I had been buying bike accessories from Blue Heron, plus experienced their ability to get me a new…read moretire installed on the spot. This happened 13 years ago. I finally decided to try them for servicing my Ebike, a Riese & Muller Roadster. Their shop is much more conveniently located than my regular shop and I can ride there, rather than loading the bike on a rack and driving there. What I'd been missing with my old shop was knowing who people were and getting in-person feedback on whatever needed to be fixed. They had expanded and the service, while still good, was getting very distant, in terms of knowing who actually worked on my bike. Blue Heron reminds me of what my old shop was like. The shop is small, crowded with new bikes and bikes being serviced. The people I dealt with were friendly and went over what they'd do on a basic tune-up. They replaced what I figured they'd replace, chain, brake pads, adjusted the derailleur, etc. What I didn't expect were all the little things. They found some missing screws, replaced those. They also adjusted the fenders for alignment and got rid of the stray rattles that the bike has had since I purchased it. They trued up the rear wheel too, which is pretty standard, but it made a difference. I also noticed they cured the problem with the derailleur moving the chain down from the biggest gear in the cassette when I would back the bike out of the garage. It now stays put. The bike has never felt this solid before. It now rides the way I had hoped it would from the beginning. I'll have to stop by later this week to thank Jordan and his mechanics for a job well-done. A good review is one thing, but I believe that the personal service I received deserves a personal reply. Five stars!

My lunch got dropped when I fell off because the seat was higher than when I dropped it off …read more I went to get on and fell face forward I went in to tell them , got blown off and requested to see the manage. He simply debated about my seat being fine , said sorry I don't know what to tell you attitude . Going to the Doctor , getting it documented if it's more serious than i think . I can barely walk and still have to walk home .I could have died for their carelessness

Would definitely recommend heading here if you are in the market for an affordable, used bike!…read more I had been shopping around for used bikes the past month or so, scouring Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist trying to find a good deal. I wasn't looking for anything fancy, just something that would make me less reliant on my car and get me from point A to point B. I ended up finding a ton of Craigslist ads for affordable bikes all from the same place, Bay Area Bike Rescue. Once I realized they had a physical shop where I could browse their selection and test ride I headed right over. This is a very small shop, but packed full of used bikes. They had an extensive selection of children's bikes (if that's what you're looking for) and a good choice of adult sized bikes -- everything from road bikes to beach cruisers to mountain bikes. The workers at the shop were very friendly and let me test ride several bikes before I found the one that was right for me. The seat was very uncomfortable and they let me swap it out right there for another seat they had lying around!

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

Just took delivery of "Desert Terror"!…read more It was a plain Jane adult trike when I brought it in. Now it is ART! Josh has an eye for what works and I gave him free hand to do whatever he wanted. The result (see Empirical Cycles on FB for pics of the trike) was beyond anything I could have imagined. Also it was delivered on time and budget!!!

If you've ever truly Loved a bicycle, you'd understand how it feels to trust someone you don't know…read moreto "fix" it. Not to put down the local guys, but when your precious bike is in his hands, Josh always makes it BETTER than before! Those unnoticed areas are given full attention, every moving part on the bike will operate as a living organism...I just can't describe the skill of Josh Boisclair, a hardcore mechanical perfectionist genius. Especially internal hubs and older vintage bikes like my old British Raleigh 3 speed. He's 100% honest and will usually give you more than you bargained. I won't bring my bikes anywhere else.

Easiest 5/5 ever. Built my absolute dream bicycle, starting with a fit. Super approachable, patient…read morewith my endless number of "what if?" questions, and an amazing end result. Can't recommend more highly.

