Recycled Cycles

In 2007, I bought a bike from Recycled Cycles. I think it was probably from the late 80’s or early 90’s. They sold it to me for $ 125 dollars. It was an okay experience. The bike I bought was nothing special. Just a bike, probably from Walmart, that someone loved intensely for a month or two then let it sit in their garage until they decided to sell it to Recycled Cycles. It went down to California with me. Now my dad owns it and rides it in a drier climate. I would give them 3 stars for this.
Let’s bring it to the present day. My husband bought me a 1979 Schwinn from the Goodwill. Yes. It is made of steel. Yes. It has steel wheels. Yes. It is a work in progress. My husband called on Monday and spoke with someone about the possibility of it getting fixed this week before the New Year. They say sure, bring it in, we can work on it on Thursday. I am excited. Finally, I get to get on a bike and ride! This is something that I have been waiting for since my OB told me not to ride bikes while pregnant with my first child. After the drop off on Tuesday my husband calls me, his voice is soft, he has bad news. They suggest we get some used aluminum wheels to replace my steel ones. They said they have to bring it up because it is a liability.(For everyone who doesn’t know this, it is harder to brake in rain with steel tires and certain brake pads.) No worries, we can replace those when we need to. I don’t plan to ride the tour de france. I just need it to get from one class to another. He also told me that they suggested that I buy one of the used bikes they have there because my bike is not worth fixing up. It’s worth it to me because this Schwinn is replacing one my husband sold on accident. The next day, today, Wednesday, the 30^th of December 2015. My husband calls me again, «Suzy, I don’t know how to tell you this.» There is a dent on my steel frame. They said they can’t fix it because it’s a liability. Ya, I am a grown woman crying because my bike is not going to be worked on because of a liability? Wtf? Because of a liability. If you have a classic bike that needs work, I would take it in and have them check it while you are there to see if they can even fix it. Don’t waste time or have your time wasted like I did… or have your little icy heart broken. *tear* I am so sad.

Of the 5 stores I went to, both Recycled Cycles locations had the best selections and the best service. Ended up buying two Kona bikes at the Fremont location.

I’m not sure how many bikes we have purchased here! Our family loves Recycled Cycles. The staff is always very knowledgeable, helpful and not hard sell. They fix our bikes quickly and have a great selection of accessories.

IMO: THE most affordable and honest shop within Seattle. I won’t go anywhere else (except for their other location) except in emergencies.

By all accounts, this place is amazing — great bikes, great products, great customer service — well, except for one guy. My wife and I went in to rent two bikes for a week. We were unfortunately being helped by a guy named J_​_​_​_​. He told us he didn’t have any and only when we pressed him did he even look to see if he had anything available. Turns out he had two bikes. He tried to help us by adjusting the seats but completely adjusted them incorrectly. Any attempt by us to engage in friendly conversation was met with curt, humorless responses. Then when we came back that evening, we asked him if we could rent the bikes for a week. He said it was 100% not possible and sent us back to drop the bikes off at the service counter. Enter Annie — most helpful person there. Due to our previous unhelpful encounters with J, we asked her if she knew if there were any bikes available to rent from them. Unlike J, Annie actually took the extra two minutes to check and within 5 min we had signed the new rental agreement and she was very expertly adjusting our seats, giving us lights, checking air in our tires, and being very friendly! It was a pleasure to meet her and very good experience to be helped by someone who knew bikes and knew customer service. When we went back to drop off our bikes at the end of the week, everyone else there was helpful and kind as well. 4 stars: if you like bikes, you’ll like recycled cycles — just steer clear of J.

I’ve been coming here for ten years and they have always been fabulous whether it’s a tune-​up, new brakes, or a new chain. I’ve never had them try to tack on extras that weren’t necessary. Recently my bike was stolen and they gave me all the information I needed over the phone to file a police report. When it came time to get my new bike serviced (I had purchased a used bike) they got it up and running in no time and they gave me a very reasonable deal for the work. I cannot recommend them enough.

Finding Skip & Tala at this LBS is like attending a family reunion… but way better ‘cuz at family reunions you don’t get set-​up perfectly on a bike to buy or rent.
That’s what happens at this location under the University Bridge — just off the Burke Gilman Trail.

