UC Cyclery

The owner and staff at UC Cyclery really knocked it out of the park for me last weekend. I arrived in town late in the day for a long «bachelor party weekend» and we immediately rushed off to dinner. We were at dinner when it occurred to me that I had forgotten to pack cycling kit and we were riding early the next morning. It was nearly 8 o’clock at night and every shop I looked into was closed or too far away for me to get to. The owner was happy to talk through his available gear, rung up my order over the phone and sent one of his workers (I can’t recall his name I feel bad about that) over to the restaurant to hand-​deliver it to me. They even included a nice water bottle for free. This is the kind of outstanding service that brings back loyal and repeat business. I made it a point to visit the shop the next morning. A very nice operation and all of the staff was extremely friendly and helpful. My only critique would be that it would be great to see them carry more «non-​Specialized» bikes and supplies. Other than that, what a fantastic shop!

Good selection of bikes and I have purchased three bikes overall from them. Only used the mechanic once and would not recommend for service. My last purchase was a high end tarmac that when I got it home noticed it had a frayed rear dérailleur cable. Took the bike back and all they did was trim off the hanging ends. I still have a new bike with a frayed cable that they were too cheap to replace. Extremely disappointed. They have lost a returning customer.

Very friendly service– loosened the cassette on my son’s bike for free plus advice on lubing and spoke replacement. Would definitely go back for things we can’t do ourselves. What a local bike shop should be.

Great customer service, incredible selection of Specialized bikes, friendly staff and decades of experience. What more can you ask for? Got my Tarmac from Dave and also some accessories and my kit. The free tune-​ups if you get a bike there is the icing on the cake.
Highly recommend!

My experience with this shop was outstanding. I needed to restock my gear and they helped me gather all my supplies quickly. Adam was working the front counter and he was very professional and helpful, even offered if I needed to top off my water bottles. I will support this shop from now on

UC Cyclery deserves 5 stars for their attentive service! Owner Dave and salesperson Ryan were especially helpful on my most recent visit. I would definitely recommend them as they treat their customers — whether experienced riders or novices — with equal care.

These guys have fantastic service and a great selection of products. Highly recommended for mechanical help, bike fittings, or just loitering with cool people. They also have a lot of bikes and equipment in stock, so it’s a great place to shop.

Thank you Steve and Kyle! The tubeless Roubaix tires are PERFECT. Ideal combination of speed, toughness, and resilience.
Steve is a wealth of knowledge on just about anything related to the Specialized brand. He also saved me from installing tubeless tires on my Reynolds rims, which I might have eventually found out the hard way were incompatible. He advised me to install them on the Rovals instead.
Don’t take it personally if Steve doesn’t stop working and chat with you — he is usually very busy, but can multitask and talk while he wrenches.
Dave is the owner and is very friendly.
Helpful that they are open late during the week for last-​minute needs.

I’ve been there twice with my jogging stroller and the guys are extremely helpful and nice. They helped me detect the problem with my strollers wheels and set me up with the right pump that addressed my wheels tubing issues. I really appreciate them taking the time to help me out on both occasions. I would
Definitely give them my business for any cycling needs I may have in the future.

Great selection of bikes and equipment and greet location but pricey. Understandably is in a high rent district but they seem much more focused on the sale than the customer service. Like another reviewer said they «nickel and dime» you on things that they should just take care of in the spirit of good customer service particularly if you’ve spent a lot of $ there. I had a broken accessory that they wouldn’t exchange even though I spent over a $ 1000 in the store. Very disappointed.

This was a great purchasing experience! My husband and I are avid riders in New York and are spending the winter in Southern California. We were looking for reasonably priced bicycles and came in to UC Cyclery with a specific request. Having suffered a separated shoulder from a cycling accident, my husband needed a bicycle with a geometry that allowed for a more upright riding position. Kyle was terrific! He took the time to review the features of various hybrid bikes and sold us as much bike as we needed but didn’t press us or give us a «hard sell». During the process, he even went out on a short ride with us. In the end we bought two bikes that will serve us perfectly and we felt really good about our purchase!

