This is a fun way to pass an hour--rowing a boat in Aquatic Park. It's easier than expected to get…read morethe boat moving, harder than expected to keep it moving. The boats are maintained (and possibly built) by young people at Waterside Workshops and basic but sturdy. The hour rental ($40 total with life vests included) was plenty enough to row from one end of the lagoon to the other and back, with a quick snack break. We are not skilled rowers, and it was fine. I would check the schedule ahead of time, especially during the off season. We went late in the afternoon and were the only ones on the water. Because of our inexperience, I was glad that we weren't sharing the water with any water skiers or a crew team. Just egrets, pelicans, and cormorants.

We had a truly excellent experience at waterside yesterday. We went to get our 11yo a bike for…read moretheir birthday. Tobe helped us out and he was so patient, knowledgeable, and good with kids. We ended up getting a used Novara model called the Tractor, and our kid decided to call their bike "Tobe the Tractor." Thanks so much for all the work you all do for the community, the inclusive and welcoming environment, and for the wonderful experience in picking a new bike! We will be back for future bikes, service, and open workshops!

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!

I enjoy shopping here and became a 'Basementeer' member. Particularly, this location as I have fond…read morememories of ice skating here as a kid in the 80's! Almost brings me right back. I would encourage you to ride a bike (tons of bike parking) or take public transit. There is not a lot of parking for cars here, although you could park on the street. I also shop at REI, but much prefer Sports Basement. I even use their free 1lb propane tank refills (after initial purchase of a refillable tank) and I feel that that is a very smart thing to do give that the normal propane canisters are totally non-recyclable and considered hazardous waste, so you cannot and should not even throw them away. I found a hazardous waste disposal/recycle site where I got rid of mine, good riddance. The refillable ones they sell at Sports Basement is the way to go. Sports Basement has a good return policy and for the most part friendly people working there. I did run in to what seemed like an incompetent phone support person however. I had called the 800 number to cancel a preorder on a bike and she acted like she had no idea what I was talking about, and ended up telling me I would have to call the store I had set it for pick up at. It turns out, I was able to cancel the preorder via the 'AI' chatbot on the website. I'm really not sure why the phone rep. wasn't able to help with that.

This is an amazing resource and shop!…read more Free and secure bike parking. Affordable replacement tubes. Handy repair services, if needed. Friendly staff.

So helpful and kind. I do not know much about bikes and they fixed my bike, looked it over and made…read moresome adjustments and took care of my bike on the spot. I would highly recommend them-they are great.

My son wanted a bike as an 8th grade graduation gift. Totally in support of that AND find bike…read moreprices astronomical, especially for kids who are still growing. Bikes on Solano sells great quality bikes at reasonable prices, pre-loved but in good condition. My son was happy and while I was there also grabbed my older son a bike since he likes to ride. The staff were super helpful, and we were in and out in under thirty minutes. I'm thinking about buying a bike for myself as well to get back into riding.

Everything. Excellent work on repair of my bike. Owner and staff could not have been more…read morehelpful. Unfortunately they have moved a bit farther from my home. They are now at 2031 University in Berkeley. I we old personally go anywhere for their service. Sonja Farar

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

I went to Biketopia Community Workshop for the first time to do a thorough check and tuneup of a…read moregood bicycle. I was greeted, welcomed, and given the lay of the land of how this workshop works, by a bicycle volunteer. Biketopia is just what I need: Bike stands, coaching and the right tools. I paid for an annual membership - which is about what I could have spent at professional bicycle repair shop to accomplish what we got done and will do next time. I went to my car and brought in the Fuji endurance road bike, and was immediately to able to put it up on a free bike stand - so we could begin to see what was Up - and calling for attention. The volunteer - a veteran Berkeley cyclist - was friendly, observant and a very good coach: He observed and let me do - what I could do with relative ease - and he showed me how to do the Next Thing - right. He carefully checked the brakes, and showed me how to see exactly what was going on with the front brake . He knew how to do both the fine and gross adjustment of the brakes, and had the proper tools for each. And showed me how to adjust and fine tune the adjustment of my brakes, so I was able to do the work and have him check my adjustments. He heard and understood my report of some recent shifting issues and gear jumping. He checked and showed me how both derailleurs were shiifting and the simple adjustments we cojuld make. He offered to measure the wear of the chain. Since the chain was about 50% or 60% worn - I decided this would be a great time to replace it. The volunteer found exactly the right chain from their small inventory of new parts. He showed me how this chain's magic link worked, slighly different than the link on my current chain. Then how to install the new chain. He and i worked on the getting the derailleurs to shift just right. It took some skill I did not have - but soon I learned. Then he showed me how to check my rims for true - and how to adjust them - using their simple wheel truing apparatus and a spoke wrench and the right technique. I took good enough wheels and made them truer and better. We put the wheels back in and did a final adjustment on the brakes and derailleurs. Ready to ride for 50 mile runs - up and down the Berkeley hils - safely and smoothly. Next time I will work on improving the dish of my front wheel. This is a great place, if you want to learn how to take care of your bicycyle in a tightly packed community workshop.

This place is honestly amazing. I gave my friend a bike for burning man but wasn't sure if it was…read moreup to par. I saw this place and decided to check it out with her before she left. Turns out it's a community bike shop where people can bring their bikes to get repaired and even learn how to do it! We learned so much about bikes that we didn't know before. I can actually repair a bike now myself if needed. Everyone was so nice and willing to help. They have so much supplies, everything we needed was taken care of. Despite our labor taking over a hour and multiple things being fixed, we were only charged about $25. Well worth the price and quality. I appreciate this place so much and will definitely be back.

I highly recommend this shop to anyone looking for honest advice, quality repairs, or a new bike…read more I'll definitely be coming back for all my cycling needs. Thank you for the great service!

I've come here for several quick repairs and a few longer projects and I'm always happy with the…read moreresults. Staff is extremely knowledgeable and are usually able to help with a repair right away. Other shops often ask you to leave the bike and come back anywhere between one-seven days. The prices here are extremely fair for both the parts and labor. I'll be coming in with more projects in the future!

I recently experienced damage to my Kuat Sherpa 2.0 bike rack. Repair or replace? Mike at Rack…read moreAttack in Berkeley was extremely helpful inproviding inspection and repair information to help me make that decision, then subsequently installing the solution. Excellent service.

like to support local businesses. Called the local 510 number, put on hold and told my expected…read morehold time was 15 minutes (wtf?). Looking to buy a roof rack and camper tent, definitely won't be calling back.