When you think of rotten thieves, you probably think of Bonnie and Clyde, John Dillinger, and maybe even the IRS. But you may not think of Steven's Bicycles!
I went in with my kids' bikes in need of repair. One had a flat and a loose chain, the other had a slow leak (over a few weeks the tire pressure would get low), the brake caliper on the back would often get stuck partially engaged, and it needed a kickstand.
They said they could fix the chain, fill up the tires with a sealant that would take care of the leaks and add a kickstand. They encouraged me to get a safety tune up on each bike, which would include dealing with the faulty caliper, as well as any other safety issues with the bikes. It was $45 for each bike, but safety first, right? So I went for it. The total bill was $170, and the bikes would be ready in a week. That seemed high, but I figured you get what you pay for. It turns out sometimes you get very little of what you pay for.
Went in to pick them up. The bike had a kickstand on it and the chain on the other was fixed, and the flat tire was full of air. It seemed odd that the missing reflector was still missing, and one of the reflectors on the other bike was facing up instead of to the rear. Those are safety features and we did pay $90 for safety tune ups, but I wasn't interested in throwing a fit over a couple reflectors.
A couple days later, my kids went for a bike ride for the first time since getting their bikes "fixed". The back tire on the bike that had a very slow leak was completely flat and the caliper was still dragging a bit. I tried to fill the flat and noticed that the stem was sticking out of the tire crooked, and instead of losing some pressure over a matter of weeks, it now lost all its air within a few seconds.
So we bring it back to Steven's and they say the stem is broken, which is why it is leaking air, and they will replace the tire. For $20. It wasn't broken before I gave it to them, and after it was. Those dots seem easy to connect. But they were too far apart for the folks at Steven's. They say all they did was put sealant in it, which wouldn't have broken the stem. The fact that it wasn't broken when I brought it in didn't make much of an impression.
I breathed and focused on not hitting anyone as they fixed the tire they had broken. After they fixed it and I handed them 20 more dollars they didn't earn, they told me the brake caliper would need to be adjusted. I said that was one of the issues we brought it in for and they said it was part of the safety tune up. Their reply was that it is safe to drive it as it is, so the safety tune up was fulfilled. To actually adjust it would be a separate charge. So apparently brakes, though explicitly stated to be included, and reflectors...you know, the bike's safety features...aren't included in a safety tune up.
So to sum it all up, for $170 I got a fast leaking tire and a chain fixed, a kickstand added, and a slow-leaking tire completely broken. Then for an additional $20 they fixed the tire they broke. If that sounds like a good deal to you, and your bike needs repair, Steven's will be glad to keep your bike a while and charge an exorbitant price to do virtually nothing. Or you can contact me and for half the price I will keep it in my garage for a week. I even promise not to do any additional damage to it! read more