The Best Bike Stores in Toronto

These places are great if you're a rich bike snob.

I bought my bike for three-hundred-bucks at sport-chek. I have picked up some better parts here and there and haven't spent a lot of dough. I maintain it myself and encourage everyone to learn how to do the same.

Several places on the above list offer bikes in the $200-400 price range. And unlike Sportchek, these stores offer post-sale tune-ups, professional assembly and knowledgeable advice.

Good to know ... but just worth noting - Sportcheck does tune-ups and assembly and frankly, the guys I have dealt with there are pretty good.

My tune-ups were also free and unlimited for the first year I owned my bike.

Sportchek does free tune-ups and has professional mechanics? Good for them. I guess they aren't quite the Walmart of bike shops that I pictured them to be. (Though since I still want to find something to gripe about :-), a year is an absolute minimum for free tune-ups, imho. Lots of smaller shops offer two to five years worth of tune-ups with a new bike purchase.)

Haha ... a fellow griper ... what a pleasure!

I'm not trying to be a spokesman for Sportchek or anything ... just passing on my experiences.

I would rather deal with the mom and pop shops myself ... but find that most of the time they are out of my price-range.

I had my biked tuned up at Sportchek this season, since it's now the closest "bike shop" to my work (now that Cavern is gone :( ). The prices were good... $20 for a brake and gear tune up, and $10 for parts (replacement brake pads).

A couple problems, though- their communication system isn't all that good (they mistakenly charged me twice for the pads at the checkout), and a week later I had to get my back tube replaced (I rode over a staple) and the guy near my home in Parkdale (the shop with the big tractor tire out front on Queen West near Ronces) showed me how poorly the Sportchek guys installed my brakes. He re-did the back ones for me (free of charge, the guy's awesome!), and the difference is definitely notable.

I won't bring my bike back to Sportchek.

Yeah, the first time I took mine to sportchek in Scarberia they fucked up my bottom-bracket. So, I took it in right away to the eaton centre location and they fixed it right up and I haven't had any problems since.

So, I guess it really does depend on who happens to be working at the time.

Oh, don't remind me of Cavern! A definitely noticeable loss for the Toronto bike shop scene! :-(

Cervelo is a Canadian company too - a Toronto one at that! They're in Liberty Village...

Absolutely, Chris! I thought Cervelo was so high-profile (among roadies anyhow) that it needed no introduction. But it can't hurt mentioning it anyhow; maybe I'll fix this in the write-up. Thanks for the comment.

I went to Urbane Cyclist last week and stood in the store for half an hour while I was ignored by the staff. To make matters worse, three seperate pairs of women/girls walked in and were immediately helped by the staff. I guess next time I will have to strap on a pair of fake breasts if I want to get helped there.

I'm surprised to hear of your experience, Matt. None of my mail friends ever complained about being ignored at Urbane, but then I don't have a statistically representative sample, of course. To be fair, bike stores have been crazy busy the last couple of weeks, as the threat of the TTC strike coincided with the weather warming up. Perhaps they honestly didn't notice you in the hectic mess. Happened to me at various places; usually I forgive it, if it's not a persistent problem.

There's also a place in Kensington Market, up some random alley (there's a sign on a non-alley road). Very very nice guy who repairs bikes, and also sells used bikes. Unfortunately I have no idea if the place has a name, or where it is. I found it by accident. Perhaps someone else can provide some enlightenment.

@ Megan: You're talking about Mike The Bike. Sometimes he has a sign out, but he's usually in that little mall on Kensington just north of St. Andrew, for those trying to find him.

Back in Feb., I emailed Urbane a bunch of questions to start my bike hunt, wanted to start there because of the whole co-op thing. Never heard a word back. It put me off so much that I never bothered. Meanwhile, I got a lovely little model from last year from Sweet Pete's for $225 pre-tax. I've been really happy with that shop.

megan, i think he goes by Mike the Bike. he was super nice to me and completely honest about the used bike i purchased from him (which i loooved, until it got stolen.) his store is on Augusta, south of Bikes on Wheels. mind you, i think he only has a few people working for him so the service all depends on when you see him.

I've had nothing but good experiences at Urbane Cyclist, though I've never had anything serviced there.

Megan, You may be referring to Parts Unknown, which is in the alley by Segovia Meats, off Augusta. I'm still riding a 70's era Fuji Absolute I bought off him (George) several years ago.

I've heard that George and George's is gone now. He supplied the bikes used in the film Monkey Warfare I believe.

Anyone looking for a really cheap way to fix there bike (or get a used one) should check out Bike Pirates on Bathurst South of College.

Mike the Bike http://www.mikethebike.ca/

Great Service and good advice last year when I first started riding.

Are there any bike stores in North York? The only ones I know of are the bike sections in Sportchek and Canadian Tire...

Cyclepath between sheppard and finch..great service good prices:) ( I dont work there)

On yonge street btw:P cervelos =drool for car drivers its woud be comparable to a bugatti veyron in cycle version.

I've only ever bought small parts there, but Bayview Cycle just a little north of Bayview and Finch always seemed like a decent shop. I'd avoid any place where the staff seems to turn over every six months (SportChek, Sports Mart, Canadian Tire, Wal-Mart) purely for safety reasons.

