These days we buy so much online that we forget what it's like to get good ol' fashioned advice and customer service at a brick and mortar store. My wife was in the market for a recreational bike. We started our search at a local Bay Area sporting goods chain. The two bike guys who helped us seemed certainly knowledgeable about bikes, but not to keen on actually helping us. And we didn't find anything in our budget. So one of the guys suggested we check out the selection at Walt's.

It was an entirely different experience at Walt's. Mark was very patient with my wife, me and our restless 7 year old in tow. My wife test rode multiple bikes and ended up deciding on a bike which she is now very happy with! We ended up spending a couple hundred dollars more than we had planned, but we were okay with that. We walked out feeling like we got great service and a quality bike that matched my wife's needs and preferences.

Even after the sale, Mark came out of the store to show me how to properly pop the front wheel off the bike. (As a man, I knew I could figure it out, but after struggling with it for 5 minutes, Valerie went back in the store to get him.) He would have spent more time with us had his colleague not remind him that there were other customers waiting in the store.

Overall, it was a great buying experience that makes us feel good about supporting a local shop. read more

Walt's Cycle read more