This shop is wonderful. I was worried that since they are a high end bike shop, they might be rude since that tends to happen in this town. *cough cough Perfect Wheels* To my delight, every time I have been in, the mechanics are knowledgeable, honest, and understanding that not everyone knows every part of their bike and how to fix it themselves. I would definitely recommend this shop, especially for anyone dealing with Italian bikes! read more

I went to have a custom bike made (I'm tall) and so on the advice of many friends I went with R + E based mostly on their good reputation. I didn't really know what I was getting into at the time as this was my first bike in many years and was relying on R + E to steer me right. In the end, I'm pretty displeased with what I got. I'll echo a lot of the other sentiments expressed here: they put on the hard sell, while trying very hard to be friendly. If you can deal with the hard sell, the next thing you have to be aware of is that if you want to be happy with your bike, you really need to be an expert and know what you want going in - come to find out that my very expensive custom bike has a hodge podge of mixed components that are low end and I've never really had a smooth drive train from day one. My custom frame is nice in that it fits me well, but not nice in that there's not enough trail for the front tire leading to too unstable steering (tankslappers in the language of motorcycling). I wouldn't go back. If I absolutely had to go back, I'd buy a frame only and either put the bike together myself or pay a different shop to do it. read more

In all my travels to R&E (a northwest icon) I've only had two experiences... "great", and "fantastic!". They are high-tech, cutting-edge, relevant, competent, and don't look down their noses like another shop (that overlooks Elliot Bay, and none of whom there can match my racing history or technological experience). R&E is a real place with real people. They make you feel at home, sell you what you need, and probably can't find elsewhere, and treat people well. All they lack is a wood stove with"Grosmuttie" saying, "Come on in and have some chicken soup! Ok, a glowing review... no I don't work there, nor am I related to anyone, or have a feduciary interest in R&E. It's just a comfortable place, and they meet your needs. Sorry I only gave them five stars. read more

R+E Cycles pulled me from the dregs of cycling pop culture and commercialism. Whenever I show my Rodriguez S3 to mechanics at other bike shops, they often lower their voices and praise that bike over their shops' high-end composite rigs. read more

I have agree with the other review here that says rookies should be careful here, especially when wanting to fix up an old bike. But just like when buying a Porsche, if you spend a lot, you get a lot from Dr. Porsche and likewise from Dr. Dan. These guys back what they build and if it's not right they find a way to make it so. Their repair shop will always find a way to get you back on the road. They focus on building excellent bikes rather than trendy fashionable bikes. My bike they actually completely repainted because a decal wasn't straight. They don't like to work on junk and they will definitely tell you if something isn't worth fixing. read more

After someone's botched attempt at stealing my bike by taking off the quick release to my front wheel, but then leaving the tire, I was left with an un-rideable bike. I walked it over to the R+E shop and the gents helped me out in a jiffy. They gave me the rod, spring and new lever all for free. Thanks guys! You were immensely helpful and kind. read more

R&E provides walk-in service with skilled bike mechanics on Saturdays, immediately. I walked in to have my rear wheel tensioned and tuned, and the mechanic quickly diagnosed an issue with the Shimano rear derailleur I had tweaked a few weeks earlier. The wheel was tuned and the gears adjusted within 30 minutes. Service was great and the price was very reasonable. I contrast this experience with you know who on Green Lake . . . By contrast, I had the same bike tuned by Brandd X Bike Shop down teh street at Green Lake across from Starbucks. They charged me $80, did nothing but some wheel tuning, did not properly tension the wheels, and could not even find the service sheet to tell me what I had done. Sort of acted like I didn't have a reason to know. Is this a union shop, or what? I readjusted the derailleurs myself when I got home. When my rear wheel was quickly out of tension again I returned to the service shop for a looksy (they said they'd charge, I said I was willing to pay, again), and they found a series of excuses to tell me why they were busy and I would have to wait 2-3 hours just to have them look at it (no one else was waiting in the shop). They suggested that I return the next night, I said OK, but then they said I'd have to wait hours then too. For no reason. Just because they don't like walk-in service, even if you tell them the day before (that's kind of like scheduling servie, isn't it?). Maybe, they want you to leave your bike so they can find some additional crap to charge you for. Brandd X Bike Shop is all about the almighty profit, which is fine, but they gave up caring about customer service years ago. Never again, Gregg. read more

While many swear by this shop, I had to swear if off. Their bike fit turned out to be a disaster for me, the cheap bike fit contraption had loose washer and bolts and slipped was their excuse. Their bikes are relatively heavy and they have been slow to go to carbon. The high end customer does not seem to get much better service than the guy pulling in with a flat. They have enthusiam and passion, but it has not translated to a truly great product IMO. read more

Best repair shop in Seattle period. I have had multiple problems with wheels & drive train, these people are super fast 1 day turnaround with appointment and really competitive with the repair costs. Went in at noon for a wheel true back on the street by 12:45 read more

