Bothell Ski & Bike

I just had a fantastic experience with their repair shop. Brought my bike in with my two young kids for a repair. The guy stopped in the middle of his work right there to make a complex fix and do a couple of tune ups, saving me a trip back to pick it up. Courteous, capable and most importantly: a better rate for repairs than local competitors.

I took my bike to these guys for some advice regarding damage that my bike sustained awhile back. They gave it a thorough inspection (I didn't even make an appointment!), and ultimately recommended that I could safely keep using my bike as-is. They could have easily told me that I was SOL, and that I needed to buy X, Y, or Z to keep riding. I would have believed them! But, they didn't charge me anything, and there was no weird sales pressure of any kind. Just some friendly bike mechanics offering free advice to a worry-wort. Best of all, there wasn't a whiff of the condescension and elitism that can sometimes crop up in the bicycle community. Ultimately, their honesty saved me a bunch of a money and anxiety. It's very nice to know that I have an ethical establishment nearby. I'll definitely turn to these guys instead of the internet the next time I need some new gear or a new ride.

These guys are great, incredibly accommodating! I tried to come in and get my skis mounted in a short window of time while passing through town. A friend had recommended Bothell Ski & Bike as a shop that was professional and knowledgable. Things went a little sideways when there was a question of where the bindings should be placed. The shop made a great effort to contact me and ask what I'd like them to do, but I didn't have my phone on me. When I went to pick up my skis, they hadn't mounted them, because they didn't want to drill holes without my permission, but they were great about explaining the situation. They even offered me a great deal on demo equipment to use for a couple days. It was obvious that they cared about my customer experience, and they didn't become upset or irritated over my not checking my phone. They didn't even charge me for the time it took them to take my old bindings off my skis! Great tech team, great owner, would love to work with them in the future!

The employees are knowledgeble and very helpful. They were very patient with me as I was deciding on a bike and even allowed me to exchange my first choice. They place the customer first. I would highly recommend them.

I recently brought my bike in for a full tune and to replace a handful of components. The tech who originally helped me was super helpful/informative and did an all around awesome job providing me with recommendations etc. I also requested service on the rear shock, to which I was informed that it may need to be sent to the manufacturer for servicing, which would take a couple of weeks. The tech told me that he would call me by the end of the day to let me know one way or another, and that the bike would be ready next Tuesday if the shock didn't need to be sent out. I brought it in on a Wednesday, so it would take 1-2 weeks to get my bike back. I didn't receive a call, which is fine, I know that things happen and it wasn't a big deal. I called them on Friday to follow up, and was informed that I would get a call back with a definitive answer when the tech was back from lunch. I again didn't receive a call, so I gave it a couple of days and called again on Sunday. At that point I was informed that the tech wasn't in, and wouldn't be until Tuesday, and that nobody had even looked at the bike since I dropped it off. I was also informed that the shock would definitely need to be sent out, and that would take about three weeks. So my total time without a bike was upgraded from max 2 weeks to min 1 month. If this was communicated to me from the beginning (which it could have been if they are able to see that the shock needs to be sent out just by looking at it), that would have been fine. I am a pretty understanding guy and I was really hoping to be able to work with Bothell Ski and Bike for all of my biking needs for years to come - they are my neighborhood bike shop and it is nice to avoid driving around Seattle for this sort of thing. Realistically, if a part needs to be sent out and that is going to cause one of your customers to be bikeless for nearly a month, it would be a nice move to take that part off and send it out first rather than waiting a week to even look at it. In any case, a little communication goes a long way and they could have at least attempted to let me know rather than forcing me to be proactive and call multiple times only to find out that there are unnecessary delays. When I brought this up to them they really didn't accept any responsibility for the delays and instead informed me that I can always "do what I am doing now and call them if I don't receive an expected call back." I called multiple times and was super patient, and that response was rude to say the least. I get that in Seattle there is a lot of money floating around and a bike tune doesn't necessarily come in as a high priority compared to a customer who is spending thousands on a new bike. But it is a terrible feeling as a customer to be treated like your business and overall satisfaction is unimportant. At the end, I just went and picked up my bike and cancelled the work order. Pretty disappointed to say the least.