// Shop Review: VeloSport
Posted on Monday, September 21st, 2009
VeloSport
1615 University Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94703
General impressions:
I felt good about walking into VeloSport. It sort of felt like home. And by home I mean bike shops in Madison, Wisconsin. I’ve noticed that shops around here tend to be super clean and neat–selling fancy parts and bikes, but none of the nitty gritty stuff you need to actually make them go. Or maybe they sell that stuff, but it’s hidden. You know, to keep up the shop’s image that you’ll never have to lube the chain of a bike you buy there.
Anyway, VeloSport is a real, down to earth bike shop. They have new and used bikes, as well as some frames you can build up yourself. They also had a great selection of tools, locks, and miscellaneous stuff like lube, degreaser, and other gooey things that can be used to make your bike run better. And not only did they have all this stuff, but they have Peter Rich–a brilliant man who will help you with whatever you need.
Peter Rich deserves some discussion. He was there when I went to visit, so of course I took a picture of him. Ok, a quick Bicycle Boulevards quiz. Ready?
Taking a picture of Peter Rich was necessary because:
A) he’s the owner of the shop
B) he seemed super helpful and chatted with me for quite a while–nice guy
C) he claims to have sold Gary Fisher his first bike, when the little guy was only 14
D) he was wearing some sweet suspenders
E) All of the above
The answer, of course, is E—I’m telling you, the man is some kind of amazing.
The Ratings:
Friendliness: 8.5/10
I have to say that at first I thought this was going to be an unfriendly interview/review. Peter made it clear that he put little stock into consumer reviews. I tried to explain that this wasn’t one of those kinds of reviews. This is no Yelp review. This is a thorough investigation of a cyclist’s shop options! I’m not interested in bashing a shop–just in determining its strengths and weaknesses and sharing them with the 2-wheeled masses. At any rate, he warmed right up to me, and spent a long time chatting about the various frames he had in. We also discussed the best places to mountain bike around here–which is important to me as a newcomer to the area. He also had on hand photocopies of a sheet called “common rides” or something along those lines. It had a few good road ride routes on it, so if you were new to the area or the sport, you could easily figure out how to get up and down the hills.
Equipment Knowledge: 8.5/10
Peter Rich knows the equipment. He even designed one of the frames that they sell at the store. I told you he was amazing. I asked a lot of questions about the empty spaces in his shop, and he told me that the commuter-type bikes were selling out to the point that it was hard to get more from the company (in this case Giant–one of the main brands VeloSport carries). We talked about the pros and cons of commuters, touring frames, speedy road frames, and local brands like Soma. He definitely knew his stuff.
Mechanical Knowledge: 7.5/10
I didn’t get a good feel for the staff and their mechanical knowledge while I was there. The shop has a decent sized workshop in the back, where there were a couple of guys working on bikes. They all seemed to be doing actual mechanic work, not simple stuff like adjusting seat heights. And because I know several people in the Berkeley Bike Club who trust this shop, I have a feeling their mechanical knowledge is pretty good (Also: the shop sponsors the BBC). My rating is a tad bit arbitrary because I didn’t actually have any work done or observe too much of it happening. Take it with a grain of salt.
Merchandise Selection: 9/10
The Merchandise selection was great. Need evidence? Check out this photo of the wall of tires. And get this—you can’t even see the entire wall in this photo. You can, however, see the Trusty Boyfriend doing his best impersonation of Vanna White (sans sparkly dress. He wouldn’t go for that one).
In addition to the tires, there was an abundance of books, tools, locks, clothing, saddle bags, helmets, and of course, bikes. And lots of these items were on sale–there were particularly good deals on clothing. A quick note though: there is currently a shortage of lower priced commuter bikes because they’ve been insanely popular–VeloSport is waiting on the bike companies for more.
Potential for Satisfaction:8.5/10
Peter Rich will not steer you wrong. He will interrogate you, and be sure that what you walk out of his shop with is the right thing for you. And another thing that’s key: there’s a wide enough selection that you’re bound to find what you need.