Alameda Bicycle

Actually I was planning on writing a negative review however , after a few events that took place…read moreafter I got frustrated,the owner and the mechanics attitude was quite impressive and eventually my point was accepted and , eventually after a bit of headache ,I feel taken care of and heard. so overall I think this is a nice place. People make mistakes but overall the repair was very well done and it feels good now

Pains my heart to give any 1 star review for small businesses…read more But I ordered a Veloric folding bike on 3/17 so I can reduce use of my car. Especially with gas prices. I also live in Walnut Creek and decided to go with a more "local" (used to live in Alameda) shop. Originally I was going to go for an Letric bike, but got convinced to go for the Veloric. So Vivee was nice enough to let me test ride one that was in the shop for service and I decided to buy one, but they didn't have any in stock. She asked if I can use Zelle and I wanted to use card, but she said she would face a 3.5% fee. Ok sure. We also bonded over tennis as well since my brother played and her kids play it and she was a hitting partner, which we found funny. We go over the options on what the bike looks like, what options I wanted and add-ons. I got a date of mid-April, probably more on the early end for me to pick up including assembly and shipping. Veloric would take 3-10 days to ship (from their site for direct to consumer) and then it would take time to assemble. So I presumed, ok, maybe it's quick and coming early. I'll call! I text Vivee on March 20 and she said she would check Monday when she got back. I didn't see a response. So I text back on Monday to check. No response. I call the shop (no response). I text again (no response). It's now 4/7 and yes I called and left a message on the phone and text. So the lack of response + Zelle payment + reviews I didn't read up here = panic. I decided to go and call Veloric to see what's happening. Veloric told me to try to work it out and confirmed there was a fold 1 that was delivered, but they couldn't confirm this was mine. Vivee did eventually answer the phone on 4/9, but said she was waiting on the shipment and said that she ordered a pallet and blamed the tariffs for the delay. So I decide to go in 4/23 when my bike was supposed to be there, but it turns out it wasn't. She told me she was ordering a pallet and she would install my bike first. She also said it was difficult to talk to Veloric's customer service team since there were trade shows. Turns out she lied. I had been in contact with Veloric's customer service team since March because I read some of the reviews and there was a Reddit post on them buying a bike there with a few other horror stories on people getting repairs and either never getting them done and having to pay upfront. Veloric told me they had not gotten an order from Westside Joe's since March 16 and I had come in on March 17 to order my bike. I truly wanted to support a woman owned minority business in my hometown of Alameda. But unfortunately, they are unable to be transparent on ETAs to the point where the manufacturer had to check for me and now I have to dispute with my bank. I've also posted my story to Alameda Peeps, and it looks like there are more horror stories. Moral of the story: It's great to shop local, but please be careful on who you chose to do business with.

Cycle City

4.6

(130 reviews)

Amazing service and best price. They actually answer their phone when you call, got my daughter's…read morebike done early and did a great job on it. Really made her birthday special.

David gave great service. Helped my wife pick out exactly what she needed/wanted. We're giving a…read morebad review because when we were in the store buying my wife FX2 bike he said if we were unsatisfied with it we could return it for a full refund. Yet when I called to tell him in advance we wanted to return it because the bike was too heavy for her he told us that they don't accept returns.

Stone's Cyclery

4.2

(56 reviews)

This isn't really a review, more like a statement to the piece of garbage that broke the windows…read moreout on this business. Whoever you are, please leave this city. You are not welcome, and I really hope that for whatever reason, you stop breathing soon!

stones is a topnotch traditional bike shop. John is an excellent mechanic with deep experience, hes…read morethe guy youre looking for to sort out issues. as well stones has many handcrafted waterford, gunnar and bob jackson bikes and framesets. these seem like a true bargain, especially considering prices in todays bike market. five stars!

JT Repairs

(16 reviews)

I just picked up my very neglected bike from JT and, wow, did he do nice work for a very reasonable…read moreprice! Love our Alameda bike shops, but it's great to have a local alternative to a long waitlist and high prices. JT did a full tuneup and replaced several parts. She rides like a dream! Such a nice guy too. You can reach JT at (510) 978-0922

After a near miss with another bike mechanic on the island, I found JT who expertly rebuilt my Trek…read more730 Multitrack for a more than fair price. I provided the replacement parts and consulted with JT for each one. He was always responsive and helpful with accurate guidance. JT intuited the results I sought and really delivered with meticulous care and skill. Nice guy, too!