The $250 bike fit was not worth it. Here are my critiques:…read more A. The diagram of results I received was confusing and incorrect. First, the labeling of saddle height was incorrect. It showed a purely Y coordinate on the diagram. Second, (this is a less obvious but still important issue) the measurement from tip of saddle to shifter trough is error-prone. By this I mean: maybe I do it one way, maybe you do it another. I looked around my hoods and there was nothing obvious to pinpoint, given the curvature of the area. A photo and specific written instruction might help. I couldn't find any online usage of the term to clarify. Here's my suggestion: to optimize for customer experience, it would be much better to use the same shift levers as the customer (Ultegra levers are super common) and give a clearer label, such as: "distance from saddle tip to closest part of the shifter hood" B. I was disappointed that the results were not printed out right away as I walked out of the shop. Worse, there was a 3 day delay before I received the write-up. C. I expected a more thorough fit. For example: - Andres didn't measure my feet or look at my cleats until I asked. - He didn't measure leg length. - He didn't measure my arms or shoulders. D. I think some aspects of the fit were dubious. For example, Andres told me that a higher speed/cadence in a particular position is a valid way to claim that one position is better than another. Here's how I understand it: when using a bike ergometer set to a particular wattage, power is power. A higher or lower cadence (say 75 versus 80) is not a valid way to say one position is better than another. (To put it another way, rotational power equals torque times revolutions per minute. When using a constant-power setting on an ergometer, if I'm spinning 5% faster, I'm also applying 5% less torque.) Overall, this has not been a satisfying experience given the $250 price and delays. While I generally appreciate Andres' expertise, time, and effort, this was not a $250 bike fit. It was worth about half of that, at most. I shared this feedback with Andres in August 2019, but he has not yet responded. So I'm posting here in the hopes that other potential customers can either (a) get a better fit elsewhere or (b) Andres can improve the value of his bike fit.

Great rental experience! I recently rented 3 bouldering pads for a week, and the rates were a…read morefantastic value; much less expensive than other rental options I looked at. When we realized all 3 pads wouldn't fit in our car alongside our luggage, we went back in and the employee working was super helpful, easily swapping one out for a smaller size with zero hassle. Both picking up and dropping off the gear was completely seamless. Highly recommend their rental department; I'll definitely be renting and buying from them again!

A one star rating is harsh ... but as my neck hurts, I feel it's justified…read more I rented a wetsuit for today's Sunday Alcatraz Open. The neck chafing: however, the wetsuit I got scratched the right side of my neck, and it hurts. The irony is after the swim, I realized that a wetsuit isn't really needed: warm water at 64 degrees with great weather - but I won't know in advance. I hope they either fix it or retire it. Otherwise,I'd give it a five star. Housed in an old rink. Very pleasant with excellent service.

Bernie and Mel are awesome, knowledgeable, and fairly priced. When I was getting my bike serviced,…read morethe shop noticed a crack near my back right dropout. The shop recommended Bernie and I got my bike fixed quickly. A year later I'm getting my bike serviced again and the shop again notices a crack in my frame at the same spot. I contacted Bernie and Mel again and they were confused about why this could happen. I brought my bike to them the same day and within 24 hours the root problem had been diagnosed and fixed! Turns out my frame had a defect of an inner tube being too short, which is why it cracked in the same place twice. Bernie was able to fill the hollow space where the tube was too short and repair my frame. It should never crack again (at least in that spot). Mel took time to explain to me what they found, how they fixed it, and I was able to get my bike back in a short period of time. Would definitely recommend this place if you are need of expert knowledge and skill with your bike frame.

Bernie, Mel, and I fixed my bent fork in Bernie's shop. He was the brains of the operation, Mel was…read morethe COO, and I was the day laborer. I had a wonderful time, learned something new, and I left with a perfectly straightened fork. Want quality work, excellent service and a fun time? Get your steel frame fixed at Bernie and Mel's, may God keep them both in good health.

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!

Brain is my go to contact here. He's professional,…read morecommunicates well, and is very inviting. I've always enjoyed my interactions with him. There's reasonable parking the surrounding neighborhood and I had DIY situation go poorly and Cycle City handled it like a pro. They are my go to local bike shop in Alameda. #win

I'm so glad I took my bike to this shop for service. It was a great experience…read more I have a vintage English 3-speed, which seems like a much simpler bike than the modern versions, unless you need a part & then enjoy your wild goose chase. I hadn't ridden the bike for several years, because it needed some attention & I have not had the best experience with getting service for this bike. But this month my desire to ride was greater than my aversion to inattentive, poor service & I did some searching and found this shop in my backyard. Wow, did I have a different & very positive experience. At their request, I took the bike in before my appointment to assess what was needed. I felt they were generous with their time in assessing the bike. I raised a concern & they really addressed it & devised 3 possible plans of action, based upon what happened when they started the work. The work came in under budget & I spent the difference (plus some) buying a lock that should make my beloved bicycle much less attractive to thieves. The gentlemen were good to my bike, good to me, seemed to enjoy each other's company & the work they do. This is a mighty fine shop & it's where I'll be doing business.