Trust the negative reviews, folks. I'm a long-time rider and racer with shop experience, so I thought I could handle practically anything that came my way... Nothing prepared me for what happened to me at Ciji. My advice: Walk your non-working bike to another shop.
On Sunday, 7/1/12, I went to CIGI for what I thought was a routine derailleur adjustment. The shop manager (who reminded me of a less freaky-looking Ted Nugent and talked disparagingly about "latins"--this in a nabe with a high concentration of residents of South American or Latin America extraction.) told me that my rear dropout was out of alignment. I expressed surprise, since I had never crashed my bike, nor had I dropped it nor have I even left it unattended (it's a Bike Friday folder). A few moment later, "Ted," tells me that the shifter cable is frayed, and that it'll have to be replaced--but that the dropout is fine. Then, a few more moments later, he says, "we've got problems--the flange end of the cable broke off and fell into the shifting mechanism; I'll have to pick up the bike tomorrow." I agreed, and asked for an estimate; he said "$40; maybe more, maybe less"; I left my phone number and asked to have someone call me if the bike isn't going to be ready the next day, or if the cost exceeded $40.
Next day, I show up and "Ted" then informs me that the shifter is destroyed, and that I can either take the bike as-is, or buy a new shifter (Shimano Tiagra 9sp--retail cost: $200). I told him that I came in for an adjustment; that he TWICE had misdiagnosed the problem; and that the additional damage happened in the shop. Furthermore, I reminded him that I left explicit instructions for the shop to notify me if there were changes to the repair cost or delivery date, which he had failed to do. In short, I did just about everything that could be expected of a customer.
Ted (who heretofore seemed like a nice guy, despite his old-school ways) got defensive and a bit aggressive; then he started talking some kind of bike-store lawyer-- arguing that the bike was damaged when I brought it into the shop, etc (duh--it was damaged, which is WHY I brought to the shop...). It turned out that the shifter COULD be repaired, but that Ted determined that it would take too much time. He instead decided that it was more worth his while to have me to purchase a new shifter, and that I could either have them install it, or I could take it with me. His final word in this discussion was, "sometimes things happen." I said, "yes, I agree, but this "thing" happened here, so you're going to repair my bicycle."
The discussion went nowhere until my friend, who's fluent in Spanish, spoke directly to the mechanic. The mechanic was far more reasonable, and confirmed that the damage occurred in the shop, and that I should speak to the owner, because the manager ("Ted") was sometimes difficult to deal with. (The owner would not be available to speak with me till the following Monday.) Fast forward to the following Monday: My friend spoke to the owner (in Spanish) and ironed things out. My bike was repaired, for the $40 I was initially quoted; I was able to pick it up on Friday, the 13th--nearly two weeks later. (Annoyingly, it still does not shift properly...)
Had I not been knowledgable about bicycles and been VERY persistent, the shop manager would have cheated me out of at least $200 parts and several hours' labor. Because of this, I have to warn anybody who's reading this Yelp profile to stay away from Cigi Jackson Heights. Every day the owners keep Ted behind the counter, is another day that their reputation and business are suffering. Like I said, Trust the negative reviews, folks; do not trust Cigi Bicycle Shop in Jackson Heights. read more