Erik’s – Bike, Ski & Board

Had another bad experience at Erik’s again today and will never set foot in their stores again. If you can’t stand behind what you sell than don’t sell it. You SUCK and I hope you soon swell the ranks of the unemployed!

Stopped in today with a loose chain and a mechanic named Rivers (I think?) repaired the chain, explained what and why he was doing it, and gave me advice on all the random questions I had as a novice rider. Great customer service, definitely coming back. Thanks Rivers!

It saddens me to have to update this, I have been a loyal customer for 14 years because of the stellar service, but it seems that is no longer a priority.
I can understand being busy when spring arrives, so I called ahead to ask the first time I wanted to take my bike in. I was told a weekday morning might be best, so I waited and took it in on my lunch break a few days later. I was told they were still quite busy, so I made an appointment for the following week, something I never had to do before. I brought the bike in the night before the appointment was scheduled, so plenty early. Two days later I had not heard a thing, was nearby for a meeting, stopped in to check and was told it would for sure be done by the next day at 5 pm. Did not get any calls the next day either, went there at 6 after work and it was still not done, still working on the main issue I had mentioned– the brakes. I paid for what had been done and took my bike home, and will be looking for more competent service.

Although I find Erik’s tagline delightfully clever, I have avoided this location for a few years, opting to go to the small shop next door. But they don’t always have what I need (and I won’t bash them in another shop’s review), so I have ventured into Erik’s several times. The service has been helpful, friendly, respectful, and knowledgeable. They have been incredibly kind. Recently I needed a few special screws for my bike, and they dug through their miscellaneous screw bin and gave me what I needed. They have earned my loyalty.
Bottom line: You don’t have to have a gear tat peeking out of your cutoff black Dickies to get good service here, folks… but they will help you even if you do.

My review is specifically for online shopping. A friend had told me about some of their closeouts last month, and I jumped at the pricing for a complete snowboard set up. Pricing was awesome, shipping out to the PNW was super fast, and everything was great. I took the new setup out to one of the resorts here, and by about mid day I noticed my boots were feeling awfully tight around my toes. Tried different setups with the coiler, the interior section, but with no luck. By the end of the day I was having to curl my toes under (um. ow!).
I figured I was just outta luck since 1. They’ve now been used, 2. I already tossed the boxes and receipts, and 3. They were on super clearance prices. I emailed them a couple days later explaining the situation, asking if there was anything that could be done. I offered to pay for shipping, or whatever was necessary. I dealt with Aly through emails, and she couldn’t have been any more awesome. They still had a pair of the same boots in the next size up, so she said she’d put them aside, and to just send in my other ones and they’d gladly exchange them for me. I was expecting a ‘no can do’, so it totally made my day that she made it really easy to me to get the pair that I needed.
In a nutshell, you guys are AWESOME, and really helpful. While I have no intentions of ever moving out of Seattle, I will most certainly order and buy from the website again and again.

I recently purchased a Cervelo triathlon bike online. Upon its arrival, I brought it into Erik’s bike shop and they were extremely helpful with information and services regarding a tune up and new shoes & pedals. I am very satisfied with the service I received, the staff are very friendly & well-​versed in everything bikes. I will most certainly be returning when it comes time for a tune up. As a bonus, students receive a 50% discount on service fees.

I came to Erik’s to get new tires put on my bike. When I picked it up the next day, excited to take it for a spin, I noticed friction between the back wheel and the frame. Upon closer inspection, I noticed the bolts on the back wheel were loose. So loose the wheel could have slipped off the frame at any time. If Erik’s can’t tighten the wheel after putting on new tires, I hate to think how careless they are about other repairs. When I called to ask if there had been any complications with reattaching the wheel, they were less than helpful, advising «you can come back in if you want, but I think after you tighten the wheel, you’ll probably be fine.» Thanks Erik’s, I’m glad you’re slightly confident my bike will be safe to ride.