For the nearly exhaustive list of Toronto bike shops, check out the Free Toronto cycling map. You can pick it up... um, in a bike shop... okay, that's not very good if you're looking for a bike shop to start with. :-) It is also online at: http://www.toronto.ca/cycling/map/map.htm , but in a rather inconvenient format (cumbersome PDF files that take forever to load). Black dots with numbers beside them are bike shops.

While I have nothing to say about the quality of their work, I have been disappointed by the unfriendliness of staff at Cogs Cycle on Gerrard St. E. My last visit there (and I mean my last), I received the coldest retail treatment I have yet experienced in Toronto. And my hunch is it's because I was buying inexpensive accessories and used parts and installing them myself. They volunteered no advice only grudgingly answered my questions. All frowns and tight lips, while their well-chosen classic Funk blared out of an old speaker. At the end of the transaction, it was essentially "you've got your parts, now leave the store." I guess I wasn't in their demographic.

I've heard of a notorious *gor, someone or other. what's the deal with that?

@L: There used to be a "bike shop" across from Trinity Bellwoods Park run by someone named Igor. It was general knowledge that the guy sold stolen bikes. I believe he was forced to shut down. Then he reopened, at least temporarily, but apparently cleaned up his act. I'm not sure whether his shop still exists or not, and couldn't care less - I certainly wouldn't patronize it.

Thanks very much I love these lists and maybe someone here can help me.

My husband bought me the most amazing bike two years ago. I am now one of those people whose bike is much better than their ability to handle it. I need a place to take it that won't make me feel stupid for not knowing all the parts etc. I need a tune up (it's been in storage) and some lessons on how to care for the thing.

@redleaf: Most bike shops on this list would probably be more than happy to help you, and not make you feel dumb. I had a short chat with someone in nearly all of the above places, and most of the owners and managers there told me that they treat all customers with respect, and would never judge anyone based on the bike he/she rides or the amount of bike knowledge he/she does/does not have.

One trouble might be though that right now everyone and her brother are bringing bikes in for a tune-up. Some shops are booking tune-ups for two months from now (i.e. if you bring it to the shop today, you'll get it back on June 30)! Curbside's repair shop is full - they aren't even taking any bikes in for tune-up right now any more. I might phone a few places and ask how long a tune-up would take at this point. The conversation would also give you some idea of whether the folks at that store are helpful or snotty.

Can you guys recommend any good bike shops in the Durham region (i.e. Ajax, Pickering)?

CAVERN: In case you all miss Keith dearly, perhaps you might be interested to know that he's now happily wrenching at Cycle Solutions on Parliament St.

CYCLE THERAPY: Another amazing shop that not only sells a wide variety of bike styles (although probably leaning towards the commuter-set, they also carry road/mountain/cyclocross stuff), but also has an amazing team of mechanics. I've never met anyone that can make the brakes on my 'cross bike feel as 'right' as John at CT. Setting up cantilever brakes properly is magic, as far as I'm concerned.

SPORTCHEK/ETC: If you think the only deals to be had are at Sportchek/etc, you're not looking hard enough. Given the same budget I'd rather have a nice, old, well maintained used bike sold by a shop with experienced mechanics than the new stuff they sell there. I'll take experience over shininess any day, not to mention feeling better by giving my money to a locally run shop. As for the free tune-ups for a year with a new bike, I can't think of any shop I frequent that doesn't already offer this..?

igor definitely "reopened" but you'll only find him at night with PILES of bicycles on the sidewalk. he's a nuisance and i doubt he's dealing legally.

@redleaf You can certainly take your bike to any downtown shop and they'll take care of you, BUT -- prepare to $PEND. They looooove customers like you. On the other hand, as someone who genuinely enjoys restoring old bikes, I've been treated with nothing but contempt when trying to buy parts (especially at #3 and #15), since they know you're not going to pay their mechanics' $50/hr rate.

Tatiana - curious, you have chatted with people in most of these shops? Do you have a financial interest in promoting them?

handfed: see that's exactly what I'm afraid of - some place that'll take advantage because I am clearly new at all of this.

Tatiana: thanks for the advice.

@handfed: Yes, I chatted with the people in most of these shop as part of the blogTO assignment. This is just doing basic research before writing up an article - I'm certainly not affiliated with any of these stores, and have no reason to promote them. Also, in case this was not clear, all of "Best of" lists come from the results of reader polls; writers don't pick the spots.

@redleaf: Of the above, places that especially stressed that they are "no bullshit" and don't try to push expensive products on newbies are The Bike Joint, Cogs Cycle, and West Side Cycle.

Thanks a lot for this article, and the feedback from all the readers!!

I was going through this thread this afternoon, and after seeing poncho's post with MTB's website (Thank you, btw!) I went to the site, and saw a bike I liked, and immediately emailed him to hold it, I dropped by after work (it's so great they close at 8 pm!), gave in a deposit first because they wanted to tune up my bike and fix the brakes before they sold it to me. I love that, I love the genuine service they have to customers, newbies like me, and how they spend time on making the bike function at its best before they sell it.

