This is a long review and yet, I won't cover all details. Buying a helmet is much like buying a house. You like the basic details but it takes quite a while to figure out its intricacies. Being a woman, I think it's safe to say buying a helmet is also a lot like buying a bra. Maybe the color, style and initial fit are okay, but after a day's wearing, it starts to chafe or pinch. Back to the house analogy: you know the basics but in using the kitchen every day, you realize the cabinets could have been laid out better or the sink is hard to clean. So bear with me on our helmet adventure story. This is a hard-earned four-star review, hard-earned by both Cycle Gear and us. My husband and I are pretty serious riders. If there is an errand we need to run and it can be done on our bikes, it is. If we aren't running the river there is a pretty good chance it's because we're on our bikes. Throughout the pandemic, we have lived a very isolated existence which is saying a lot since we live on the Trinity River in the mountains of Northern Cailfornia. There are days when we don't see anyone other than perhaps a few fly fishers going by in a drift boat. But with the advent of C-19 and social distancing, we withdrew even further, finding delight in our near-daily rides month after month, my husband on his BMW with our dog in her sidecar and me on my BMer. I'd grown ever more frustrated with the Bilt helmet I'd purchased the year before to replace an older Bilt, both purchased at the Redding Cycle Gear. The first lost most of the sound on the Sena system so it had to be replaced. But I soon discovered the newer Bilt with Sena had ridiculous helmet controls that required frequently riding with my left hand attempting to skip a song or increase the volume. That was dangerous and I was pretty upset with Sena but because I had put a lot of work into decorating the newer helmet, I wasn't willing to return it. I did go back to Cycle Gear to complain about the mic falling out all the time and then the Velcro holding the padding began to fail, but I kept the helmet. Then the pandemic hit, making the problem moot. Meanwhile, my husband had been riding with a half-helmet for summer use and as we went from blazing hot to frigid up in the mountains, he revived his original Bilt helmet and found it wouldn't pair with mine. We debated what to do and finally decided to go to Cycle Gear for advice. We take C-19 seriously. We are around 70-years-old and it is killing a lot of people in our age group. So we cruised their website, saw they promised the store was safe, employees wore masks and social distancing was enforced. But when we walked in we saw this was nonsense; another company promising high standards to protect customers when in fact, no protections were in place. Tim waited on us and donned a mask when we asked him to. He proved to be as chatty as Tucker, the manager, is not. More to the point, Tim would do anything to please while Tucker appeared to share no such intention. When asked to put a mask on, he covered his mouth but not nose. How hard is it to wear a damned mask properly? My husband ended up buying the newer Bilt helmet as I had because we'd learned his older Bilt's Sena doesn't pair with the newer Sena (we'd been told it did). We left, hoping we'd be happy. We weren't. Having seriously assessed my helmet, I realized it promised a lot but failed to deliver. I'd looked into buying a ridiculously over-priced handlebar remote for my helmet but Tim promised a discount on it and then Tucker flatly refused. My husband found he had the same complaints with the Sena as well as the fit of the Bilt that I had. The last thing we wanted to do was put our heads into helmets in a store that didn't appear to be taking C-19 seriously but we ride too much to suffer. So I contacted customer service online and laid out the facts with Helberto who would shepherd us through a several-week journey navigating Tucker, returns, special orders and more. He and Tim were the ones who saved the day and we ended up with far better helmets after trying on a multitude of them. (We brought our own sanitizer although Helberto described how helmets are supposed to be cleaned after customers try them on.) Tucker did spark when asked about Cardo since he really likes it but he is clueless when it comes to customer service. Tim remained friendly and helpful throughout. Seek him out if you're in there and maybe remind him he doesn't have to say "personally" prefacing his viewpoints. Helberto took back both helmets (even though mine was technically past the one-year date thanks to the pandemic) and we appreciated his efforts. In the end, we chose serious upgrades in helmets and comms. Cardo Pack Talk Black is not perfect but it is lightyears ahead of Sena and we LOVE the hands-free speech-activated controls. I'll post reviews on them after we have a few more months' experience with them. read more

Cycle Gear - Up next: Helmets & Comms - Auto Parts & Supplies Near Me - Redding, California

See all

This place has the best service! I always thought I wore a medium helmet but turns out I'm a small. My husband and I went in to get new helmets for riding our quads and Danny was right there as soon as we started looking. Helped us find exactly what we were looking for and got me into the correct fitting helmet. Super nice guy and went out of his way to get us geared up and a great deal. I REALLY recommend this shop if your looking for gear of any kind. Thanks again Danny! Ill add pics of my awesome new helmets soon! read more

