Today I received a master class in the opposite of a Fresh Air Experience. I visited the Wellington store this morning and asked the manager in charge whether FAE carried a Canadian Branded bicycle that I was interested in purchasing. The guy went off at me as if I had insulted his mother and began to berate me about wrapping myself in the flag. Setting aside for a moment the shear boorish, un-Canadian rudeness of this remark, it was clear to me that the people at Fresh Air Experience find something deeply offensive about Canadians wishing to purchase products that maximize Canadian materials and labour. The tone-deafness and offensiveness of this remark by someone in retail and the way it was delivered was simply stunning. I left the store without comment. I certainly will not be spending my $4-$5K budget at this store and will be sure to communicate my Fresh Air Experience to my business associates and social circle. read more

I deal with a fellow named Duncan. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of bikes and cycling, and strives to procure what I need, usually successfully. (I felt bad for him and for the store when I asked to buy a Specialized Roubaix S-Works, and Specialized told him they'd basically decided not to sell any Roubaix models in Canada this year). Anyway, Duncan knows his stuff. He is also a pretty expert mechanic, and has taken excellent care of my Merlin Road and my Independent Fabrication Crown Jewel. I have recommended friends to Duncan, and they have been just as happy. read more

Great Service! Brought in my eBike with a serious electrical issue and John (their mechanic) diagnosed the problem, ordered the part and installed a replacement and updated the motor software really quickly and got me back on my bike really quickly. Thanks! read more

While on the continuing hunt for a wetsuit for Noah K, we stopped in here after learning they sponsor the Ottawa Triathlon Club. We weren't sure what kind of selection they had, so popped in on a weekend morning. The store itself is quite fun! Dozens and dozens of bikes hang from the ceilings, and they had some really cool ones on display outside that were moderate priced. The staff greeted us right away, even though it was fairly busy and made some jokes about fitting into wetsuits in the hot weather. Unfortunately, this time of year they don't care a huge selection, so we couldn't find anything that fit Noah. That being said, we got a TON of great advice from the sales guy there about what we should be looking for and some other places to check out. He told us about the make of the suits, and why a triathlon suit might be a better choice. I was poking around the store while Noah was looking at the wetsuits and was really impressed with their selection. They have a ton of professional bike shoes at decent prices, and oh so many bikes it will make your head spin! They build custom bikes here and do repairs as well. They carry every bike accessory you could think of, and are well known for stocking Nordic Ski merchandise. They sell a ton of other stuff, so if you're on the hunt for outdoor sporting gear, I would definitely come here. I loved the feeling of this place, and had we been able to find a suit, I would have given them a 5/4. That being said, if I decide to enter the wonderful world of cycling, I'm coming back and will tell you all about it! read more

See all

The old lady that works the floor is consistently rude and has little knowledge of ski gear. On our last visit she was condescending and racist toward another customer. She continued making racist comments and jokes after the customer left well within earshot of other customers. As i said, this was and will be our last visit. There are other stores nearby with better selection and staff. We will not support this business again. read more

My wife and I stopped by looking for a bike.After waiting outside for 20 minutes, as it was quite hot out this day, the young male staff person who didn't seem to concerned about service, as he was dealing with 1 other customer in the store(wow). Anyway he finally got around to serving us and asked what we were looking for.I should say a young girl came out from the back and quickly let another customer in who had been waiting a couple of minutes.The male worker asked what I was looking for and price range. I told him a road bike around 1k to 1500. He then proceed to show me a bike he could order for 2500 ? I quickly thanked him and left since he did not seem too interested in showing me anything else. I found this disappointing since this store came highly recommened by another person who owns a business on the same street. After this "experience" I will take my business elsewhere. read more

Recently bought my bike here. Knowledgeable staff. Went looking for a rode bike in the $1000 price range and that's what I came out with! I asked a bunch of questions and they answered them all. It was super busy the day I went in but I still had one on one service for over an hour. They let me test ride 4 bikes (some more than once) all I had to do was leave a credit card and piece of I.D.at the cash. I got 2 years of maintenance with my purchase (sweet cause I'm bad at it), 15% off accessories at the time of purchase and 10% off of accessories for the remainder of the year! He even knocked off a few extra dollars (military discount) even though it was already on sale. So far I love my bike! :) read more

