Lakeview Bicycle

I took my friend's bike for repairs. He's been going through difficult times and had left his bike on his balcony for over a year. As a consequence, cables and components were rusted and the bike was covered in pigeon droppings. I cleaned the bike to the best my abilities, and took it in for repairs, willing to front the cost of a full makeover in order to help out. The guy at the bike shop was friendly when I brought it in, and he took a couple of minutes to inspect it so as to give me an estimate: $250 and 8 days. I agreed to that. 14 days later, I dropped by and asked about it, and he said he was just going to get to it, it would be ready in 2 days. I went back today, 3 weeks since I brought it in to ask about the status. He said he's almost done with it, just needs one more day. I saw it sitting by the wall in pretty much the same state I brought it in. I asked him what he'd done so far in the three weeks since I brought it, seeing as I didn't see much change, and he said he's been diagnosing it. After thinking about it, I told him I'm going to take the bike back, as I don't do business with people who will lie to me in my face. He didn't respond, so I asked him, "You lied to me, didn't you? You haven't done sh*t with it. This whole story that you've been working on it is a lie, isn't it?" His reply: "You got me". He did look mildly uncomfortable about the situation, but that's about it. I told him that he should be ashamed of lying to his clients like that. It's very unprofessional to lie to your clients. Once he's lied to me, I wouldn't trust this guy for any job. I mean, it would have been easy for him to say "My apologies, I haven't gotten around to it yet and I will put it at the top of my list. Please come back tomorrow." That would have been fine. But really, who lies to brazenly and obviously to their clients and still expects their business?

Bought a bike here, great service & a good bike. Had a small issue with the bike but was fixed quickly and at no cost. Thanks again!

This was the first bicycle shop I visited when I first moved to Oakland back in 2014. Charlie was always helpful and a life saver during times in need. I'm not really in the area to go here anymore, but your bicycle can and will be serviced!

Took my very simple ebike in for a tube change on Thursday as I had a flat tire. Was told the service would take half an hour and came back after that to retrieve my bike. When I came to the store my bike was lying on its side by the front door unsecured- it would have been very easy for someone to snatch and grab it from the store. Upon leaving the shop I noticed that my bike’s electric gear switch button had been broken off (it was intact when I gave it to the shop) and a ceramic ornament I had on the back of the bike had been removed (it was not returned to me). I was not anticipating my bike would be further damaged and stripped by this shop when I came in for a tube replacement. The store itself is flooded with bikes in disarray and does not have a clear path to walkthrough to even get inside. The tube replacement cost 33$, which is fair for service and materials, but I was not anticipating the lack of care and damage that was done to my bike when I brought it in. The back wheel when it was put on the bike after the tube was replaced was not secured properly and had an intense wobble I had to sit down and fix myself. If you break something or lose something on a bike, communicate it to the customer. Don’t leave it for me to realize later how bad of a hack job you did.

Fairly expensive, but they have a free bike pump if you find yourself out and about with low tire pressure

Got a blow out on telegraph and limped into Lakeview bicycle. My flat was repaired in no time at a reasonable price. Great selection of used bikes for sale as well. Thanks Lakeview!

Took my bike in for very basic servicing - cleaning and indexing. Was told it would be done in a week (which already is too long of a timeline for something this basic). Took over a month to finally get it done. Had to drop into the store twice during this period to follow-up. Finally when I got the bike, it wasn't cleaned. $90 and over a month just to index the speeds.

Lakeview is an accessible, neighborhood commuter bike shop. The owner, Charlie, knows what's wrong with your bike, can give quick estimates on repairs, and does great work. His mechanics are knowledgeable and the shop does great work. And Charlie smiles, too. Honestly, though, who cares? Charlie built up a great wheel for me, replaced most of my drive train (but not the parts that will make it another year) recommended the right light, and made some adjustments without complaint after I "fixed" my own bike.

I took my friend's bike for repairs. He's been going through difficult times and had left his bike on his balcony for over a year. As a consequence, cables and components were rusted and the bike was covered in pigeon droppings. I cleaned the bike to the best my abilities, and took it in for repairs, willing to front the cost of a full makeover in order to help out. The guy at the bike shop was friendly when I brought it in, and he took a couple of minutes to inspect it so as to give me an estimate: $250 and 8 days. I agreed to that. 14 days later, I dropped by and asked about it, and he said he was just going to get to it, it would be ready in 2 days. I went back today, 3 weeks since I brought it in to ask about the status. He said he's almost done with it, just needs one more day. I saw it sitting by the wall in pretty much the same state I brought it in. I asked him what he'd done so far in the three weeks since I brought it, seeing as I didn't see much change, and he said he's been diagnosing it. After thinking about it, I told him I'm going to take the bike back, as I don't do business with people who will lie to me in my face. He didn't respond, so I asked him, "You lied to me, didn't you? You haven't done sh*t with it. This whole story that you've been working on it is a lie, isn't it?" His reply: "You got me". He did look mildly uncomfortable about the situation, but that's about it. I told him that he should be ashamed of lying to his clients like that. It's very unprofessional to lie to your clients. Once he's lied to me, I wouldn't trust this guy for any job. I mean, it would have been easy for him to say "My apologies, I haven't gotten around to it yet and I will put it at the top of my list. Please come back tomorrow." That would have been fine. But really, who lies to brazenly and obviously to their clients and still expects their business?

Bought a bike here, great service & a good bike. Had a small issue with the bike but was fixed quickly and at no cost. Thanks again!

This was the first bicycle shop I visited when I first moved to Oakland back in 2014. Charlie was always helpful and a life saver during times in need. I'm not really in the area to go here anymore, but your bicycle can and will be serviced!

Took my very simple ebike in for a tube change on Thursday as I had a flat tire. Was told the service would take half an hour and came back after that to retrieve my bike. When I came to the store my bike was lying on its side by the front door unsecured- it would have been very easy for someone to snatch and grab it from the store. Upon leaving the shop I noticed that my bike’s electric gear switch button had been broken off (it was intact when I gave it to the shop) and a ceramic ornament I had on the back of the bike had been removed (it was not returned to me). I was not anticipating my bike would be further damaged and stripped by this shop when I came in for a tube replacement. The store itself is flooded with bikes in disarray and does not have a clear path to walkthrough to even get inside. The tube replacement cost 33$, which is fair for service and materials, but I was not anticipating the lack of care and damage that was done to my bike when I brought it in. The back wheel when it was put on the bike after the tube was replaced was not secured properly and had an intense wobble I had to sit down and fix myself. If you break something or lose something on a bike, communicate it to the customer. Don’t leave it for me to realize later how bad of a hack job you did.

Fairly expensive, but they have a free bike pump if you find yourself out and about with low tire pressure

Got a blow out on telegraph and limped into Lakeview bicycle. My flat was repaired in no time at a reasonable price. Great selection of used bikes for sale as well. Thanks Lakeview!

Took my bike in for very basic servicing - cleaning and indexing. Was told it would be done in a week (which already is too long of a timeline for something this basic). Took over a month to finally get it done. Had to drop into the store twice during this period to follow-up. Finally when I got the bike, it wasn't cleaned. $90 and over a month just to index the speeds.

Lakeview is an accessible, neighborhood commuter bike shop. The owner, Charlie, knows what's wrong with your bike, can give quick estimates on repairs, and does great work. His mechanics are knowledgeable and the shop does great work. And Charlie smiles, too. Honestly, though, who cares? Charlie built up a great wheel for me, replaced most of my drive train (but not the parts that will make it another year) recommended the right light, and made some adjustments without complaint after I "fixed" my own bike.