Frequently Asked
Questions
Do you
offer Layaway?
What about
financing?
How much is a
Tune-up?
Is my bike worth
repairing?
What about
service contracts?
How long will
it take for you to repair my bike?
Is there a
storage fee?
What service can I
do for myself?
What can I do to
prevent rust?
How should I store
my bike?
How should I clean
my bike?
How do I know
when my bike needs service?
Do you match
price?
Do you take
trade-ins / Do you sell used bikes?
Do you carry
Adult Tricycles?
Do you sell
scooters, motorized bikes?
Do you
service wheelchairs?
Why do big kids want
a 20" wheel bike?
Do
you offer Layaway?
Yes. Click here for details.
What
about financing?
We do not offer financing, but we do take most major
credit cards (not AmEx).
How
much is a Tune-up?
This always begs the question of "what is a
tune-up."
We do not have a service package that might try to sell
you more service than you need, and may not address what
you do need. We look at your bike, discuss the problems
you might already know about, and give you a free,
no-obligation, verbal estimate.
Is
my bike worth repairing?
Maybe not. When we see that the cost of repairing a bike
exceeds what we think is reasonable, we will tell you. If
you really want the work done, we will ask for a deposit
of 75% of the estimate.
What
about service contracts?
These penalize riders who take good care of their bikes,
and reward those who abuse their bikes. We do not offer
service contracts.
How
long will it take for you to repair my bike?
Bikes purchased from us receive expedited service.
When possible we expedite repairs on bikes used for
transportation.
As time allows, we will make really simple repairs while
you wait.
All other repairs are on a first-come, first-served
basis.
If we are backed up two weeks or more, we will only
accept bikes for repair that were purchased from us.
Is
there a storage fee?
If you leave your bike more than two (2) weeks after the
work is completed, we will impose a storage fee of $2.00
per extra day.
What
service can I do for myself?
If you change the oil and filter in your own car, there
are many things you can do for yourself. We sell tools
and maintenance manuals.
We recommend that you learn to clean your bike (not with
a hose), inflate your tires, and possibly clean and
lubricate your chain.
What
can I do to prevent rust?
In salty Virginia Beach, this can really be a problem.
Almost all bikes have parts that are subject to rust. It
is important to keep the bike clean and dry. We sell a
spray that is excellent at rust prevention.
How
should I store my bike?
Locked! We recommend that you lock your bike even inside
your locked garage, even while you are at home. Try to
hide it from view, and keep it away from glass doors. Of
course, we will be happy to sell you a replacement bike.
Avoid storing your bike near electric motors (ozone rots
rubber). Also, avoid corrosive compounds such as
fertilizer and pool chemicals.
We have storage solutions such as hooks for hanging and
covers for outdoor storage.
How
should I clean my bike?
Never turn a hose on your bike. Don't even think about
pressure washing it. Having just said that, it is OK to
hose off your tires, but only the rubber
tires, not the hubs.
For the painted parts, use water or some other wetting
agent so that you don't grind dry dirt into the paint.
Use a cloth moistened with water and a tiny bit of
detergent (i.e. dishwater).
For the mechanical parts, use a cloth moistened with a
grease-cutting solvent such as varsol, kerosene, or a
citrus solvent. Avoid caustic cleaners such as glass
cleaner or Fantastic. Use only enough solvent to do the
job -- not dripping wet. Avoid getting solvent into the
working parts, just clean the surface.
The chain and other mechanical parts require special
cleaning. Please refer to a maintenance manual.
How
do I know when my bike needs service?
Clean and lubricate your chain at least every 300 miles,
or every two times you ride in wet conditions. If you see
rust, lubricate at once. Soon after, clean and
relubricate.
If your bike rattles or makes an unusual noise, it is
telling you it needs service. The longer you use it
without service, the more complicated that service could
be.
Do
you match price?
While we cannot guarntee that we will always match price,
we will consider matching price when another real
bike shop has the same exact bike in stock
at a lower price. We must be able to confirm that price.
Frankly, it costs more to offer the kind of personal
service we do, and there is very little room for
discounting. Price matching is the only condition under
which we discount on the fly.
Do
you take trade-ins / Do you sell used bikes?
No. We deal only with new, first-quality products.
Do
you carry Adult Tricycles?
No. We focus on two-wheeled bicycles.
Do
you sell scooters, motorized bikes?
No. We do not carry or service anything but human-powered
bicycles.
Of course we are biased, but we urge you to consider the
total cost of ownership and the estimated total life of a
bicycle versus other mobility devices. If you decide to
buy something other than a bicycle, be sure that the
people you buy it from also service it. Otherwise, you
could be looking at adding to the landfill in short
order.
Do
you service wheelchairs?
OK, Yes! They're not biccyles, but in
the ways that they resemble bicycles, we can service
them. We carry in stock the most popular grey tires for
wheelchairs and can order other tires and tubes. We can
build or true wheelchair wheels, but do not carry any
parts specific to wheelchairs.
Access to our store is barrier free, but if you need
assistance, just call us from your car in our parking lot
and we'll come out to help.
Why
do big kids want a 20" wheel bike?
Because they are fun. Bikes used for stunts need to be
small to stay out of the way when doning stunts. The
20" wheel BMX bike comes in a variety of lengths to
accomodate tall riders.
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