Zach Kaplan Cycles

5.0

(29 reviews)

•$$$

I purchased the eCatrike Max from Zach Kaplan Cycles…read more Multiple recumbent bicyclists and regular bicyclists in various Meetup bicycling groups specifically and personally recommended Zach Kaplan Cycles. The experience was stellar from beginning to end. Zach Kaplan Cycles knows what they are doing and guided me to purchase the appropriate bicycle (eCatrike Max). I must add that Zach Kaplan Cycles was extremely responsive and professional. Not surprising that they earned 5 stars.

Zach has a deep knowledge of recumbent bikes and a good understanding of athletic people and their…read moreneeds.

The Bikery

4.7

(46 reviews)

They would not take our 5 bikes. They are looking for barely used bikes. Go up the street to SF…read moreBike Rescue with bikes you would like to donate.

I first took my old Trek to a pro bike shop to try to get it back on the road (it had 2 flat tires…read more& had been sitting covered on an outdoor patio for 2 years or so). The pro shop quoted $600-$700 which was more than I originally paid for the bike & basically said it wasn't worth it to repair... like, what?!?! Thankfully, I discovered The Bikery. Super knowledgeable & friendly staff who got my old bike ready to ride again (basic tune-up, straightened back tire, replaced inner tube with one that I already had, new chain & brakes) for ~$176. Exactly what I was hoping for in service & reasonable prices. Parking can be tricky, but GO HERE! Support this local, community bike shop.

Archer Bicycle

(187 reviews)

•$

Greg gave me really helpful expert advice, and ended up recommending a different another shop. I…read moredefinitely felt bad not giving this dude my business! I usually work on my own bi, but occasionally I ask a real mechanic to tackle stuff. In this case, I had a home tubeless setup that failed twice. I called Greg, and he asked me all sorts of questions to help determine the cause of my problem. I explained that the tire was seated properly, and it was previously holding air just fine. I also improvised a valve by cutting one out of an old tube, and we determined together that was probably the culprit. My rims take tubeless Schrader valves, which is pretty rare, but I tend to take this bike on multi-day trips, and being able to pump up my tires at any gas station is a huge advantage. I also had an overnight bikepacking trip coming up in a few days. Greg didn't have the necessary Schrader valve available to fix my wheel at his shop, but he recommended another shop that might. I called the other shop, and they luckily had the part that I needed, so I was able to go get my wheel sorted out the same day! I will definitely call up Greg again the next time I need someone to work on my bikes.

Greg was super helpful and really kind! He fixed a brake problem for my e bike super quickly. will…read morebe back!

Rhythm Bikes

(98 reviews)

Fantastic shop with extremely knowledgeable people and excellent service! Recently had a couple…read moremajor services with Jesse and Jake working on my bike over the course of a few weeks, and I came away really impressed. (and the bike rides absolutely amazing now). More details below. For context, I ride ~500+ miles a month on a custom made road frame from no22, which has an unusual stem/routing setup and can be a real pain to work on. One day, the di2 front derailleur stopped working entirely, and I couldn't revive it. A friend had recommended Rhythm so I stopped by, and Jesse immediately recognized the issue as a common problem that we could warranty as soon as I handed over the bike. We scheduled the FD warranty replacement quickly, and also some more service for later since the bike was long overdue for a lot of maintenance. The second major service later was where they really went above and beyond. - There was no headset maintenance scheduled, but they noticed that the headset had come loose way too soon after they last saw the bike, and something wasn't right. - Jake spent a lot of time going back and forth with the frame builder on the headset issue, and got them to ship out some replacement headset parts. - When the maintenance was scheduled, Jake got really sick. Knowing the havoc this wreaks on shop schedules, I was fully prepared to wait at least another few days for my bike. - But Jesse put in a TON of extra time and effort to make sure my bike still got out the door on time. - When I picked it up, he explained all the little tweaks he had done (like packing the grease more than usual and leaving a little extra brake hose) to account for my riding style and make maintenance easier in the future. The bottom line is that a lot of shops would have just done the scheduled maintenance and left it at that. But they really put in the effort to make sure nothing was missed and communicated the situation at every step of the way. If you have a really nice bike and want to be confident that it's well taken care of, I would take it here.

I love this shop - I've brought my gravel bike here a few times when it has issues that I can't or…read moredon't feel like dealing with. They always take time in the shop to diagnose and quick fix if they can - otherwise they'll give an honest assessment/estimate and turn it around quickly. My bike is always better having been serviced here and they go above and beyond to make sure my bike feels good. Couldn't recommend this shop more!