Anyway, I've been to urbane cyclist too and I have to agree with Danielle... it's not that I emailed them and they never answered, but I went in person and the vibe they gave off there was just... if you're not in the "in" - as hardcore cyclists, or commuters or something, you're not really worth helping. I didn't get any, "is there something I can help you with?", nothing like that at all. But I don't mean to bash them, perhaps they cater to a certain kind of cyclist, and I'm just not one of them. I'm sure they're a great store though, but just not for me.

I think finding a bike takes a lot of research. I learned a lot from researching about buying a bike, different kinds, my framesize, men vs. women bikes, anyway... Thank you so much for this article. It came at the right time :)

a bit more info about bike pirates: A great place if you want to build a bike yourself or learn how to fix bikes. They're open noon-5pm to thursdays and saturdays.

http://bikepirates.com/

For everyone who refers to SportChek, Canadian Tire and Walmart as bike shops thanks for the laugh. Hold on a second while I catch my breath.

At best SC, CT, and W offer reasonably priced sports equipment. If you're budget allows you to spend a couple hundred dollars on a bike then these shops are perfect for you. You'll get a great bike that will take you from point A to B. But, then if your bike breaks down I wouldn't expect that you could take your bike to the bike shops listed above for repair. The replacement parts might function the same but the quality and the fitting would be different.

Let me put it into another perspective. If I bought a Honda I wouldn't take it to Mercedes for repairs. And, if I did I would probably get funny looks or a raised eye brow. Sure they might be able to do basic repairs like an oil change or rotate the tires but the prices would be astronomical from what I'd be used to at Honda dealership. And here's another example that address the issue of customer service, this time I'll use makeup as an example. Let's say you're used to buying makeup from Shoppers. You walk in, tell them what you need, bang you're at the cash register and on your way. Next time you decide to visit a M.A.C. store. You walk in and it's busy, you have to wait for an artist. When the artist is free they spend the time with you selecting the products to match your skin tone, etc. They also give you advice on application and so on. As you can see the service and expertise is different in both examples.

So for the same reasons that you would have difficulty, frustration and what appears to be attitude by taking your $200 bike to a bike shop is the same reason why I wouldn't take a $2000 bike to SportChek etc.

As for the difficulty in finding the right bike for you especially if it's your first one can seem overwhelming. I've been there, too. In simplest terms buy a bike that's within your budget, comfortable to ride and in a colour that you like and you'll be happy.

Here it is in more detail. First, know your budget. That will tell you where you'll be shopping. Next figure out your need (transportation to work, after work fitness, weekend warrior, etc.) then your preferred riding style (road, mountain, beach cruiser, etc.). Then visit your local bike shops to see what they have that fits your criteria. Don't worry to much about the components because they will be just about the same with all the bikes within certain price ranges. Bike sizing is pretty standard (almost like S, M, L, XL) and you'll know which one is just right for you. Pick a couple of bikes and sit on them to test your comfort, even go for a ride around the block. And, once you've picked a bike make sure you get it fitted to you. Make it your bike.

Well, since I didn't get any replies to my question about bike shops in Durham, I did my own footwork and found two shops in Pickering for those in Durham who are also looking for a bike:

Pedal Peformance
1050 Brock Rd S., Unit #9
Tel: (905) 837 - 2906
Fax: (905) 837 - 5653
http://www.pedalperformance.com/

Bay Cycle Sports
980 Brock Road South
Tel: 905 837-1433
Tel: 1-800-613-3585
Fax: 905 837-1434
http://www.baycyclesports.com

They are both off Brock Rd and Bayly and both have a decent selection of bikes. PP is smaller in the sense it feels more like a Mom n'Pop "personalized-touch" shop (their lower-end bikes are Norcos), whereas BCS is a lot more trendy with a bunch of late teens/early 20's types running the show (they carry Haro and Giant on the lower-end).

I haven't decided which one I'm gonna go with yet, but thought this might be helpful to any others in my area looking.

Cheers!
Chad

Wow, there is a shop on Lawrence just east of Pharmacy and I have been going to CyclePath on Danforth for 12 years, but this other shop D'Ornella's is across the street and the service there is absolutely terrible.

Moved into my new place decided to check them out, needed air for my bike.
They were straight up rude about it. Decided to go back about a month later needed a valve adapter for my tubes and they once again, were rude.
This week I popped a flat on my way to work. CyclePath was the closest walk as I'd left my repair kit at home. When I got there I realised I'd left my wallet/id on my kitchen counter. No Problem! The staff at CyclePath were generous and sent me on my way with a smile!

I will NEVER go to D'Ornella's again. I don't care if I have to travel to CyclePath on the Danforth to get what I need, for the service alone, not to mention great prices, I'll make the trek! Those very rude people at D'Ornella's need to take lessons from the staff at CyclePath, Seriously!

I work in the retail sector and NEVER would I treat people with such discourteous behaviour, regardless of their needs.

Wow, choosing a bike shop seems so complicated. I thought riding bikes was supposed to be fun, seems like a bigger decision on where to place my loyalties.

I'd hate to make the wrong decision, think I better just walk.