Used to be an eminent shop in town. Rarely hear cyclists talk about it now.

Customer Service

As is often the case in any specialty retail, some of the employees are there because they are interested in the kind of products sold. They may or may not have mastery of the retail customer experience subtleties. At times, employees here have been very perceptive and comfortable to deal with; at other times, employees either failed to understand what I wanted, or tried to impose their preferences over mine. Once, I was made to feel like an idiot for trying to replace a worn rear tire with the same model: it cost the amount I wanted to spend, matched the front, and had given exceptional service. After what felt pretty much like an argument, I was able to get another employee to sell me the tire I wanted.

Your experience could depend on whoever waits on you.

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I have to agree with others that Gary offers divergent experiences, depending on why you are there. Gary Jekyll is evident when you're spending money, agreeing with him, a passive customer. Gary Hyde emerges when you express dissatisfaction over even the smallest detail. The transformation is actually pretty creepy to watch.

Gary is technically and mechanically knowledgeable. If you make sure that what you want is also what he wants before you start, every thing will go smoothly.

The owner isn't a nice man. He isn't fair. It's a lack of respect. There's a saying "the customer is always right," but in the case of CycleWorks, "the owner is always right."

This shop needs to be sold to a new owner (at a discount for bad karma), or go out of business.

The shop itself is OK. I don't have any complaints here.

Customer Service

Customer service, on the other hand, was less than impressive. It seemed as though every time I went into this store, I would get the one kid who knew next to nothing about bikes. Wasn't too impressed with the owner, either, as he has never greeted me, even when I was at the counter buying a new bike.

Nicely decorated and good inventory

Customer Service

Very scattered when the boss is gone. They lack direction and priority.

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I drove 20 miles one way to drop off a wheel that needed a spoke fixed and requested that it be done the next day or call me at work. I went back the next day and it was not even started and they did not call. That is really poor service. 80 miles of driving and did not get my tire fixed.

After almost 30 years since I last rode a bike, I bought a used Trek mountain bike two weeks ago. Was 11 miles into a 12-mile ride on the SLT trail in Lawrence when the left pedal fell off. The thread in the crank arm was stripped. Gary and his friendly staff quickly fixed the problem Saturday afternoon so that I would not have to wait until after Memorial Day to pick up my bike. If I get into biking seriously, I will definitely buy a new bike from Cycle Works.

Here's the one fact i want to get across: the owner is a tool.

The shop sold a family member of mine a bike she didn't particularly like. They used high pressure sales tactics on a person who has never purchased a bike before, and didn't know what was desirable or not about biking in general.

No, he didn't put a gun to her head, but he basically belittled her into buying something she regretted the moment she got home. She said it was a case of The Expert Know It All Doing The Little Guy A Favor syndrome, and she felt manuvered into the purchase.

Because KS law allows for returns on a purchased non-perishable undamaged item within 3 days, i thought there'd be no trouble on her exchanging it for another bike or getting her money back.

Customer Service

When she called me to tell me she just bought a bike she didn't like, i told her to take it back. It had only been like 6 hours, after all! She said she didn't like the color, she felt like the reach was too long (it hurt her hands to hold onto the handlebars!) and the riding position just didn't feel comfortable.

So, she and another female family member took the bike back the next day, having only test ridden it outside of their store. The bike hadn't been in her possession for 20 hours, and hadn't been damaged or even ridden.

The owner instantly threw a fit, and kept saying, "But this is the PERFECT bike for her! She doesn't GET it! This is her PERFECT bike!" Really? He actually used PEER PRESSURE to sell her a bike.

We all know that the perfect bike is the one we look forward to riding, not the one that someone thinks is perfect for us-- whether it's a discount store bike or say, my dumpster-saved Giant fixed gear commuter or my Specialized $4500 mtnbike.

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They were adamant that he take the bike back. They had also spent $400 in that store on a hitch rack and other accessories, they just wanted their money back to buy another bike, not necessarily at another store, till he pulled out the douche-baggery.

The owner started throwing around phrases like, "It's just not FAIR to bring this back. This bike is PERFECT for her. It is EXACTLY what she needs. It's not FAIR!!!" Fair? This is business, not personal, buddy.

Even the store employees got really uncomfortable with the way the owner was acting. One even mouthed the words "Sorry!" from behind the owner's back. He completed the refund, but made them wait 30 minutes in an empty store, while he went into a back room (and probably beat his dog. Ok, i made that part up.) Don't empower this guy by spending money in his store.

