Don's Bike Store in Redlands

A few years ago Don's Bikes of Rialto opened a new store in Redlands. About six months ago I thought I would give them my business. I've have since decided this was a mistake.

In December of 2012 I had them build a 700c wheel around a Schmidt SON 21R dynamo hub with a 32 spoke rim. In August 2013 (six months later) a spoke pulled out of the rim because the nipple failed. They had the gall to charge me $32 to fix it - I complained and got $20 back. It should have been free. A week later two more spokes failed for the same reason. They replaced all the nipples with brass and didn't charge me. Clearly a bad build.

In March of 2013 they cleaned the drive train - no problems there.

In May of 2013 I had them replace my aging carbon front fork. This was a big deal because I have an old bike and they couldn't get a carbon fork with a threaded steerer tube (I hope I'm saying that right). Anyway, they had to replace the headset and that was difficult because I also have old aerobars that cannot be removed from the handlebars without destroying them.

Mike the mechanic did a good job - at least I thought so at first. Unfortunately he partially losened the aerobars so now they move around as I ride and they can't be tightened or losened - not his fault really. He also rewired my bike computer with no slack so when I pulled the aerobars up to a more comfortable position the wires pulled out and I had to buy a new wiring harness.

But the kicker came in August 2013 when I braked for a corner and my front brakes fell off the frame - MY BRAKES FELL OFF! They fell into the front wheel and bounced out. Thank God they didn't wedge into the wheel while I was braking on a 50mph descent. The brakes broke, a spoke broke, and the dynamo wire was damaged.

I took the bike to Don's and they were apologetic. They fixed the brakes and spoke at their expense and I fixed the wire myself (I knew that degree in Electrical Engineering would come in handy one day). They even loaned me a bike until mine was fixed three days later (see the previous review).

Despite the fact that they are prepared to admit and fix their mistakes, the fact they make so many of them means I will not be returning there. My wife and daughter both bought bikes there in the past year and they will not be returning either, even for the free tune-ups. With mistakes like this being made even a free tune-up could turn into a hospital trip or worse.

Note: My other daughter bought her bike at Don's Bikes of Rialto and I have never had problems there.