Dropped by this place when I was in the market for an e-bike. If you are interested in a new Specialized bike, this is THE place to go since they are all about answering questions and letting you test ride their offerings. The staff is well above what you find at a typical bike shop...its kinda the Apple Store for Specialized bikes complete with way more product knowledge than I have found at ANY retail bike shop that sells tons of different brands.
The issue for me was availability...got my name on a wait list and it took ages for availability to improve. A whole year! During that time the experience center started selling direct to customers which is awesome since they were the ones helping me and answering my questions.
The bike I wanted finally came in, I test rode it (they are in a good location for testing bikes, with roads, trails, hills and the like very close by) and I am a proud Specialized owner now.
Yes, there were some hiccups (shipping damage that delayed arrival etc.) but they made everything right and ensured I was a happy customer. We'll not only am I happy, but I'm actually a big fan of the brand after this experience. Since then they opened up a company store in Los Gatos, and I went in there and found the same high level of engaging and knowledgeable staff...clearly they are taking their direct-to-consumers thing seriously and if I was a retail bike shop, consider this a wake up call as they are really raising the bar, just like Apple did for buying a phone or computer.
Really pleased I waited and got a Specialized. I think they make good products and they are going to be a hugely disruptive force in the bike world... AND they are based in California, which actually makes a difference to me.... read more