The owner has no idea what he missed out on. No one else in my family is ever going there, the family members who have bikes will never buy accessories, racks, or bikes from there, and we'll do out best to bad-mouth the guy to anyone who'll listen.

The owner went from happy salesman to total turd in the blink of an eye, and shouldn't be patronized.

An excellent shop in a good location. The owner, Gary, and his staff are all courteous and helpful without any high-pressure sales pitches or the kind of elitist attitude I, unfortunately, run into in MANY bicycle shops. I have experienced that I am not attacked by staff when I enter the store, and I appreciate being able to look at what I want to without being hassled or eagle-eyed. When I am ready for help, I simply make eye contact with as employee or walk to the counter, no problem. My only complaint is that their brand selection doesn't include a model that I was interested in, so I had to buy my most recent bike somewhere else, but we were able to give Cycle Works the business for my wife's new ride, and once the warranty is up on my S brand, I plan on giving Cycle Works my routine tune-up business.

Organized, clean, well laid out sales floor with a good variety of accessory choices. Much better vibe than the other LBS.

Customer Service

Let me see... about a year ago they built me a Surly Long Haul Trucker from a bare frame and fork (that I bought from them, not E-Bay) and gave me a great deal. I got exactly what I wanted and didn't have to wait very long at all. I've ridden and abused it for about 3500 miles and I love it. I ride 20 miles a day, 5 days a week regularly and I've had it out for several 300 mile tours.

About a month later I bought a friend of mine an old Pugeout from a good will and had Cycle Works do an overhaul on it. Again, they did great work at a fair price.

The mechanic I dealt with primarily was named Skylar and he was very helpful. The salesman was Gary. Gary is the owner of the shop and he flirted with my aunt. Thanks gary for giving my aunt who is not the slightest bit interested in a bike shop someone to talk to while she was waiting for me to take test rides and get educated on accessories.

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I'm currently living in Portland, OR where the bike business is no laughing matter. I'm working at the biggest bike shop in town. I have the perspective now to say that I know I was done right. They did an exemplary job on the build and service aspects and did not squeeze any extra money out of me.

I have read the two preceding negative reviews and have an opinion of them. They are bologna. The guy that wanted his dead wheel resurrected does not know what he is talking about. Period. The E-Bay guy is lucky that they only laughed at him instead of telling him the truth. He bit off more than he could chew. He tried to save money by circumventing his local bike shop and then came crawling back when he failed. He probably wasted hours of their time squeezing valuable information out of them just so he could turn around and buy the same stuff for 20 percent cheaper on E-Bay.

Support your local bike shop. Shop at Cycle Works!

I have to agree with some of the less glowing reviews of this shop I have been there a couple times trying to get information on a new Mountain Bike that I had been planning to buy for a while. I walked around the store for about 20 minutes or so during that time no one offers to provide any assistance. I really felt unwelcomed at the store. Since then I bought my bike at Sunflower Bike shop in downtown Lawrence and have been really happy with the whole experience.

Good, wide selection, from competition-level road bikes to city cruisers. Good, quick service (appeared to be a slower day). Friendly folks.

Customer Service

I went in knowing exactly what I wanted: An inexpensive mountain or hybrid bike I could use as a knock-around commuter to prevent too much damage to my road bike. The sales gent pointed me in the exact direction I needed to go, and within five minutes, I found exactly what I needed and they had it on the way to the rack to put on some more street-friendly tires. In the meantime, the shop's owner stopped to chat with me for a good 10 minutes. Granted, I was buying a bike in his shop, but he seemed like a pretty friendly fellow. I was in and out of the shop in 20 minutes, new bike in tow.

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Cycleworks may not get the press or attention that Sunflower does in Lawrence (Sunflower, of course, has the outdoor equipment and other stuff, too--I still dig going there), but the selection of bikes -- both in terms of price range and different types of bikes -- is far better at Cycleworks than at Sunflower. Sunflower seems to have a good selection of higher-end, more expensive bikes, but for the range from $300 up to $4,000, you'll find something in each range at Cycleworks. The shop may not be on Mass., and it may not have the heritage as part of downtown Lawrence that Sunflower does, but the selection of bikes is great. Won't disappoint, for sure, whether you're a weekend warrior like me or a competition-level rider. Give it a go.