Recycled Cycles (Boat Street) is the perfect place if you:
1. Definitely know your bike parts and your bikes as you can assess the value of their used parts they have available.
2. Are a commuter cyclist and need the basic parts to get your bike in operable condition.
3. Next to Herriott Sports Performance, Recycled Cycles might offer the best bike tune-​up and wheel trues in Seattle.
4. Easter Eggs of vintage parts you are trying to find. I’ve seen Judy triple crown and Girvin forks here!
Highlights, tips and ‘keep-​in-​mind’ things:
1. The customer service has improved since last year with more helpful and less condescending staff.
2. If you know what exact part you’re looking for, such as «3×8 Shimano MTB shifters» or «square taper triple MTB crankset», you can usually get the staff to help you find those parts over the phone and put a hold on them should you pick them up later that day.
3. If you’re a UW student, faculty or staff, bring your UW ID card as it will give you, I recall a 10% discount (which is not dealing with the 9.5% sales tax).
4. If you’re looking to rid some used parts in hopes of using your pennies of store credit towards something else in the store, they may be of some help. Keep in mind, you might think your fork is worth 20 emotional dollars now but expect like next to nothing but I actually respect the low balling since I couldn’t sell my stuff on Craigslist or eBay for that price.
5. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, just bring in the bike or the part.
6. You can many times get a bunch of used reflectors for your bike for free.
Sales floor:
1. I feel that the price of the used bikes reflects how well they’ve refurbished the bike itself than what you’d find on eBay or Craigslist. The pre-​owned bikes do feel new and in fact better than the department store assembly jobs you see at Fred Meyer, Target or Dick’s Sporting Goods. I think the pricing is on the higher end but the refurb is immaculate. If they’re rebuilding the front/​rear suspensions (if applicable) on these bikes, well… then yeah, it’s immaculate.
2. Selection is good for commuters, cycling enthusiasts and around entry level competitive cyclists but don’t go in thinking they’ve got $ 5K carbon spec’d machines everywhere.
3. Apparel and accessory selection is more so suited towards cycling commuters.
Service:
1. It’s stupid good in the technical knowledge department of new and vintage. Some of the shop guys are very, very comfortable doing a rear end linkage rebuild on a vintage MTB.
2. Turn around time is within a few days. Make sure you make an appointment as they have a lot of clientele that just floods them.
If Recycled Cycles could only slightly reduce the price on their used parts such as the saddles and forks for example and ace down their special order inquiries (I was let down by the inability or desire to help me figure out how to purchase a Raleigh Skarn MTB while Alpine Hut in Seattle’s Interbay and Las Vegas Bikes in Nevada reached out and found one. Didn’t work out as Raleigh’s customer service department is horrible and also their MTB racing teams have quite a few riders that are snooty).
Overall, good place for used and sometimes obsolete parts. Great place for tune-​ups. It’s the 27.5/650b of bike shops.

Awesome shop. I recommend to anyone visiting town, and you’ll find me there often. Always my go to for hard to find pieces of bike parts.

Very nice customer service and I am enjoying my Surley Cross Check!

This is my go-​to place for bicycle maintenance. With the aid of Recycled Cycles knowledgeable and professional mechanics, I was able to gradually transform my rather decrepit hand-​me-​down bike into a functional and slick machine. I continue to drop by for small fixes — for problems real and sometimes imagined — and the rare upgrade, and I have consistently found the staff to be personable, helpful and even lenient in their labor charges, with small adjustments often being free (but don’t quote me on that!)

Recycled Cycles is a good entry point for bicyclists not yet ready to commit in full to the Lycra lifestyle. They take pride in their repair work and are willing to spend the time listening to you to find the best fit for your needs.
Their selection of new bikes is somewhat limited, but in a way that fits the scope of their customers needs. Their offerings are geared towards the urban cyclist and/​or commuter who wants a good bike but isn’t trying to shell out the big bucks or win Le Tour de France. I bought a new bike from R.C. when I was just starting to get serious about biking, and a used one many moons later.
If you are willing to lurk for a while, they do have great deals on used bikes. After speaking with Adam (I think) for a while about what I wanted, which was admittedly overly specific, and he said they didn’t have anything like that but I should check out the Fremont shop because they had a titanium frame conveniently in my size, (57cm– inconveniently a size rarely stocked in the US because ‘Murica) and had I ever heard about Ti frames? I hadn’t. Try it I did.
Buy it, I did.
Don’t be afraid of asking questions. That said, it’s a very good idea to do some basic research on bikes before you come in, at least to the point of knowing what kind of riding you want to do and what style of bike you want. Like any humans, they have their biases and might get steer towards things you don’t want before you both agree that you want what you want, as long as they have it. I spent a lot of time trying different bikes and talking about the differences in various elements of bikes– if you demonstrate a desire to know more about bikes, the guys at R.C. are more than willing to share what they know. Being riders themselves, they tend to be enthusiastic about their profession/​vocation/​hobby/​lifestyle.
Recycled Cycles won’t take all your money, and sometimes they will even talk you out of purchases that you think you want, but actually don’t. They will, however, give your bike great care at a very reasonable price.

