My older (decade-plus) bike needed work. The twist shifter clicked angrily, and when it displayed…read morefirst gear, it was actually in third gear, and I couldn't reach the highest gears at all, as well as having a very loose back brake. The shop I'd been going to for years had closed up, so I had to head to Bay Ridge Bicycles, which was 20 blocks further away. Tiny storefront place, with bikes for rent chained up outside and a guy sitting on a tall, upturned white bucket, wielding a compresses air hose for anyone who asked. I wasn't sure how to go about talking to someone as the shop was PACKED with bikes. On the floor. Hanging from racks on the walls. Hanging from the ceiling overhead. A bit over a yard to pass between the bike wheels and the counter. One has to flatten out to let a bike pass.
After a couple of moments, a man stepped out to ask what I needed. I explained, and he took the bike in, gave me a card and pickup tag, told me to come back the same time the next day. And if it gets done early, they will call. The next morning, I got a call. It's ready to go.
At the shop, the bike looked almost new. Breaks felt tight. I happily paid for the work.
Then came the test ride and finding out just how much of a neighborhood place this truly is. I took off, happy. But the gear shifter was still off. I could get to all the gears now. But "1" was still third gear. Blank spaces for first and second gear. I figured, yes, it's cosmetic, but... Let's have them take a look at it. They had said to come back if anything was wrong.
"Fifteen minutes," I was told. I saw all sorts of folks getting tires filled, kids with a parent, adults decked out in fancy gear, a gent who was buying a bike to go off-road and ride to work in the city. And then the greeter came out--the mechanic needed to show me something. The gear shifter was broken. Period. It would click and show the wrong numbers because something inside had snapped. I could get a new one, 10% off, as part of my tune-up.
"Fifteen minutes." That stretched longer. And longer until I went in.
They had tried every twist shifter they had in stock, and none worked properly, so he upgraded me to a much nicer thumb shifter setup at the same cost. Cool, I had wondered about that. Presto.
After that, I took it out, playing around with the new shifter. Beautiful. Except it wouldn't engage first gear. I'm thinking easy adjustment, and circled the block and came back.
"No problem," I hear.
But this time, the greeter didn't take the bike in. The mechanic came out and rode it first to one end of the block. Then the next, where he dismounted and started working on the derailer. Frowning, he came back and took the bike back into the shop. All this while a steady stream of what seemed like regulars came to fill their tires and stop into the shop to chat and swap stories.
My bike came back not long after, and it shifted perfectly. No annoyance or hint of upset at my repeated returns. Only dedication until my bike worked. This is truly a neighborhood gem, where people honestly give a damn, and everyone who goes in leaves satisfied. Least I did. Cudos.
