Amazing team! Really helpful, and an good selection of bikes to rent and buy. While traveling, I went in to find a used bike to buy, and I found the cycle I have been dreaming about for years. They helped me tune and fit the bike and helped me get all the bags and accessories I needed for the tour I had planned. 100% will be back when I'm back in Paris. And the team all speak excellent English, especially Alexis, who is also really cool. That said, a bit pricey, but c'est le Paris... read more

Allo Vélo - Alexis et moi - Bike Repair/Maintenance Near Me - Paris, 75

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In spring 2016, we stayed 9 blocks from the shop and wanted road bikes for staying in shape before a big "sportif." We couldn't believe we'd found a nearby shop carrying road bikes at a decent price (45E the first day and 20E after). (A specialty road-bike-rental competitor was way on the south edge of town & 60E/30E.) AlloVelo isn't really a road-bike store (all-purpose neighborhood bike store), so the selection isn't huge, but it got us through (1-2 each 49cm, 52cm, 55cm, etc.). Sadly, they didn't carry any extra stems, so there was no swap available to adjust the fit. The owner was very generous about what hours counted as a "day" (take it the night before, return it the morning after) and very flexible about duration ("keep it longer and pay me the rest when you return it"). That said...the bikes were not well-maintained. God bless the owner for keeping a bike shop in the neighborhood, but I think he has emotionally "checked out" of his business. Many aspects of the business had a low-cost, low-effort vibe. The tires on both bikes were dangerously bald and pockmarked. The tubes (conventional pump-up) had, for some reason, been glued into the tires. (To get more life instead of throwing the tube away?) We had our first explosive flat within the first 2 miles. (Pinch flat.) The glue didn't exactly make changing the tube easy. Then there were the slow leaks. More like medium leaks - "get to the Bois de Boulogne, pump up, ride, pump up, limp back into town, pump up..." But you never know when lack of maintenance on tires and tubes can develop from a nuisance into a danger, which is why they should be kept better-maintained. And the dirt on the chains ... wow. Chains should be kept silver, not black like ours. It takes a lot of work, but that's part of why rental bikes cost a lot of money. We took our bikes in mid-rental for a cleaning and were told they weren't dirty. Someone gave them a quick dash of lube and one or two rubs and insisted they were clean. So we bought oil-based lube from them and said we'd do it ourselves. We got the chains silver again but turned two hotel washcloths completely black (sorry!). You know the size dirt-clump that comes out of the treads of your shoe after you've gone hiking and let the mud dry? That's the size of black grease-debris clump falling out of the chains as we rubbed them down with a rag. As a testament to the bikes and what maintenance the shop does do, they shifted tolerably before and reasonably well after the cleaning. The brakes worked. We got through! And you probably could, too, if you don't mind doing the maintenance the shop didn't. But if this sounds like a bit much for you, sadly, as of early 2016, AlloVelo is probably not the road-bike rental store for you. (Also, funny story...as we bought the oil, we asked if they could sell us water bottles. They brought us two for free. Neat! And...asked us to return them with the bikes. At which point we realized they were "rental water bottles" and, given the state of the chain cleaning ... eww. We thanked them, took the bottles with us ... and bought some grocery-store bottled water to carry in our back pockets. All around, we got the impression that AlloVelo's idea of good customer service meant "low cost to the customer." They're nice folks ... they're just not for people who are finicky about their bike rentals.) Note: 3 reviews about the shop itself (all 1-star & in French) are marked hidden. I suspect the owner may have flagged them as "inappropriate." I read French fluently, and they're not vindictive reviews - just dissatisfied. Similarly, I'm giving honest feedback because I genuinely want the neighborhood to have a shop people can be happy with. I would have given this review 2 stars (at road speeds, particularly while group-riding, bike chains and tires are a matter of safety), but am hoping that 3 stars will give my feedback a better chance of survival. To the owner: I bear you no ill will and hope that this review will stay up and be the beginning of some changes to make customers happier. Good luck in your endeavors. read more

Allo Vélo - The storefront - Bike Repair/Maintenance Near Me - Paris, 75

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Amazing customer service. They're willing to work with you and get what you need. I did four cycling races in Paris and they help me. the owner went out of his way to helpmeet. Very appreciative for their help and support. read more

Allo Vélo - Bike Repair/Maintenance Near Me - Paris, 75

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Good bikes. I rented a road bike and did a 50 mile afternoon ride. They speak English and also have a great selection of brooks of England saddles for a good price. I'll be using them next time I need a bike rental in Paris. read more

This review is about a Bruce McAleer our cycle (through the countryside of France) guide, who works in conjunction with AlloVelo - who supplied us with the Puegot's we rode. Here's Bruce's website: www.frenchmystiquetours.com Bruce McAleer is from Boston, but says he was born in the wrong country, for it is France he is in love with, and all it's grandeur, amazing cycling routes and perhaps the fresh food and baguettes. I chose the Picardy (Picardie) Tour (train tickets were bought by Bruce in advance) and he met us at the bike shop at 9am on the spot, fitted us with nice Puegot road bikes & helmets and off we went to the train station. He helped us lift our bikes and hang them in the train and gave us some history on the ride out. It took about 30 mins...we unloaded and took off riding...the first town we hit he bought fresh food for our lunch. The country roads were pretty smooth and amazing, almost no cars and lots of old old I mean old churches, Chateau's and Abbeys, not to mention quaint towns with stone buildings creating narrow cobblestone streets. It was right out of a movie, if one were ever made about cycling through the oldest parts of France. We stopped and had a picnic by an ancient Roman amphitheater. Seriously. With a French field of barely and an old farm house in the distance. We rode for 35 miles all in all, and ended in a very old fortress town called Crepy en Vois. There was a hotel where Joan of Arc spent her last night and a super ancient church we went into to. We killed a half hour waiting for the train at a pub and we were the first American's these townspeople had actually met. We swapped names and they bought our beers. It was hilarious. Bruce was full of historical knowledge, quite a good cyclist, and made the road trip one for the history books. My history book that is. Viola! Au revoir! read more

The only reviews I've ever written have been for businesses I love, but this shop unfortunately merits a huge THUMBS DOWN. I have never encountered such a hateful, dishonest, aggressive salesperson in my whole life. I was sold a used bike with a missing part and waited literally 4 months for the owner to do as he had promised and replace the part. Not only did I never get the part nor the €50 he begrudgingly promised me as compensation but I was also verbally ATTACKED on multiple occasions and told it was all my fault. AVOID this truly unhappy person at all costs. ps I have nothing but good things to say about the bike itself and the other staff there. read more

Like previous reviewer, Cindy H., I encountered this bike shop through booking a tour with Bruce McAleer (French Mystique Bike tours), and we had such fun that we returned to this bike shop to rent bikes for our own cycle tour through Paris. The bikes in this shop are decent, all the staff speak excellent English and it was easy to deal with. Rates are about what I expected, 45 Euros for a full day rental on their nicest touring bikes, 25 Euros for cheaper bikes. I wish I had also rented a repair kit since I had a flat tire, but luckily found a bike shop Cyclable on 68 rue de Versailles which helped me. The experience renting from this shop was good, the only reason I didn't give them 5 stars is that the shop opens at 10am but they were not ready to rent the bikes until 10:40am. Not that this sort of thing is unusual in France, where the pace of life is more laid back. Overall, I would definitely return and rent again from this shop! read more

I needed a box to ship my bike home from Paris. The guy that helped me was super friendly and got me on my way with the perfect box.