now this is where "Customer Service" kicks in! Daniel offered me his own personal "Giant" folding bike for my trip to Brooklyn, New York. Now I ask you, "WHO DOES THAT?" Was I dreaming or what? So now, with Daniel's folding bike, I'm on my way home to Brooklyn, New York for a 10-day ride. In closing, I wish to thank Gene (Owner), George (Sales Manager), Stephanie (Sales) and of course Daniel who said, "We will make this happen". read more

The owner reached out to me after I had posted my concerns about the tune-up issues I had. He not only offered to look the bike over to make sure it was in order, but he arranged to personally come to my home so I wouldn't have to make a special trip! He apologized for the unusual experience I had with them and addressed my concerns in a manner that felt truly genuine. Most importantly, he professionally restored my bike to the condition I was hoping for. I am back to biking with confidence and feel assured that I can expect continued customer support from them in the future. read more

Yesterday I made the mistake of riding my bike over all that crazy uneven pavement leading up to Park Street Bridge and got a flat tire for my trouble. I didn't bring the patch kit with me because it's just too heavy. These nice folks fixed me up at 6:15 pm on Memorial Day before closing, and had me outta there and off to eat dinner, a happy clam. I was only out $32 for new tire/tube and labor, not bad. read more

I've bought two bicycles at Alameda Bicycle in the past year. A commuter for my partner and a mid range road bike for me. A welcoming shop and staff with no sales pressure. I was in the store every weekend for six weeks checking out bikes. They never tried to sell me a bike I didn't want. When I asked for a bike with a triple chain ring they didn't try to sing the praises of a compact. They also respected my budget, suggesting bikes only in my price range but letting me try the lush bikes for kicks. They dialed me in when I finally bought, spent all the time I wanted getting the fit just right and welcome the bike back for adjustments. When I show up they remember who I am, where I live and what I ride. They would have to screw up immensely to lose me as a customer. read more

I have bought 2 bikes and many accessories from Alameda Bicycle and they are great! Tonight I dropped in after they had closed looking for an axle nut and they still helped with a smile! read more

This place rocks. They really take the time to make sure that you love your bike before you purchase it. The customer service is excellent. I love this place. read more

Went there yesterday for the first time. An employee saw that I had a cast on my leg, held the door open, and welcomed me to the store. I told the same employee him I needed a simple helmet since this was my first helmet purchase ever. He said "Then I will make sure that you have the perfect fit". I'm not a bike pro, but I was treated as if I were. read more

Great place for kids bikes. Buy back policy is a REAL money saver. Gene and his staff are great.

I'm a regular at the Fruitvale BART shop. Mike and the boys are way chill, knowledgeable, and eager to help. No snobs here. They do it all - from changing a tube to building custom wheels. Advice and info are free and parts and service are competitive. They have kept my old road bikes in perfect working order and I bought two new kids bikes from them. Great service. Ez breezy. Don't hesitate to visit either location. read more

This shop gets top marks for the extremely helpful staff--props to George and Stephanie especially--which truly sets Alameda Bikes apart from the rest of the crowd. They have a very approachable, unpretentious, helpful, and unforced customer service ethic which I totally appreciate after having had to deal with the snootiness of many other bike shops in the East Bay (that shall remain nameless). My wife has purchased a bike from them: she got a good deal but best of all excellent, realistic advice on what bike would be best for her. I generally use them to have my bikes serviced or repaired. I like this business so much that I travel from Berkeley to patronize them--it's worth it. read more

Gene helped me out, and I really mean helped- big time! I knew nothing about modern bicycles and he really took the time to explain correct sizing, accessories, etc. I walked out with my new completely-configured bike in about an hour. Props to great local-owned businesses like this that are doing it right. read more

Alameda Bicycle has fantastic customer service - the employees have always been willing to go the extra mile to help me out. I've been coming here for several years now and have yet to have a less than stellar experience (not that I expect to.) If you have any bike questions or need any help at all, don't hesitate to come here. read more