On a Saturday afternoon I decided that I wanted to look for a nice road bike. The first place I went was Erick’s Bike & Board in Vadnais Heights. I didn’t know what I was looking for other than a nice bike for a good price. I walked in and Dan came over and we started talking about bikes. Of course the last road bike I purchased was 35 years ago and a lot has changed since then. Dan did a great job of explaining how technology has changed and purchasing a bike that best fits you and your needs. The next thing I knew Dan was fitting me for a bike. Come on! what do you mean get a bike fitting, it’s not a pair of shoes! The last bike I purchased I just went in and said «I want that one» and walked it out the door. This was all new to me, but I trusted Dan.
Keep in mind this was the first place that I stopped to look at bikes. I certainly wasn’t going to purchase a bike from the first place or the first bike I saw. After spending about 30 minutes with Dan and getting fitted I told him that I would be back, but I wanted to look around some more.
I went to three other bike shops, the next one the guy came over and he was so arrogant about his brand being the best and that I needed to purchase a bike from him because he had the best bikes. However when I pressed him on why I should purchase a bike from him he couldn’t tell me why his bikes were any better than the Specialized. I was turned off by his attitude and not giving me a straight answer. The next place I went, they were very nice. This place was honest, and told them that I was looking at the Specialized and he said «there are so few differences between the bikes that I was looking at that, one was just as good as the other». He also said the fit of the bike is very important, however he didn’t take the time to fix me. In fact none of the other stores took the time to fix me for a bike or even offer to let me take it for a ride.
I kept thinking about how Dan took the time to fit me to a bike and explained to me how fitting a bike is very important for a comfortable ride. I decided to go back to Erick’s and purchase the Specialized Allez. Even when I told them that I wanted it in red instead of the black that was in stock it wasn’t a problem. In the meantime my new favorite new bike guy (Dan) went on vacation, but this didn’t stop my purchase. While Dan was on vacation Miguel called to let me know my bike was in. But since I spent all this time with Dan I wanted to wait. I am so happy with Erick’s and their complete sales staff for taking the time with me and getting to know me and my needs. A Special Thanks to Dan for patient with me taking the time to make sure I would be happy with my purchase. The folks at Erick’s Bike and Board should be proud to have an employee like Dan.
Thank You, now I can’t wait to ride.
Jeff

Although I just bought my first product at Erik’s today, the service is as good as it gets. Very knowledgeable mechanics and floor staff. Their bike selection upstairs is pretty decent, and the products downstairs are arranged beautifully. They seem to always have deals too.
I’m friends with some of the guys at the shop, but it seems like they offer the same customer service, kind and courteous, to all who enter the store. The biking culture in Minneapolis is simply amazing and Erik’s is doing it’s part to keep it well-​oiled.

Although I rarely venture over to Dinkytown, I hit this bikeshop up for a major rehaul of my mountain bike.
Ironically, as I started conversing with the manager of the shop, I recognized that we used to work together back when I lived in the Black Hills of South Dakota. (Now back to the review)…
The staff of Erik’s was extremely helpful and accomodating to my needs. They were kind enough to give me a student discount even though I didn’t have my ID on me (future grad student this fall). That discount alone saved me nearly $ 100…
As stated in other reviews, the service is fantastic but so are their products. Although I think their bikes are a little on the pricey side, they are far from «junk». A majority of the bikes sold here are for true bike enthuisasts. So be forewarned that your wallet might be a bit light if you end up buying a bike here. But be rest assured that you will be taken care of if you have any future customer service needs.

I just bought a new bike and they used zip ties to hold the brake cable to the cable guides. This is not a bad thing in itself, but they were positioned so the lock part was facing up and poking me in the leg. Hence the need for some zip ties to reposition them in a non-​pokey way.
I was going to brace myself and walk into Varsity — where I’ve had more negative experiences than positive ones — but then I remembered Erik’s was right next door.
It’s pretty commercial looking inside and seems to cater to a less hipster crowd than Varsity or Re-​Cycle. Like to regular people. The guy at the counter was pretty friendly to me and told me to go to the back where they do repairs to get some zip ties for free.
I had to wait a few minutes while another guy was getting a new set of rear sprockets, but he gave me a few extra in case I messed up. I also picked up a patch kit and they made sure I had tire levers and a pump to actually patch my inner tube correctly. Nice touch!
Overall the guys were not snobby and pretty helpful. Although some might be turned off because it’s a chain, it’s still a local business. I also noticed they rent bikes, so if you’re touring the campus or something, this is a good alternative to driving around all day.