This place is great for bike nerds and DIYers. They have well stocked used parts bins and I’ve always had good luck finding the random bits I need. They have new stuff too if you can’t find what you’re looking for, or it’s a consumable or accessory you’re best off getting new anyways. The mechanics are very knowledgeable and helpful.
Today was exceptional, I needed some parts to build up a tandem and they found me everything I needed and then some, including a Campy cassette for another bike that would have cost me easily double to order online. I brought in an oddball v-​brake that they had never seen before (yeah, very oddball) and the mechanic mounted it to a fork to test it out and we figured out how it works.
Before you scour eBay and Craigslist check out Recycled Cycles.

Recycled Cycles in the University District is all around the best bike shop I have been too, especially with regards to customer service and knowledge.
I came in to the shop about a year and a half ago after being hit by a car on my bike and needed an estimate of damages for an insurance claim. Recycled Cycles provided me with a fair estimate in a few days and provided this estimate at no charge. Unfortunately, my bike was no longer safe to ride, but Recycled Cycles’ estimate helped me get reimbursed for a good replacement bike.
I also shopped for my new bike here. The sales representative was not pushy at all and even told me that I should look at other places and make sure that I liked a bike before buying it and didn’t expect me to buy something right then and there. He was very patient and helped me try out many bikes within my price range. Although in the end I did not find a bike that I liked at Recycled Cycles, but I figured out what style of bike I liked best.
I have noticed Recycled Cycle’s consistent exceptional customer service, knowledge, and generosity after having been here many times for various reasons and will keep coming back. For example, I had squealing brakes on my new bike. I had been to 2 other bike repair shops previously about my brakes but none of them could stop the squealing properly. Recycled Cycles adjusted my brakes and the brakes stopped squealing immediately and they did this adjustment for free. They have also gladly looked at my bike when I have taken spills to see if anything got out of adjustment.
For any bike products that I have come in to the store looking for like lights, helmets, and rain booties, someone has always immediately come to my attention and assisted me in finding the best option for what I was looking for. Also, if you are affiliated with the UW and have a U-​Pass, you get discounts here.
I have also come here to schedule service for my bike and they are usually prompt in performing service for walk-​ins. The only service that I needed to schedule an appointment for way in advance was for a tune-​up so be forewarned that this type of service takes time to get done. Otherwise, big thumbs up to Recycled Cycles.

This place seems a little intimidating to a non-​cycle enthusiast but I found that it was filled with helpful people who will answer all your questions. Thank you to Ryan who helped me out there. You were super easy to work with. For someone deep in that subculture, it must be a real treat!

I have been here twice now and both times, I have received exemplary customer service. The first time I was there, was for a basic bike rack and the person that helped me out was very helpful and gave me his unbiased opinion on what was best for me and not the most expensive option.
Second time I came in, was after I had my bike serviced at another LBS and after two days of riding mainly on the Burke-​Gilman trail, the rear wheel was severely warped and damaged. I was near Recycled Cycles, so I brought my bike in, and had Justin look at it. After a few minutes he told me the rear wheel was damaged beyond repair and would have to be replaced. I was surprised the wheel was in such bad shape after it had only been a couple of days since another LBS had serviced and tuned the bike yet they made no mention of such weakness or potential damage to the rear wheel. Justin was super helpful in helping find a replacement and also in dealing with the while issue.
While in the shop, I was able to get in touch with the LBS I originally purchased the bike from and they said they would warranty the wheel. I had to get from Recycles Cycles to this other LBS and recycled cycles was kind enough to lend me a loaner wheel at no cost. Seriously, that just speaks volumes to the awesome people they have working here.
I definitely intend to continue going to Recycled Cycles and if you have never checked them out, you should. You will not be disappointed.

I didn’t want to buy an extremely expensive bike, but I still wanted quality, so I went to Recycled Cycles to look for a used road bike. I know it was the beginning of summer, but they had nothing! I am 5’4″ and they had no bikes that would fit me, and they had barely any larger bikes either. One of the staff members offered to show me some new bikes, but the lowest grade road bike they had was $ 700 and I knew I could find a better deal, either online or at a different used bicycle store. I ended up just buying a new helmet, but left disappointed by their low selection, disengaged staff, and slow service.
To end on a good note, they did have a really nice selection of new bikes and used parts. It seemed like a really nice store, but I guess I showed up at the wrong time.