I guess it depends on who you get to help you. My first experience here was a decent one. George helped me with a helmet purchase and a set of bike gloves for my son. Super helpful. The next time I came in was to see if they carried a road bike I was looking to purchase. The road bike I was looking to purchase was a giant defy 5. it's an entry level bike that was within my budget. They guy at the counter (young kid) looked it up and pretty much laughed and began to tell me how cheap the parts were and I could get better if I spent more. Chuckling at a potential customers layout of over $600 isn't a good way to ensure they do business there. I don't know the name of the kid I dealt with. I'm not saying anything about anyone else besides this particular employee but this experience pretty much ensured I'll take my business elsewhere from now on. I'm updating this review and adding a star. The owner messaged me to find out who the employee was. turns out it was summer help. The fact that my bad experience was not ignored speaks volumes. read more

Won't buy from any other store. The owner Gene is genuine, friendly, and knowledgeable. The staff is fantastic. Go check them out!

A enthusiastic shout out to the maintenance dept at Alameda Bicycle. I take my road bike for a tune up each year. Appointments always seem available within 1-2 weeks. The service is terrific and the techs always seems to sneak in some extra bike TLC (such as wiping down the frame.) This month, I asked for new brake pads and a general inspection of the rough shifting mechanism. On my century ride yesterday, my bike shifted like a boss, stopped smoothly and generally rode like a dream. LOVE Alameda Bicycle!! read more

I had purchased a set of bikes there a number of years ago. Went in to get new tires and seats on both. The guys were saying that they give free tune-ups if I bought the bike there. Well, they didn't say that excludes bike of a certain age. So know customer service for long-term customers I guess. They gave me the estimate, after a considerable wait and we left both bikes there. They were very rapid and called me that the bikes were ready the same day. I went the next morning to pick up and was presented with a bill twice the estimate. They forgot to write up the second bike in the estimate. Instead of phoning me they just wrote up another tag. While I was there they even had the balls to say they had given them both to me. I said not true and pointed to the time stamp and the difference between the tags. Felt ripped off because of poor communication and snarky staff. I wouldn't go back to many other options read more

Three years ago I bought my first road bike at Alameda bicycle. I was unsure about my interest in the sport and more than a little poor so I basically just bought the cheapest thing they had. It was a Giant OCR3 8 speed, with Sora components. The girl who helped me "sized" me and told me a L (about a 56cm, compact frame) was my size. Now let me introduce myself. I'm 6'3". Short torso, long legs, long gorilla arms and at the time I weighed about 230lbs. Previously I rode BMX (20") so I had no idea what a road bike should feel like. I rode that bike hard for a year, put about 2500 miles on it before I realized the bike was way too small. What's worse is that about 4 months in the cranks started acting funky. I took it into the shop and they pulled the bottom bracket and discovered it had a crack. They told me they could replace it, free labor, I'd just have to pay for the new bottom bracket. Cost for the new BB? $80. $80 for a fricking heavy square tapered bottom bracket! The fancy external Hollowtech BB I just put on my new Hardtail cost me $60. Over the course of the next few months I slowly began to realize that the bike felt wrong, not knowing yet that it was because it was too small. I managed to let AB talk me into buying a new stem ($50), new bars ($70) a laid back seatpost ($50) and at no point did they just say too me Dude, the bike is too small. We sold you the wrong bike. It took me a year and meeting another cyclist with my proportions on a ride, who was on 60cm frame to realize I was on the wrong size and the wrong bike. At this point I had just started working at a bike shop, so I just let it go, chalked it up to an (expensive) lesson learned and sold the Giant and got myself a bike that fit. Fast forward to today. I'm on the last 5 miles of a ride and as I go by Fruitvale station, I jam on the pedals and my chain snaps. Of course today is the day I chose to go light and didn't pack my chainbreaker, but as luck would have it I'm near the Fruitvale Bike Station run by the wonderful people of Alameda Bicycle. So I go in and ask the guy to borrow his chainbreaker. I've got my bike with me, I just need to take out a link and put it back together so I can get home. Guy refuses. Can't lend out tools he says. I'm not going anywhere with it I say, I can do it right here, I've done it many times before it'll take me less than five minutes. Guy says no, he can't stop work to "watch" me but he'll do it for $5. Honestly dude? You can't stop to "watch" me? Right... because the guy on $3000 bike is going to walk away with you $15 tool( yeah I know that sounds elitist). See. Its not that I mind paying the $5 and I understand the rule. We have the same rule at my shop. But there is a difference between a guy wanting to use your tools to tune-up his bike and a guy needing to put his chain together so he can get home. When guy walks into my shop and wants to borrow a tool, I make a judgement call. Because 1) its not worth my tech's time to fix a flat or something like that for $5 when they could be doing something more important 2) tool borrower will be happy and next time he needs to buy something he'll think of me and 3) there is a brotherhood (and sisterhood) among cyclists. Its the rule of the road. You help another cyclist out when you can and they do the same, because on the mean city streets with cellphone talking SUV driving morons everywhere, the only ones looking out for us are us. Anyway that was my rant. Needless to say I'll be carrying a chain tool from now on, AB won't be seeing anymore of my money and when I need to refer a customer to another shop, they won't be on the list. read more