This is the best bike shop for customer needs that I have found in a long time..they are wonderful. I live in DC and the bike shops here told me that a specific tire was no longer made. I called R&E and talked to Kara on Saturday, November 24th and asked about what I needed..Kara said they have that tire in stock as well as 650 tubes and I bought the 2 tires and 2 new tubes on the spot. I had those items in my possession on Monday the 26th..What great service and honest information that rates them super in my book. Even though I live on the right coast and they are on the left coast, if I need anything for my bike, I will contact them directly..GREAT JOB read more

I bought my second Rodriguez bike recently. Not because there was anything wrong my first one, it was an excellent bike, but as my riding needs/style changed over the years it was time for a bike that was better suited to my current lifestyle. R+E set my bike up for consignment and never once tried to push me into buying another bike (though I had my eye on one from their website before I walked into the shop). Smiley has always been nothing but friendly, knowledgeable and professional. He fitted my new bike and away I went a second time around extremely happy customer! read more

Friendly knowledgeable staff, Smiley is great. If you decide to purchase a bike here make sure you know what you are getting. Know the quality of the gears and cassettes. If you are getting a special made bike make sure it is made to your geometry and not an off the shelf frame were they added spacers to raise the handlebar or put in a very short handle bar stem. If you don't know much about bikes go with someone who does. read more

Just picked up my new bike yesterday. It is by far the best fitting one I've ever owned in over 50 years of cycling. Smiley is the best! If you're a petite, don't go to a regular bike shop where they will try and sell you a bike with 700cc tires. Go to Rodriguez and find out how a bike should really feel. read more

Not friendly people, asked about a bike and the guy wouldn`t talk to me, once before I went in needing to find a phone, they said " Oh, there`s one just across the street" no there isn`t, snarky. read more

I needed to have a headset installed on my vintage bike I had painted. The shop I usually go to didn't have the tools to face the steerer tube, and so I took it to R and E, knowing that they make frames, and so would have the tools and the skill for the job. What I noticed first is that the cost for just installing the headset was twice the other shop, and the other work I needed seemed expensive as well. I recieved a call that they needed to cut down the head tube to make the headset fit. That would be an extra 30 bucks, but I didn't have a choice, so I said go ahead. When I picked up the frame, the mechanic said the paint chipped were he cut down the head tube, and he touched it up for me with paint that was "close". It didn't look too bad, so I headed home. In good light at home, I saw that the "touch up" involved runs and drips and metal shavings and dirt embedded into the top lug area as well as some new scratches. In addition the entire frame, which I had wet sanded and polished over two days was covered with a fine dusting of overspray. I took it back along with the remainder of my two part urethane paint, which cost me over 200 dollars. They said they'd take it to the paint department and sand down the touched up area and properly apply my paint. When I picked it up the second time, I took it outside to look at it closely; it was really no better than before. It seems as though the same mechanic (the cowboy) had done the "touch up". I went out to my car and fumed for a while and just left. I took the frame to my local shop and had them remove the headset so I could repaint the bike. I hope I have enough paint left to paint the half of the bike that they messed up. l I will try to recover the cost of what I spent. It is hard to believe that a shop that prides itself on the workmanship of their custom bikes cannot fix their own screw ups, or should I say, don't care enough to. I will never take my business there again and would advise others to stay away as well. read more

We purchased two bikes, mine was a custom fit, really a good bike, however I paid over $5,000, later I discovered we paid a lot more for what I received. My wife bought a used bike, $2,500, supposedly it fit her perfectly, after spending a fair bit of time with R&E making certain it was the right size for her, not so, her hands get numb, chain keeps coming off, + other issues. She feels ripped off, that they sold this used bike just to get it out of their shop. Also, the helmet they sold was not a good fit, neither were her bike shoes. Last year we found 2 Dave Fisher Cobia's, off the shelf, much better fit, shifters and brakes are smoother, perfect for Seattle's streets, much better choice. Did not realize the difference between our R & E bikes and the Dave Fishers until we rode them. Granted they are completely different bikes, but the point is a custom fit should be just that esp. when we forked out $8,000. I'd be very, very, cautious in dealing with R&E, we thought we had good references, our experience left us with a bitter taste. read more

It was about this time last year that we went in to R+E to have them custom build a chunky mamma touring tandem bike for us. (we call her Betty) After years of seeing other tandem teams having so much fun on tours, we decided to take the plunge and buy one, and to go custom, since we don't come anywhere close to fitting the profile of the (apparently) typical tandem team. We felt like visiting royalty as we went through the very thorough fitting process , had a guided tour of the factory, and watched over Smiley's shoulder as he "built" our bike on the computer. Smiley even gave me some great pointers about my riding form which led to riding my most comfortable STP so far last year. It was hard to wait 5 weeks while they built Betty, but it helped having the occasional photo update of the build process. When she was done, she was so beautiful, I couldn't believe my eyes! She is truly a work of art. Of course, it was expensive, but not much different than the price we were quoted for a Comotion (non custom), which would have required a long drive to Oregon to boot . And, of course she fits us perfectly. I think this ensured the learning curve would be fairly shallow. We were able to do the Chuckanut Century, metric century a couple of weeks after that first tentative ride. We are looking forward to many happy years of riding together. R+E gets my highest recommendation; Great staff, great service, and a beautiful, perfect bike that did not come from China. read more