First Mile Cycle Works

(38 reviews)

Have not got any work done yet by them, but they responded to an inquiry even in their day off. I…read moream definitely going to use them for any other work I may need .

The camp used to be good but there is a complete lack of discipline this year. There is a lack of…read moreoversight from the camp staff, and group of kids were bullying others on an ongoing basis. At one point, the kids were fighting with one another with rocks. Even after being spoken to, the kids were allowed to retaliate further by urinating right next to another group of kids who were eating snacks. This was acceptable behavior. The camp counselors were also allowed to jump on their bikes over the kids heads. Again, this was seen to be acceptable. We will not be returning to this camp.

Bay Area Bike Rescue

5.0

(6 reviews)

Wonderful lady! She took our 5 bikes. We hope that they be transformed into free bike for children…read moreor art or metal. Thank you so much for this service

They're only open Sunday afternoons and it's a volunteer thing but they are so nice and definitely…read moreknow how to fix bicycles! They gave me a great deal for my stolen wheel and even showed me how to change the sprocket set. I'm going to donate all the bike parts I have lying around and can't recommend them enough

Oakland Rooter & Plumbing

(1.6k reviews)

These guys are great. Alberto was super knowledgeable and friendly, helped find the right parts to…read morefix the sink, and was fast and fair in his pricing. He also came that day and we talked about classic cars! This is the second time i've used Oakland Rooter and both times have been execllent. I recommend them bigtime! Thanks so much.

Best plumbers in Oakland!…read more I had a low water pressure problem in my kitchen and an issue with my dishwasher. I couldn't tell if the problem was the plumbing or if I needed a new dishwasher. Enter Oakland Rooter & Plumbing. Jose, the plumber that came to service my kitchen plumbing, was kind, professional and very skillful. He explained how he was diagnosing the situation and the process of elimination he was going through to get to the bottom of the issue. I especially appreciated that as a woman that loves learning about how things work. Jose answered all my questions and had some great analogies to explain the plumbing situation. I also appreciated that there was no upselling. Jose was clear about the tiers of support and associated costs and was honest about his recommendations and what would help. In the end, my plumbing issues were resolved at a reasonable price. I felt like I got five star service AND I learned a bit about how my kitchen plumbing works. Great service all around!

Neza Iron Works

(322 reviews)

Very easy to work with. They showed up on time and did an excellent job! Price was very…read morecompetitive. I will add them to the my vendor list going forward.!

Excellent service and incredibly friendly staff! I called about cutting a small metal pole, and…read morethey took care of it quickly and professionally. They even went the extra mile by sanding down the cut end so there were no sharp edges. Great attention to detail and customer service. I highly recommend them for any steel cutting or metal fabrication needs!

Car Care Service

(213 reviews)

