_{Recycled Cycles, Seattle, photo courtesy of Robert Springer [flickr]}

A few months ago, after walking the two miles to my workplace a few times, I started enviously staring at the bike commuters who whizzed by me as I trudged home. After about a week of enduring this, I vowed to get myself a bicycle and join the masses of Seattle cyclists.

I first went to Recycled Cycles to see if it might be possible to be fitted for a bike (centimeters, frame heights- I was at a loss), and to see about possibly purchasing a used one from their shop. I’d heard some friends who were doing the Seattle-to-Portland ride speak very highly of Recycled Cycles. That initial visit didn’t go as well as I’d hoped- the bicycles were more expensive than I’d expected, and the sales clerk seemed rather uninspired. He did tell me what size frame to look for, but that was about as far as he got. I was rather disappointed, after hearing all the hype.

Shortly afterwards, I acquired a used bicycle from Craigslist with every feature I wanted to have from a friendly girl who was trading it in for an upgraded version. She let us know that a couple of small repairs needed to be made, and again recommended Recycled Cycles. I figured I’d give it another try, but wasn’t expecting much on my return visit. After a few quick phone calls, it turned out that Recycled Cycles would be able to get me in quicker than any other store, and their price quotes were less expensive than most of the other shops.

I walked in expecting to have to fight to get some attention, given that I’d wandered around for quite a while the previous visit before an inquiry. This time, despite it being a busy and warm weekend, I was greeted by someone from the repair shop as I stood in line, who quickly and easily answered all my questions, and even helped me haul all my gear into the shop. After explaining the repairs to a second employee, I was told that my bike could be fixed up while I waited, and the employees let me know exactly what they would do and how much it would cost. The repairs took a grand total of about 15 minutes, while I strolled around the store, and watched the bike shop repair staff spin wheels and prod spokes in their jaunty caps.

Needless to say, I was a much happier customer on the second visit, and will certainly be returning. I really appreciated the lack of snobbery about my Craigslist-bought bike- I’ve certainly had plenty of patronizing explanations and snotty looks from cycle store employees in the past, and was dreading a repeat experience. I also was very impressed with the speed and efficiency of their service shop, and most of all with the staff, who took the time to explain to me what they were doing even on a busy Saturday afternoon. There are probably a ton of other things to appreciate about Recycled Cycles that a more informed cyclist would wax poetic about, but for me, it was nice to just have a tune-up that was courteous, prompt and informative.