I special ordered a very expensive bike from from Alameda Bicycle. 3 days after I paid for it, I saw an ad from another store for a cheaper price. I took the ad in and they refunded the difference immediately. It was several hundred dollars difference, They stand by their policies and are straight up and honest. I like that. They also took all the time I needed to answer all my questions and show me everything on the new bike. Very thorough and very nice to work with. read more

Great bike shop. Great staff. Prices would obviously be cheaper online, but it's nice to support local stores that are so great. The shop supports a lot of local bike safety classes for both children and adults. read more

I do so much biking, and I'm STILL bike-stupid in many ways, and these people just refuse to be rude or condescending to me! Even the dumbest questions are taken at face value! They also seem to be quite knowledgeable and cute...... read more

Over the past year I have found myself driving to Alameda Bicycle for more and more of my bike service and parts. The East Bay has several good bike shops and many that are just average, but Alameda Bicycle really shines. Every time, Gene and the rest of the staff have been exceptional: Friendly, energetic, helpful, not-pushy, and sincere about getting me what I need. With more an more people riding bikes out there these days, I am glad to see that old-fashioned good service still thrives. There are many different kinds and brands of bikes out there and Alameda Bicycle won't satisfy everyone - but give them a try. They will even order and build a bike for you if they don't normally stock it. I first got to know Gene and Alameda Bicycle when they started the bike station at Fruitvale BART and then took over the Embarcadero bike station last year. They have done an excellent job with both and these are vital resources my bike commuting needs. I recently bought a fixie bike through Alameda Bicycle when I had one stolen - and Gene offered me a GREAT deal. They assembled it for me over a couple of weeks after waiting for some parts they had to order. I subsequently bought a single speed hub which has turned out to be the wrong size. I have to go back and re-order the correct one, but I have no doubt the staff at Alameda Bicycle will take care of it - and me. As an added bonus, their location has several great places to eat nearby so leave yourself some time to enjoy Park. And parking is pretty easy in the area if you must drive. read more

Alameda Bicycle shop is a great place to do business. The customer service is a good as it gets. I had a problem with my Road bike wheel and even though I did not purchase the bike from this shop they were able to work with the manufacturer and get my ride fixed through the warranty for free. Daniel took the time to listened to me to understand my situation and he was truly on my side. I live in Berkeley and we have a number of good bike shops, but Alameda Bicycle is worth the drive. Thanks guys. read more

I have a Giant TCR Advance 2. The frame cracked after about three years. I bought the bike at another store which is no longer open. To make a long story short Daniel was able to replace my frame. All I can say is THANK YOU! Great customer Service. I wish they we closer to where I live. read more

This is by far the best bike shop in Alameda.

