Cayuga Ski & Cyclery

After reading some earlier reviews, I hesitated before bringing in my road bike today. I’m glad I ignored the reviews, because Anthony and the other service guys couldn’t have been nicer or helped more.
I came in with a busted 10 speed shifter and left 20 minutes later with a new shifter nicely installed at a price much lower than I expected.
Best of all, nobody tried to sell me anything I didn’t really need to keep rolling.
Five stars!

I get flats a lot and this place is close by. I’ve had flats fixed by them twice for under $ 15 with no problem. This time, however, I brought them my bike and the guy asked me to leave it there. I reiterated I just wanted the flat fixed.
He ends up charging me $ 45 for a new tire and tube somehow and sends me on my way. The next day my bike tire is flat again when I go in to my shed. I bring it back asking how this is possible given that they just replaced everything and I literally rode the bike 2 minutes home. He gives me an attitude, tells me to get out of his store, and now I’m out $ 45 and a rideable bike. You can’t even trust them to change a bike tire. This place is absolute garbage, go to the bike store on the commons instead.

I got a new bike here. Everyone was very polite and helpful (none of the snootiness from the reviews below). I had to call twice to see when the bike was ready — would have been nice if they emailed or called more proactively. All in all, good experience, would recommend.

My friend recommended I try out their vacuum fit ski boots! This is amazing technology that we have right here in town… and there is no waiting around, it can be done on site!
Anthony helped me every step of the way, he was extremely patient and knowledgeable. It’s worth the money to work with a professional to get the very best fit you can for your ski boots! I will go back again in a heartbeat. Oh, they even sharpen and tune up skis in a short turn around time! I can’t wait to ski!

Went there at 10AM (posted opening time), shop was closed. Waited until 10:30AM, still no one there. Go to The Bike Rack instead, they know how to run a business.

So today I needed a place to buy a inner tune for my new hybrid bike so like any other person I Unilocaled bike shops in ithaca and this place came up I had read a few reviews about the place being snooty and rude but also read some about how helpful the staff was so off the bat I had mixed reviews of the place so I got there number off Unilocal called the place up. When I had called there was no answer ofcourse the answering machine came on and told me there business hours. 10am to 7pm mon through fri. I got to thinking strange maybe I should go down there and check it out so I walked down there and went up to the store the hours were posted on the door it said 10am to 7pm mind you it was 2:00pm on a Monday I went to the door and surely it was locked to be honest I really would give it a zero but Unilocal won’t let me if you need any cycle equipment I would go to the bike shop in the commons

I didn’t experience the snooty attitude most people commented on. I had my bike tuned up with no problems, CS&C is A-​OK in my book.

We have had really great experiences here. The staff is helpful and friendly. We really know nothing about bikes and they are always courteous and helpful — pumping up a tubeless tire for free, squeezing in a quick repair right before closing and doing really great work and explaining things before doing them. We will take all our bikes here in the future.

Snooty to the bones.
One time I went there to fix my bike, I left my helmet on the handle. When I came back to pick it up, it was gone. I asked for it, and they retrieved it from a large grey trash can in the work area.
Another time, I sent my son’s bike. When I took the bike home, I noticed the kickstand was gone.
I guess they hate us for some reason?!
I think this is a good place for you if you are a hardcore bike enthusiast willing to spend $$$$.

I went to Cayuga Ski and Cyclery to figure out a bike issue and was confronted with impolite staff that were completely uninterested in helping if I wasn’t going to pay them to do all the work.
Salespersons walked all around, seemingly with nothing to do but too busy to help me. I went with an older bike that, in the end, had a broken axel, a problem I realized with no help to the staff at Cayuga Ski and Cyclery.
The Outdoor Store on The Commons was great, helped me figure out what the problem was and because they were out of a part, suggested the Bike Rack, where I had great service for a good price.

I have to concur with two yahoo reviews that I read recently for this shop. I definitely felt like I was inconveniencing them when I went to buy a new bike and pick it up. Not only did no salesperson mention that with a new bike purchase, you get a big discount on accessories, they wouldn’t offer the discount a few days later. When I went to pick up the bike, I must have stood there for about 10 minutes, with salespeople walking around me and all of them saying, «oh someone else will be with you soon». Meanwhile everyone else is either tinkering on a bike or they go ask someone else who can in after me if that person needs help. It would have taken about 30 seconds to help me.
The bikes that they do offer are nice bikes, and the store is beautiful. Just the attitude is odd, and it’s hard to know who is waiting on whom in this store. It was worth the $ 700 I spent to see what type of business this is, I bought all my accessories elsewhere.

I had them pack my bike and ship it to me. When I unpacked it, I discovered that they hadn’t bothered to remove the rear dérailleur. As a result, the dérailleur hanger was bent and had to be repaired. Removing the rear dérailleur is bike packing 101; I find it astounding that they didn’t do this.

I brought an old Felt here for warranty replacement that I had originally bought from them years ago. I’m a racer who gets my parts and work done elsewhere on my four bikes. The only reason I went to their shop this time was because the frame was under warranty and had cracked. To begin with, they charged me a total of $ 90 for labor after telling me there would be a $ 65 build fee for putting the used parts on the new frame. The extra $ 25 was a «labor fee» tacked on to my receipt with no explanation. I’m sure this was because the bike needed some new parts and I opted to get them from my usual mechanic for wholesale price (sponsorship!). This was the «you didn’t buy all your new parts from us» fee. I did have them order a new headset for me because of compatibility issues with the frame. That ended up being $ 10 more than the price quoted to me. The other new parts I got from them also ended up costing more money than they told me. What a surprise. My front dérailleur was also incompatible so I needed a new one and got it from MY mechanic. There were still compatibility issues. I got tired of dealing with these clowns and told them to finish what they could with the bike and I’d pick it up. They left the saddle on crooked with the post above the minimum insertion point and six inches too high, the rear brake cable slack, and the headset completely loose. The total bill was $ 178.00. I expected costs in the area of $ 135 from what they told me oreviously (I’d kept an itemized list). They’ve lost my business forever. If you need anything for your bikes, go to Swan Cycles. Glenn does quality wrenching and won’t rip you off.
Swan Cycles is at:
226 Mount Pleasant Rd
Freeville, NY 13 068
(607) 277‑0495

I’ll never understand why the ski & cyclery moved from their location by the commons (where the running store is now). If anything, it’s harder to find a place to park now on the street. They’ve still got the same great selection of skiing and biking stuff though, so it’s worth checking out. The sell different brands than the Bike Rack up in collegetown (which is expensive), and I’m still enjoying the last bike I bought here (a hybrid, perfect for Ithaca’s lack of paved roads in some places).