It’s a nice shop with lots of gear & a riding club. HOWEVER, I’m not impressed with their «nickel & dime» approach. I walked in with my bike to window shop & the associate immediately began criticizing my gear & telling me what I needed to upgrade. I thought he was just playing around, but he wasn’t… He made fun of my bottle cages. Whatever…
But then I went in with a mechanical issue. I wasn’t sure what was wrong & asked one of the mechanics a few questions. I wasn’t working on another project & I didn’t interrupt him, but he wasn’t going to engage my bike without charging me. Honestly, he was a creep. I said «thanks» & left.
I want this shop to succeed, but they are their own worse enemies. Take care of your customers, they pay your bills, guys.

Professional bike shop!
Very helpful staff. Reasonable price!

The Guys at UC Cycelry are wonderful, from helping me purchase my bike to keeping it running with free tune-​ups. No hassle, no pressure, no walking out the store with stuff I really don’t need. Always polite, friendly and helpful and never make me feel like an idiot, being fairly new to cycling. Plus, when I bought my bike I checked out many stores and bikes and these guys had the best deal for me.

Rude salesman, over anxious on determining if the conversation will lead to a sale today.

Excellent service. Needed a tune up for my road bike & they were very accommodating. I got an old road bike from a friend & don’t know anything about road bikes. They told me how to keep it maintained in an honest manner & were friendly & easy going. Cared more about customer service and bikes in general than trying to squeeze out your money.

I had them change out my crank a couple weeks ago (did a great job btw) but my gears have been jumping ever since. So I was so annoyed out on a ride that I just swung by and talked to the mechanic thinking they hadn’t adjusted my dérailleur correctly. Well it was TOTALLY my fault because I’d let the chain get so worn out. Steve explained it to me that in really clear terms and even pointed out some things I’d been totally neglecting on my bike. Even some things that prolly weren’t even safe to be riding on. Anyway, just telling you my most recent story of how these guys are the best. I’ve worked at a bike shop before in GA and I wish every shop were like this one.
Also, just so you know, I’ve bought tires, socks, kit gear, lights, maintenance, tubes, a ton of bike parts, and an entire Specy road bike from these folks and would do it all over again. Thanks a bunch.

A great place to buy or service a bike. These guys don’t work on commission so there is never any overselling. I pass 4 other bike shops from my house to get here and it’s well worth it, on the rare occasion where I’m in a hurry and go to a closer bike shop I almost always regret it. I usually talk to Bob or the owner Dave and have purchased 5 bikes here ranging from Specialized Tarmac Pro to a fitness bike. Great bunch of guys!

Great place to get bike services. A bit pricey for a full tune up (75 $) but they do a great jog, and finished my bike 1 day earlier than promised. Bikes running like new! Excellent customer service on the phone and in the store. Great experience and will recommend.

My buying experience was great; the staff was knowledgeable in their products and in the end I got a bike that fits my riding needs (cross-​country) and my budget.
However, this review is for the poor experience I received from trying to obtain warranty service.
I had a broken nipple in my front wheel, and the bike and the components are still under warrant. This should be a straight forward warranty repair. Instead, before anyone even looked at the wheel, one guy started making comments about how this must be corrosion caused by washing my bike with tap water. In their words, tap water in San Diego is too hard that it makes the bikes deteriorate.
So I asked, what am I supposed to wash my bike with? This guy then said «you are not supposed to wash your bike.»
Well, ladies and gentleman, water filtration is state-​regulated, so all tap water in California meets the exact same standard. In addition, water in San Diego comes from San Francisco region and the Colorado River. But this is beside the point. Not washing your bike is just downright ridiculous.
I then said that unless Specialized states that you are not supposed to wash my bike with tap water in San Diego, I’m going to wash my bike. If components break within the warranty period, they should cover it, and I should not have to pay for it.
Eventually, this other technician Al came over and said that they will make a claim with Specialized to see if it’ll be covered by warranty.
All in all, the reason for the one-​star rating is for their poor customer interaction. Blaming the problem on the customer is just a very cheap tactic and honestly should never happen. What’s the point of warranty if customers are always at fault?