Thank you to Robert for providing excellent customer service knowledge in your products and a willingness to go above and beyond to help the customer. Hands-down, not only the best motorcycle gear shopping experience I've had but the best overall shopping experience I have had in Redding California. Robert took his time, shared his knowledge and worked with me until my buying experience was perfect. Thank you again, Robert and Cycle Gear Redding read more

Cycle Gear - New helmet - Auto Parts & Supplies Near Me - Redding, California

I went in to a buy two helmets on Sunday afternoon 2/8. I showed the employee pictures from the cycle gear Chico website showing helmets that said they are in stock and I'd like to try those first. He said they didn't have them without even looking for them for a second. On the way out, I found them by the door. I try to support local businesses but if local businesses don't care about my business then I move on. read more

I bought a fox jersey.... Hit it off with the big red headed guy... didn't notice at the time the jersey had little tears and loose threading. In other words it's already falling apart. I go in an hour later looking for my "guy" and was told that it's clear I ripped the shirt using a chest protector and they just can't return it. I am a straight forward, honest person that hasn't stolen a thing in my life. I simply bought the jersey put it in the back seat of my truck, tried it on and tried to return it without any luck. 604-7170 if cycle gear cares or you guys have any interests in making this right. read more

If you want your wheels and rotors damaged with no recourse or response from management with a care less attitude, bring your wheels here. They honestly couldn't care less. Sent damaged goods out knowingly. read more

I had a flat while touring from San Diego to PDX. All other shops were closed Sundays, so I called. Cycle Gear is not equipped to remove wheels themselves (ie. customer must remove wheel from bike and bring wheel only to the shop). Since I didn't have proper tools, that wasn't going to work for me. Nevertheless, Jack & Tristan were very helpful to recommend another shop who could remove tires & make repairs. Helmets off to the Cycle Gear staff for helping me out even tho it wasn't a sale for them! Much Aloha guys! read more

Want to ride a motorcycle? Come here... Actually ride motorcycles? Don't come here! Basically the kind of place to go to pick up a t shirt or something else to make you appear you ride. If you desperately need something past 530 pm or on a weekend when real shops are closed, this will be your only option read more

I've been coming to Cycle Gear as long as I can remember. Always had top notch service and gear. The manager (Oscar) and his crew have gone above and beyond to help answer any questions I may have. Making sure my family and I get the best gear suited to our needs. If you can't find what you need, just ask they can order it for you. I've done this several times with no issues! 5 Stars Tony K- read more

Just like Pacheco Cycle Gear.... Great service from friendly staff, but no 'hardsell', and they were helpful finding/fitting stuff. They will track down and order gear from other stores for you and will honor prices from cyclegear.com (often not done at stores). 2013 Edit-- Had to lower rating because of bad service--well lack of knowledge, then refusing to fix the problem. They sold me a 'universal' fit lever... I should've known there is no such thing... well of course it doesn't fit, and their answers is 'buy the perch'. read more

I made my first visit to Cycle Gear a couple of days ago, and I was impressed enough to come back after my son got out of school. I bought a dirt bike helmet and other riding gear there for my boy's new adventure, and I was really pleased with the advice and service we got from a young man named Charlie. A word of advice to Cycle Gear management: hold on to Charlie. read more

I was passing town on a 2500 mile trip with a friend and had a problem with my headset. Oscar went far above and beyond to help resolve my issue and get me back on the road. I am one very happy customer and am a cycle gear fan for life!!! Thanks again Oscar!! read more

Crap Crap Crap. At least try to hire people who know a little about what they are trying to sell. Can totally tell they Work on commission. Manager know little to nothing about riding. read more

I've visit Cycle Gear on occasion and have always found them helpful. I like to look for any new widgets that are on the market but typically ask where to find something specific. The staff here are quick to lead the way to the requested item and even handing you the one that is on sale / best price. In most cases the product is best quality too. I think Cycle Gear gets it with customer service. read more

I asked a friend to loan me a helmet to use while a relative was in town. He didn't have the right size and sent me to your store. I got exactly what I was looking for for a lot less money than I thought I was going to spend. We wandered around the store and ended up spending a hundred more than that but got out of there with a sack full of stuff. Great prices on leathers, gloves and accessories. I agree that Charlie made it a better experience with his great attitude. He will be selling me tires very soon. read more