Nutshell version -- EBIKES ARE GAME CHANGERS. SO FUN!
Buying my ebike from Midwest Cyclery has been the best sales/service experience I've had for a very long time. Sometimes you don't know how solid a business is until you see how they handle problems.
My bike, scheduled to be delivered in July, FINALLY made it to their shop on August 20th. The port delays and delays within the transportation chain are just part of life these days. Everyone has experienced them. But I was not left hanging without communication. Christina (small business owner, on duty 24/7) kept me informed. Around the 1st of August, when the bike was officially "late" Christina was on her suppliers & transportation chain like ugly on ape. She did a great job of keeping me informed. She knew I was anxious I was to get my Gazelle and apologized several time for the delay even though it was not her fault and completely outside of her control.
It finally arrived. When I got to the shop, it was just assembled and finishing charging. She fitted my bike to me and went through all the tips about "how" to position myself when I ride, what to pay attention to, etc. I learned stuff from her it would've taken me YEARS to learn on my own. As I said in my first review, she grew up in this shop and is incredibly knowledgeable.
We rode our bikes that night- awesome. The next morning, the unthinkable happened.... when we were at home attaching the Aussie's trailer to my PC's bike, something broke. ON OUR VERY FIRST MORNING to go riding. With a less than steller bike shop, this could have made for a very disappointing problem. I messaged Christiana & called the shop - Bob said to bring in it. Both assured us they could fix it. On a Saturday morning, both Christiana, Bob & one of their awesome employees put the bike on a lift and kept trying different parts to work with our trailer bracket until they got a fit. Getting his XL bike on the Thule bike rack presented challenges with a water bottle holder he'd just put on too. Bob was right there and helped us figure it out. We were in and out of the shop READY TO RIDE that morning.
Here's there thing.... I looked at almost every bike shop in the KC/Overland Park area. I spent A LOT of time shopping, test riding, researching & asking questions about ebikes. These ebikes are very popular and there are A LOT of novice sales people out there giving out wrong information. I'm not dropping this kind of money without due diligence. Midwest Cyclery is a first rate shop. They know a lot of their customer's by name. I heard potential customers say another customer referred them. Because I'm a former small business owner, I try to always include other locally owned small businesses when I'm looking to buy something important. I feel I got lucky when I found Midwest Cyclery. I know I could have spent less or shopped closer to where I live. But they wouldn't have had the same quality of ebike as my Gazelle or been able to give me the expert help I needed. I wanted an ebike I could and would enjoy for several years. I NEEDED a place to answer all my questions as a complete novice without making me feel stupid or embarrassed and fix something when I mess up. Someplace that encourages customers to bring their bikes back periodically within the first year just so they can make sure their customer is satisfied and the bike is operating perfectly.
In summary - that is Midwest Cyclery. They have forged excellent relationships with their customers AND suppliers. There were more ebikes here to choose from than any other shop around. They get bikes when the others can't. They are a solid, reputable and well-respected bike shop for those who really know about bikes and are serious about riding. And, for people like me. It is my pleasure to recommend them to others and frankly, what YELP is all about to me. Small businesses don't have huge advertising budgets so if I can share my great experience with other YELPERS, it's my pleasure to do so.
If you don't know about Ebikes, check them out! They are a great way to start exercising. They make pedaling up hills possible without hating every minute of it. One can ride several miles. Yes, you still have to pedal but you can determine how much and when you need assistance. They make you feel like a kid again! read more