Services
Liberty Street Cyclery
Liberty Street Cyclery is a small shop that specializes in speedy repairs and custom builds. Opened by Ed Tsui last spring, the space has a casual everyone-knows-your-name type vibe, which its owner fosters by chatting with customers as he does repairs in the open shop area that makes up the heart of the store. In fact, the whole set up looks a lot like a bar, which is a nice change from the often hidden shop areas your bike is carted off to when in need of repair. I always find it a bit easier to trust mechanics who do their work out in the open, so this has always been a subtle plus for me when choosing where to take my bike when its in need of some TLC.
Tsui likes to think of his shop as a "garage" on account how inviting he tries to make it for those in need of a quick repair or who are just passing by. I like the concept, and if my short visit is any indication, it seems to be working. During the thirty minutes I'm at the store, there's a pretty steady stream of customers for a cold and grey Tuesday in April. One person wants to order a crankset for his fixie/track bike, another needs a new helmet, there's a few tune-up requests, and the whole time there's someone flipping through a magazine at the bar.
This little snippet actually provides a pretty good overview of what Liberty Street Cyclery is all about. Although the store does stock a small selection of bikes, this isn't the place to go if you're looking to peruse a wide array of floor models. The philosophy is thoroughly service-oriented, so custom orders and builds are the norm rather than the exception. You'll still find some Devinci and Opus bikes on the sales floor, but I suspect these serve almost as a starting point for a longer conversation about building a bike that best suits the prospective customer's needs.
Accessories are a different story. Being an urban bike shop — and the only one in Liberty Village — there's a good selection of everything that the commuter or utility cyclist could need, including fenders, locks, lights, tubes and tires amongst other things. There's not much clothing here, but that's not really the main focus anyway.
Far more important to Tsui is the repair end of things. As he puts it, "we're willing to work on anything that'll fit in our shop," which I take to mean that there's no bike snobbery here. That's not to say high end bikes aren't welcome, but that the mechanics are as comfortable working on a Dura Ace derailleur ad they are on a 15-year-old headset. Some folks don't like jack of all trades mechanics, but after watching him work, I get the sense that Tsui is well qualified to take care of pretty much everything when it comes to a dandy horse. And that's a good thing if you live in Liberty Village.
THE SKINNY
Who the store caters to: Liberty Village residents, urban cyclists
Bike price range: $500-$10,000 (custom build), most bikes range between $600 and $3000.
Service capabilities: Everything, hydraulic specialist
The tune-up: For $60 you get complete external adjustment of the bike (bikes, gears, bolts) and your wheels tensioned and trued, rims resurfaced if necessary, suspension cleaned, and a full on road test by a mechanic. Liberty Street Cyclery quotes a 24hr turnaround time on tune-ups.
Discussion
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Best Bike shop ever.
!!!!
The service started out friendly and I was assured that they had done my anusual brake repair a few times before and that it wouldn't be an issue. Although I was a little annoyed that I was told a lesser price and wait time on the phone then in shop (a difference of just one hour to 6 hours!!) I felt comfortable that they knew what to do. I also left my number if they needed to reach me.
Although the repair was done in the time stated it was done very poorly. There was a wire cut from the brake that was left pointing out and would catch on things and scrape me every time it's used. Sure the brake now worked, but the repair was done with very little regard to my safety and was still unusable. I asked them if a longer cable could be used so that the end could be tucked away properly so that it would not point out, be safe, and would have a more finished look. He said that he had spent a fair bit of time working on it and if I was not satisfied he could cut the cable (rendering it in worse condition than what I had brought it in as, not to mention that they reused my parts- so what he was suggesting to damage was mine, not his to cut) and I could find another shop to fix it for me. I was floored. Honestly, it wouldn't have taken much to do the job right, clearly they knew how to fix the break but they did a poor job on the finishing touches to do the job right. I was willing to leave my parts with them so that the finishing touches could be done, heck I would have even been willing to pay more if it ment having a satisfactory job done. They were not willing to do this it seemed to me however that all they wanted was the quick buck. They put me in an awkward situation, pay, or have them damage my property. Rediclous and very intimidating. I paid, and then I got the heck out! Now I have to waste another day and more $$ finding a bike shop to correct their shoddy work. I strongly advise you to take your repaires to professionals who take pride in their work and who value your safety.
As someone who works in customer service, I've experienced the demanding, hard to please types. Some may not understand that the fact that they do quality repairs within 24hrs (even in peak season!!!) is ridiculously impressive - other shops take weeks...AND they only have THREE employees!
Good job guys.
I'm looking for a good stunt scooter dealer
I'm just curious what kind of bike you have where A) you sit close enough to the brakes that the wire hanging out can scrape you and B)what kind of brakes you have that are located ANYWHERE near the seated position of a typical bike. On normal bikes, there is a bit of exposed wire to adjust tension. I suspect the real problem is that you are actually an idiot, and no bike shop can fix that. Please post pictures of either A) these mystery brakes or B) your high school diploma, so that you can clear your sullied name.