Back when John, owner of The Bicycle Studio, worked as a physical therapist I was a regular client of his. Back then he did a great job and was sincerely interested in his customer's best interests. I sent many of my friends to him and at least one even ordered a custom bike through him.
All that changed, though, when he opened his own shop, The Bicycle Studio. Now he seems much more concerned about getting as much money out of his customers as possible. This is most disturbing when charges for services without first getting the customer's approval, which is a sneaky way to make money if you ask me.
Matters are not likely to improve, though, since John does not take constructive criticism well. In my last experience with him I felt that, once again, I had been overcharged for a service, this time a recheck on a fitting. This time I decided not to let it slide. After pointing out that what I was charged was not consistent with his own policies on his web site, John became defensive, demeaning and insulting. I eventually received a partial refund (I still feel I was cheated) and was told by John "find another bike shop". Keep in mind, this after I had done business with him for quite some time and sent many of my friends his way.
I've waited some time since that experience before writing this review thinking that he might gain some wisdom and realize that in me he had an opportunity to learn how to improve his business. That hasn't happened.
He's a good physical therapist, seems to know his stuff about bike fitting, but is (based on the bad experiences of others) a poor bike mechanic and tends not to take responsibility for his mistakes. Worst of all he thinks he's doing you a favor by allowing you to be his customer, exemplifying the sort of arrogance that the sport has in abundance but could easily do without. Not surprisingly, I no longer refer others to John; on the contrary, I make it a habit to warn others about his business practices and have had to apologize to those friends I did refer to him. read more
