The Clean Machine

Tried to rent a bike here. The rate quoted was $ 50/​day for a road bike. This seems steep to me, though maybe that’s because it’s apparently the only bike rental shop in the area. But the dealbreaker was that they don’t provide locks along with rental bikes, or rent locks. The cheapest cable lock for sale was $ 30 and really, that wouldn’t save me any money because I’d be paying $ 500 to replace the bike when it got stolen. I don’t carry my Kryptonite Manhattan lock when I travel.

There are two primary bike shops that I know of in this area. The problem I have with this one is:
— the attitudes
— the pricings
— the quality of service
Briefly to the first point, in the few times I’ve been in TCM, I’ve never been greeted until I’ve stood around awkwardly for a spell. Usually this is due to whoever’s present being on the phone, gabbing with a co-​worker, or staring at a computer/​register monitor, otherwise oblivious to the world around them. Forget about being warmly greeted, I just want someone to respond to my throat clearing without an annoyed expression. Is your annoyance due to whatever you were working on, or that you have to talk with someone?
To the latter point, quality of service, I brought my two quality road bikes in more than once and was always disappointed with the results. For example, I was informed that I should replace my bald tires with new ones. If I were an ignoramus, I would have bought that suggestion. I knew better, though, since I had those tires replaced less than a year before. Their «baldness» was by design. How familiar are these mechanics with common tire/​tread types?
Another time, I brought a bike in for a standard tune-​up. A few weeks later, a creaking was coming from my crankset. I never had that problem before. I brought it back in, and at first they weren’t going to honor the work they did previously, but eventually they submitted. Much appreciated. However, a solution was not found. It was suggested, in fact, that a «piece was missing,» from the set. How could that happen, except for during their servicing? They did not have the suspected missing piece in the shop, so I was told I could wait on an order.
In the meantime, I brought the bike to a competitor. One glance and he spotted the problem. A little tightening, and assurance that there were no missing pieces, and it was as good as new. Not a creak since.
Though my experiences were all lackluster, TCM is a decent shop for all the reasons you’ll find in other reviews. Just be wary of their suggestions and negotiate for better prices when feasible.

I was excited to find the Electra Ticino in their online catalog, and when we popped in the store — sure enough, there she was in all her wintermint and hammered fender glory. My first question was how it compares to the Electra Verse (a model I’d looked at elsewhere, and was also interested in)… where did the specs vary, and what would I be sacrificing with each. The staff responded that Electra bikes are more style-​forward than function-​forward, and pointed out things on the Ticino that are designed for a more comfortable ride (ie, didn’t really answer the question, or seem to know anything about the Verse. To be fair, it’s not in their inventory). They got me set up for a spin in the parking lot, and I liked the bike. I brought it back in and questioned the price; it had been marked with a sale price on their online catalog, but was not in the store. Our associate said the catalog bike might have been an older model, and that what was in the store was all they had, suggesting the bike I’d seen online had sold.
To appease my husband (who is certain I won’t be able to «keep up» with him on my lovely upright bicycle), I rode a couple of other more aggressive styled bikes. But I kept coming back to the Ticino. While looking at bikes for Him, we crossed to a separate side of the store where the men’s bikes & road bikes were. And what should I see gleaming in the window but a shiny Ticino?! It was priced about $ 250 cheaper (even less than the one I’d seen in their online catalog). We wheeled it around, and the guy told us that it was an older model; he pointed out some differences in the gear shifters and coverings. After riding it, I decided I liked the newer model better. When we checked out, lo & behold, the price on the newer model came up as the sale price I had seen online — it had just never been marked down on the bike itself.
This is without a doubt my favorite of all the bike stores we visited. I loved the feel of it – hip, community-​loving bike store with really cool associates — and I loved the guy we worked with. He was new, but so nice, helpful, and patient. He fitted me for two helmets, because I couldn’t decide, helped us install our bike rack (even though we bought it from their other location), and helped research inventory elsewhere on the bike my husband was hoping to order. The store also has a great tune-​up-​anytime policy, valid for any of their locations. I’m really glad I was able to support this particular store with my bike purchase!

We brought in an ’08 tandem that had been giving us issues since we bought it new. We’d brought it into two bike shops prior to Clean Machine but none had solved the problems.
Evan was our awesome tech. He unearthed a missing spacer and incompatibilities between 2 sets of components. Then he worked with the component manufacturers to resolve the issues. End result: bike runs better than ever.
I’m used to having to call shops a couple days after they said the bike would be done, only to find out the repair would take another week. Evan did a great job keeping us apprised of the impact of his findings on cost, schedule, and long-​term rideability. We received e-​mails with photos at critical junctures. Thanks Evan.
And congrats to Clean Machine for putting together a great team.

WE had a great experience here with purchasing a bicycle and getting a tune up for an existing bike. We wanted to buy a bicycle for my daughter to ride to school and being the thoughtful person she is, she needed time to figure out what model, color and accessories she would want. We ended up going in twice to look at the different models, try them out, look at colors etc. She ended up getting a really kick-@ss Townie by Electra in purple with front basket. They had options for decals and streamers too but she didn’t go for that. They had her bike in stock and by the afternoon she was out touring the neighborhood.
Hubs had his bicycled tuned up since he rides to work and had different tires put on and they were able to finish it up within hours and not the next day that we were told. He was really psyched that he got such a quick turnaround service since he loves his bike so much he is threatening to buy a back-​up.
I don’t bike much (at all) but a store like that just might be able to talk me into it.

I stopped in here today with two objectives — one — see if they have any road bikes in «Moni Size» (XS — my current roadie is 43cm), and to see if they have anything available for me to try out.
You see — I’ve tested out a few bikes in the last few months, and its come to my attention that I really need a better road bike. My current bike is a GREAT starter bike, but now that I have 4 triathlons and 2 rides under my belt, I feel its time for an upgrade. The hardest part is finding what I want in my size.
I went in and asked about it, and was immediately taken to two different bikes that are in my size, price, and material list of needs. Score! I asked about the fit and ride process, and got the skinny on that. I was pleased to hear that they will put you on a trainer to test out your fit with the bike’s geometry, and then let you take the bike out for a spin. I will definitely be making an appointment to do this soon!
My second objective was the icing on the cake! I explained that I’m pretty new to the area, and I was told that there are two women’s rides in the area during the week. That made me REALLY happy since the other ones I’ve found are out in Cary. Close to home, AND from a place that is one of the few Orbea dealers in the area.

Clean Machine is the Carrboro location of the area’s Bicycle Chain stores. Lot of really good people who love bikes work here. They sell Orbea, Cannondale and other brands in the shop, but have access to all the major brands.
I called up the Clean Machine to see if they had touring bikes like Surly’s Long Haul Trucker. They didn’t have any in the shop, but the guy was way into promoting touring bikes and called up a friend of his who had the bike I was looking for and got him to lend it to me for a ride. I ended up not taking the offer, but seriously that was cool.
These guys also do fittings. I had them size me for an Orbea, but didn’t end up getting one. My buddy had a full fitting done there and although it cost some money for the fitting time and the parts, he says they did a really great job and his bike is SOOO comfortable now. I kinda resent that they did that because now my bud is a lot faster than me. But it’s my bad for not letting them know who to blacklist from fittings.
All in all, this is a great local bike shop. I haven’t had any service work there, but most of the good bike mechanics in the area have spent some time wrenching there. They also have some rides organized throughout the year on the road and trail. They’re also located close to some nice riding routes up North Greensboro and out on Dairyland. They’re not terribly far from Carolina North to try a bike on the dirt if you want.