[danielle123]

Does anyone have any feedback about Court Cycles? They are located on Court near Nelson Street (they used to have a 2nd shop on Union between Hicks and Columbia).

Also, I'm thinking of buying a sturdy used bike (or new one, if affordable) to ride to Red Hook and/or to ride in Prospect Park on weekends. I have no idea what bikes costs these days. Will $300-$400 get me something decent or do I need to spend more? How are those fold up bikes in terms of sturdiness and being able to ride distances of a 5-10 miles? I live on the 3rd floor so bike weight may be an issue.

If anyone has any advice on good bikes to buy and/or if there is a blog out there that someone can recommend, please let me know.

I hope you all enjoyed the beautiful day. Thank you!

[iheartbk]

My boyfriend and I had a TERRIBLE experience there. The shop was being run by teenagers who were not helpful. When we went to pick up our assembled bikes, they ended up putting together a Female bike for my boyfriend and tried to convince him it was a "unisex" style. There was more and more that went wrong and by the time the owner finally came in we just wanted a refund on the bikes we'd paid for (but not received) that day. For some reason she would only refund one of us, so I let her refund my boyfriend and had to fight the charge through my credit card company. When I told her I would do that she was smug and said that I wouldn't win (I did). To top it off, a week after the charge was dismissed that same card was used fraudulently to buy games online. I have no proof, but I assume it was the kids from the store.

There are soooooo many other bike shops around I urge you to go somewhere with good customer service. We ended up going to the Brooklyn Heights Bike Shoppe on Atlantic. I've read mixed reviews about them, but for the past 2 years I've had nothing but great service.

[my2cats]

The best bike store in Brooklyn is Roy's Sheepshead Cycles on Avenue X and Coney Island. Yes it is far, but it is the best. You are going to be glad you went there. In Manhattan I have been to Toga once and they were great. They have three locations in Manhattan so that might be easier for you if you are in the area.

I suggest you going to a reputable store like these and asking a lot of questions and hearing what they have to say. It is hard to buy a used bike if you don't know what you are looking for, so I would stick to new bikes and good bike shops if you don't know exactly what you want.

400-500 should give you a decent comfort bike.

[danielle123]

Iheartbk - sorry to hear about what happened to you. Thanks for the heads up. I had never heard anything bad about them before - a friend had even bought a bike from them about 5 years ago and seemed happy with her purchase (although she didn't need much customer service).

My2cats - thanks for the recommendation. I think I saw someone else recommend this shop on here before. Yes, it's far and the thought of having to get my bike home from there and/or bring it back to that shop on the subway to have it tweaked/fixed, doesn't greatly appeal. Maybe I could buy the bike there and get repairs elsewhere? Do you have any recommendation that are closer to CG/PS?

[Flexichick]

I went to Roy's and was impressed. I could have EASILY been ripped off - not knowing much about bikes....I needed a new odometer, and they didn't charge me for mounting it (most places do)...they also cut down the seat pipe (whatever it's called) and made sure it was the right height.....and my friend had recently given me her 1 year old Cannondale. I asked them for a tuneup and they said it was too new to need one and not to waste my money - they did a quick (and free) check of the gears and the air pressure...

Plus, they were super nice guys and did it while I waited
_________________
Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball!

[danielle123]

Thanks, Flexi. Did you bring it back on the subway or did you ride it home?

[Flexichick]

[danielle123]

No, I had a car my first 3 years in NYC. An oil truck totalled it while it was parked. I'd rather drive a car than ride a bike but will go for the bike as I prefer to spend my extra cash on booze and jewelry than towing and parking tickets.