The senior staff member I spoke to was great, friendly and knowledgeable. This place has a bit more of a family feel to it then some of the other bike/sport shops on the Wellington strip. I'll def. be back! read more

Service has gone way downhill. Multiple mistakes were made as part of my recent purchase. Manager was defensive and not terribly helpful when I explained this as well as the problems with the bike. Much better experience at other bike shops, including Giant. read more

Good recreational bike shop in west wellington. They are very serious about cross country skiing here, they seem to have everything. They even do free waxing workshops on Saturdays so you can learn how to wax your own skis (and buy all the stuff you need to do it with). There seems to be a big mixture of sales people, some are very knowledgeable, some have specialties in one area only, but since it is a small shop you can never tell which one you are going to get. This place is a ZOO on weekends in spring & early winter when people are brining in their bikes / skis to get tuned. Stay away!! Or at least watch out for skis because people do not know how to carry them and they could easily take you out!! In the summer their focus is more on biking but they will do work on bikes in the winter as well. I usually go here to get flats fixed in the winter because I'm too lazy to change a flat outside the cold. I have had problems where I've gotten several flats in a row and they were very good about fixing it and looking more carefully each time (they did find anything any of the 3 times) and obviously didn't charge for the second & third change. read more

I went to buy a bike for my daughter and the staff was very knowledgeable and helpful. Duncan helped us and gave very honest opinions when asked. He wasn't trying to "Sell! Sell! Sell!" He actually cared to tell us the truth about what would be good for us rather than trying to sell us something expensive! Awesome job Fresh Air! read more

I've dealt with the people at Fresh Air Experience for more than ten years and their customer service is continually excellent. They are quite knowledgeable about cycle products and make sound recommendations to address your individual needs; a rare level of service in this day in age. Well done! read more

My husband went in to ask whether they could fix his bike which was making a clicking sound. They said they would look into it and see what the problem was. They ended up spending 10 minutes repairing it for free. Great service and friendly staff!! read more

A disappointing experience today. My wife and I went to continue our search for new bikes, knowing that there will be significant delays in getting one. While in line outside the store, a sales associate asked our intent and when told we wanted to speak about bikes, we were told they had none and they were only accepting ski customers in the store. I could reach out by email about bikes. Now, I did not expect to take delivery of a bike today but really needed to speak with knowledgeable people about what features we want and need. Email is not conducive to engaging in the involved discussion we needed to get the clarity and information we needed to get the best bikes for us. I was honestly shocked by the disinterest but I will not beg a business to take my money. We left and went to Bushtukah, where we were welcomed and treated as though we were longtime and valued customers. We happily bought our two bikes there. read more

Like the Bushtukah bike repair shop but - dare I say it - better. Although I do love the Bushtukah bike people, the people at Fresh Air are amazing. They really do love their bikes. It is more than a job for them. I went in a few times with problems and they helped me out big time. I am talking getting out tools and machines I did not know existed so that I knew what I needed down to the mm!!! Cannot say anything critical of them after the help and service they gave to me (even let me park in their parking lot and took me to the bike repair heaven in the pits of the building). 11 out of 10 :-D read more

Zero stars for Fresh Air. Brought in my high end older bike, which I bought from them, for repair. Basically told me it was not worth repairing, parts were not made any more, and I should sell to a teenager. And tried to sell me a new bike. Salesperson was very unprofessional, condescending and dismissive. Brought bike elsewhere where it was cheerfully fixed, requiring no new parts, only lube. Beware of this store, as they pretend to be highly knowledgeable, but in fact are very unprofessional. Will never shop here again. read more

This place was great when we wanted to get skates for the canal. they helped us get the blades we wanted and boots to match. they sold me the boots and bindings after the season one year and then got me the blades to work with the books i got on sale. it was a great experience and we will return. read more

I purchased a pair of Fischer Bcx99 full metal edge backcountry skis and bindings on the advice that they would be more durable than the Fischer summit crowns I was using. The skis delaminated at the tail in about five uses. I bought them January 2013. Had a baby on march 3rd so I waited till the summer of 2013 to bring them in. I was surprised to find the manager tell me this was common and they could epoxy it back for a charge. I own 3 pairs of skis, 3 high end bikes and have a new baby who will need lots of gear. I would like to shop local but with this kind of service I will go with an online purchase. read more