I really want to like this place as it’s a local shop and in a great location but I had to stop in there to fill my bike tires up with air and I was sadly disappointed and extremely irritated when I left the shop.
I am a non-​biker, everything about screams you don’t know what you are doing and I am well aware of that. I ride my bike to work and that’s it. So I was on my way to work and both my tires needed air so I swung in there. I ask the one guy where the pumps are, no words just points to where they are at. I am fumbling around with them and another employee tells me it’s a duel pump, whatever that means. I ask him to show me where on the tire it shows how much air and he says somewhere on there, well no kidding thank you. I think he picks up on my irritation and comes over to show me but has to point out how dirty my tires are. I tell him I know I need a tune up and a cleaning. He says, well you could probably clean it yourself. Me: yeah I could but I would rather pay someone to do it. Him: yeah I see that. Ok so he finds the number and says «you aren’t 300 lbs are you?» Me: «actually 299 what difference does it make?» He shut his mouth and told me the number to fill it too.
Never again will I go here. Don’t ask some women if they weigh 300 lbs, help when asked and just do the job you are suppose to, not stand around with your co-​workers and shoot the breeze.
I got to work, told all my co-​workers and told them to spread the word.

The last time I owned a bike was 1989. I used it to get back-​and-​forth to school. The last time I rode a bike for fun was long before that when I ranged far and wide from my childhood home. On and off road, with and without friends, up and over jumps and obstacles. Almost literally, «over the river and through the woods.» As a kid, I discovered all of the places that I lived on my bike and took a fair number of spills along the way. Fast forward almost 30 years and it’s a different world, for me and for bicycles. Modern bikes have changed a lot. If one of my old bikes had gears, there were only ten of them, the shifters worked differently, the ride was harder, the equipment much heavier, and there were noises and sounds that were a little different.
Starting over again as a rider to me meant I needed an introduction. I also didn’t want to pay three grand for some high tech wonder that weighed less that my skivvies. I’ve been to many stores that were helpful and informative, but Recycle Cycle re-​introduced me to bikes. They have a vast selection of new and used bikes. Some on consignment, some they’ve rebuilt from the best available parts from old bikes. When I walked in I met Ben, who sized me up, then answered all my questions about what has changed since I last rode. We went over frames, materials, brakes, shifters, gears, seats, and all. Then he sent me our on several test rides and many kinds of bikes. To my surprise, my favorite wasn’t the most expensive (which is rare). And after talking about my skills and needs as a rider, we found the perfect bike. IT wasn’t used but it also didn’t cost as much as I thought it would.
Recycle Cycle took their time with me. Answered my questions, and didn’t treat me like a stupid newbie. Their staff loves to ride and they genuinely wanted to share that passion with their customers. They sold me want I needed and didn’t try to upwell me to a bunch of expensive accessories or components. They told me to use my bike awhile. To break it in an get comfortable before I start to customizing things. Sound advice.
The purchase of a new bike from Recycle means I get a lot little service extras. But most of all it means I get crew of people who love to ride who are willing to share that passion and excitement with me. To help me get back to doing something that brought me so much joy as a kid. «It’s just like riding a bike.»

For the summer of 2013 — I was heavily interested in getting a bike for the summer — so I needed to start my research somewhere on getting a bike. After understanding all of the various bike types out there, I’ve decided on getting a hybrid bicycle. After being told by one of my friends that this place allows bike rentals, I had to stop by and start renting bikes to give them a feel.
It’s been a long while since I’ve used a bike — as the last bike I used only had two gears, and had caliber brakes and reflectors, nothing like today’s bike with 27 gears, hydraulic disk brakes, LED flashers and pneumatic shock absorbers!!! Wow!!! It’s a lot of motorcycle technology on a push bike.
In any regard, renting a bicycle does help out a lot in determining what kind of bicycle I should purchase, it’s a great way of learning what bicycles today now feature, and what to look for, such as the size of bicycle.
One thing that stuck in my mind is the service that these representatives had; they are all genuinely happy to help people, from counter sales, floor sales, and the service counter, everyone is happy and had a true earnest to assist me and everyone else for that matter. While it is a bit more hectic during warmer days, the sales representatives assisted everyone the same way.
All of the sales representatives that I spoke to or observed knew of technical information about various bike types, but also gave tips on using bikes, or various helmet styles, bike accessories, and with other customers, offered biking directions/​routes to various locations around the area, even told people where to park where it’s free to park for no time limit (further west on NE Northlake Way, past I-​5, reverse angle parking on right hand side if driving west. 10 minute walking distance)
Alas, I wasn’t able to purchase a used bicycle (I have no need to get a brand new one), as I was practically gone for two months out of the summer for my career, but I’ll be looking towards Recycled Cycles in the future to get a bike.
Note, considering where they are located — which is near the Lake Union Loop, renting a cycle, and biking the Lake Union Loop during the warm days is a perfect way of spending the day, and there’s various places to stop and get a bite to eat or drink on that loop.