Brett and his garage repair shop is great/top-notch! The best mix of high quality and rate around!…read more(trust me, I've called around to 35 shops for their labor rates) I've been taking my cars to Precision Auto Care, but I recently bought a cheap 20 year old used car (hey, it only had 107k miles on it!), so I didn't need any premium pricing costs towards its maintenance. So I went about searching for the best deal around (considering I didn't want to put in too much into a car that are in its last years). After an exhaustive search, you can trust me in saying you won't find better (mix of still high quality, but not premium high quality price cost to go with it) -- you ain't gonna beat his/their rate & quality at $120/hr. Brett is an earnest, eager guy who wants to do all he can to help you out. So I imagine the rest of his team/shop is reflective of that. He's on the younger side compared to other mechanics who run their own shop -- who end up really set in their ways and many have become complacent or too presumptive to be open to anything else or more. I brought in that used car to get a good look over and to confirm what the Pre-Purchase Inspection observed about it. He was able to confirm some things, and clear out some other concerns after taking a closer look at it. Most importantly; he was able to catch the things that he should've, and didn't fabricate more merely to pad on costs -- ultimately making/exampling him as trustworthy. He has since fixed/troubleshooted the car having trouble starting (he diagnosed/figured replacing/upgrading the spark plugs; which did the trick), replaced headlights, and simple oil change. In all, I saw that he properly charged the time appropriately with partial to his per/hour rate -- which, again, speaks to his integrity & trustworthiness (as many sleazy underhanded shops would charge a full hour's work even if it took a fraction of the time). He instilled confidence & faith so much that I brought my brand new 2026 SUV to him (which, I imagine, I would've brought to Precision Auto Care in San Leandro normally to do the high end care) to get the catalytic converter shield installed. His guy did a good job (at the very least I have no complaints, but I'm not so knowledgeable to know much more of a difference). My only qualm about it is I was quoted 2 hours of work, but I did end up having to hang around and wait for 3 hours. But, again to speak to impressive work ethic & integrity, was charged 2 hours. His place processes with impressive paperwork, listing every single aspect looked at and worked on, pricing, cost break down. What makes me a bit nervous is that when I sign for the estimate, it doesn't show cost on it; so if any disputes, any prearranged pricing/cost wouldn't be binding. If he gave less of a trustworthiness vibe, it would be best to insist it be on the estimate. But I get the feeling that I imagine if there was any dispute, Brett would do his absolute best and bend backwards to understand, accommodate, and make it right (even if it would go against established practices). Parking is very challenging. If you can't simply pull in, I suggest calling and talking to him to figure out how he wants it (it's what I've had to do each time). A few times, he would move his VW car from the street parking spot in front of his shop to place my car, others he had used the unused parking lot around the corner (which has since been fenced off; so that's a no-go any longer), and last time he moved a car at the front of the garage to have my SUV enter -- if you aren't confident or new to your car, I HIGHLY urge & suggest you simply have him bring it in; I know for sure I would damage my car (after I initially gave an attempt), while he successfully did it with confidence/experience. And when the car was done, they placed the car in the aforementioned unused parking lot (no-go anymore), or this last time around the corner down a whole block. I drive the 8 miles just to bring it to Brett and Car Care Service; because he offers the best quality service at the best rate around -- being eager to help, decent, high work ethic/trustworthiness, capable, and I know I don't have anything to worry about with him/them.

I took my car in to get the brakes done after being told by the dealership that I was gonna need…read morethem done soon. The employees at car care service said that they would take a look and then call me with a quote. I got a call about 20 minutes after dropping it off saying that I really did not need my brakes done yet. They explained to me when the best time to get them done is, what to look out for, etc. I can't express how much I appreciate the honesty of the employees at car care service. They told me, I'm not gonna sell you something you don't need. When money is tight and expenses are high, that type of honesty can really make someone's day, week, or month! Thank you Car Care Service!!!

H2O Water Company

4.7

(205 reviews)

This is a great water delivery company! Always accommodating and great service. I highly recommend…read morethem.

We found H2O Water Company a little over a year ago and it's been such a refreshing change after a…read morepainful and toxic experience over many years with a corporate water company. We truly thought we had no other choice but then found H2O. We love that they are a local business, their communication is great, and support when we need it has been really great as well. They recognize our unique business schedule as a school and make it easy to make adjustments as needed. Water cooler options were so much better as well and they keep it affordable which we greatly appreciate. Highly recommend!

Compupod

4.5

(343 reviews)

The gentleman who helped me was the best. I was terribly frustrated because my phone went kaflooey…read moreon me. The screen froze, so I couldn't phone, text, email, or do anything else that's important to me. I spent hours trying to unfreeze the phone. He asked what the problem was, and he fixed it in less than a minute. COMPUPOD is now my go to place before I start pulling my hair out. I'll also make it my go to place when it's time to replace my phone. Thank you so much for your fine service. ,

I've been coming here for about a year to service my PS5 and controllers, and up until recently,…read moreI've had positive experiences. The staff is usually helpful, and turnaround times are pretty quick. However, my last experience was really disappointing. I brought in my DualSense controllers to fix analog stick issues and paid $100 to repair three knobs. Just one week later, I had the exact same issue with one of the supposedly repaired sticks. When I brought it back, I was charged an additional $60 to fix what should have already been resolved. What's most frustrating is that I couldn't get a clear explanation as to why I was being charged again for the same issue. If a repair doesn't hold up after a week, that should fall under some kind of workmanship guarantee--not an additional charge. I want to continue supporting this business because I've had good experiences in the past, but this situation felt unfair and left me questioning the quality and accountability of the repairs.

Best Bay Area Cleaners

(101 reviews)

Excellent job and value for my move-out (leaving CA / Bay ) cleaning! They were very accommodating…read moreof my schedule, price was right / fair and both my landlord and a friend remarked on how clean everything was after! These guys are proof that not everything in the Bay is an AI-scam -- some companies still take pride in a job well done and demonstrate that they want your business

Broke 2 pieces of my furniture cleaning and ghosted. I think the customer experience could be…read morebetter.

The Irish Sweep