I am a bike commuter who works too late to get in during weekday business hours. I explained this, days in advance of my arrival, to the staff and requested weekend repair service. I also reiterated this when I dropped the bike off at about 10:00 Saturday morning. I didn't hear back from repair staff until Monday, when I was back at work (without my bike, of course) that they needed a special tool from me to remove my rear wheel before they could BEGIN repairs!!! On a previous occasion, I was charged for a new inner tube but it had not been replaced, which then necessitated more delays with again, a week of no riding since the tire went flat. Maybe they want me to buy a second bicycle to ride when they take their time on performing requested repairs? read more

These guys are great! Helped me all throughout my bike selection process (which took more than a month!). They were very patient with my questions, asking me to try out different bikes to my liking and explaining how things work. I live 20 miles from the bike shop and went to other bike shops in the Bay area as well but these folks are just so warm, fiendly and fun to be with that I kept coming back to their shop. Stephanie, the sales associate, was very honest and helpful to me during the sales process. Being new to the US and English my second language, I didn't have any problem at all. Their lifetime service and price match guarantee are absolutely great, I saved close to $1000! read more

I bought a bike from the shop a few months ago. I was a complete newbie and friendly staff members took their time to explain bikes and bike features to me. Recently my bike became unrideable after a chain mishap and I needed to have a few adjustments made. So I dropped into the store on a Saturday morning and a few minutes later the adjustments were made free of charge. I highly recommend this store. read more

I took my little hybrid commuter bike in this morning because one of the brake pads was rubbing against the wheel, and left an hour or so later with new brakes. Here's the deal: Daniel shows me how to make a tiny adjustment that'll stop the brake pad from rubbing. Then I tell him about the pain I've been having in my right hand, which Michael of Michael's Bicycles down in Newbury Park told me was probably related to my leaning on the handlebars. He tells me that unfortunately the bars don't really go up or down and twists the grips for me, and has me get on the bike. It feels a lot better, but now it's harder for me to reach the brakes. (I have small hands.) Hm, he says, let me make an adjustment, and he takes my bicycle into the back. I'm browsing, I pick out a mirror I want to buy, and he comes and tells me he wants to show me something. He's adjusted the right brake so that I can grab it more easily, but Giant bikes are weird and there's a bell incorporated into the left brake, and tell me what, he's going to swap it out for new brakes at the loss of the bell. That's fine with me -- "On your left!" always seemed more polite than "DING DING DING please read my mind!" so I walk to South Shore to run some errands, and before I'm even done checking out at Safeway, he calls me and tells me my bike is done. The cost? $20 to buy and install the mirror. Everything else was free. He didn't even charge me for the parts. I can't recommend this bike shop enough. They know their shit, are willing to share what they know, are fantastically nice and know how to keep customers coming back. read more

This shop makes me proud to be a bicyclist. The service is awesome. Gene and his crew back everything they sell with a promise to fix it if it breaks. I bought my first commuter bike here about 4 months ago, and between my aggressive riding style and the potholed streets of Oakland, I've needed things replaced or fixed a bunch of times already. I've had a light replaced, my smashed brakes fixed, my U-lock mount replaced, my splash guard reattached twice, and more, all for absolutely no money. That is sweet. And after I missed the Father's Day sale and failed to get the retroactive discount on my purchase, Gene worked it out so that I was happy. This is a great bike shop. read more

What got me loving Alameda Bicycle was when I first walked in the door being greeted with a hi and how can I help you. I've been to a few other bike shops and felt like it was self serve which is fine I guess if you know what you want but if you're looking to buy your first bike you 'd like a little help or at least I did. Eight bikes later (bought bikes for the wife and kids) and 50 pounds lighter from riding I still love Gene and his staff. I get the same great service every time I go in there and it makes me feel like my business means something to them. What's not to love about that! Keep doing what your doing because it works. read more

I went in to learn what I would need to do to become a bike commuter. The sales manager was super professional, super helpful, and completely no-pressure. He took the time to explain the basics, what would be important for me, and why these things would be important for me. I plan on going back and buying what I need because of the excellent service and professionalism. read more

Alameda Bicycle is the perfect place to buy a bike. The staff doesn't have that elitist attitude found in so many bicycle shops. They're friendly, easy-going and very knowledgeable about all things biking. In terms of their selection, there are lots of sweet bikes to choose from. I found a Specialized Live 1 2010 for $380 in their online catalog. They put it together for me in a hurry and had it ready to go in no time. All in all, after shopping several bike shops in the east bay, I highly recommend Alameda Bicycles for their service, selection and welcoming attitude. read more

Super helpful and informative staff, good prices, nice selection!