Riverfront Cycle

Some of the nicest and most down to earth guys in the business. Not all of them know every single specification about every little component, but they always find a way to make sure you get what you want for your budget. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ would recommend to a friend.

Riverfront Cycle is a great community bicycle shop. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable about bike purchases, as well as bicycle accessories. They also offer rentals less than one block from the Lansing River trail, which is very convenient if you don’t have a bike or have a visitor from out of town, and want to go out for a ride.
They are not only helpful to customers, but also act as guardians of the Lansing area bike community more generally. Last week I had my bike stolen from MSU’s campus and the thief took it to Riverfront to get some quick cash. Riverfront immediately recognized that it was stolen, bought my bike from the thief for $ 50, and managed to track me down by calling Velocipede (where I purchased the bike), who called me and got my precious bicycle back to me! What a great bunch of «bicycle-​philes»!

After moving to the area I needed a shop to get my Trek in working order. Riverfront Cycle seemed the most visible and advertised shop and paired with its location seemed like the right option for me. I was unfortunately mistaken.
I was quoted reasonable prices (a little on the high side) on the phone for what I needed but when I got to the store I was told that those were incorrect and given a steeper price. I was alright with paying a lot as I am passionate about my bike and I was willing to pay for what I thought was a top notch job. They told me it would be done by the weekend and when I went in the Friday it was supposed to be done they hadn’t even started on it. So I had to wait longer than expected. I heard from a few folks that this is common.
I picked it up the next week and took it for a ride. There was some unusual clicking so I brought it back after 1 – 2 blocks and they «fixed» it. I then left the shop and headed on my way when not more than a quarter mile away the chain pops off and some of the mechanical work falls apart. I had to sit at the side of the road and try my hardest to fix it but to no avail. I brought it back home disappointed. I ended up being able to fix it myself as I did not trust Riverfront Cycle after repeatedly being lied to and up-​sold on everything.
A side note: a constant throughout my exchange with the workers was a phrase along the lines of, «Oh, the price we quoted you didn’t include _​_​_​_​.» Always leaving out one thing that I would need. After the whole ordeal it would have been much more affordable to buy a better quality used bike. Not to mention I would have a bike actually worth the money I put into it.
I have never written a review on Unilocal before but my experience with this business has given me a reason to. In conclusion, I do not recommend Riverfront Cycle. This is only my experience and they might have just been having a bad couple of weeks when I went in but it is how I tell it.

After searching endlessly for a bike to accommodate my tall bf, and being turned away by several shops– Riverfront Cycle came through. We stopped in to inquire about options, the owner knew exactly what we needed. He knew his inventory and that he had a large framed bike hidden away in a separate warehouse. After selecting some parts for modifications, we were told the bike would be ready by 5pm. By 1pm we had a call that the bike was ready. Excellent, fast, friendly service. They gave us advice on usage and maintenance (which they provide). They also allow patrons to park there and ride from their location. Overall extremely satisfied w/​this bike shop.

Friendly and knowledgeable. Bike work was done well and quickly. Prices are reasonable.

I default to Riverfront because it’s close to my workplace. The staff is typically quite friendly. The service is enough for the average Joe, but I’ve encountered some knowledge issues when asking for odd parts — if you’re like me and doing a lot of your own maintenance and buying parts to take home, make sure you ask all the right questions.

My wife’s 30 year old Schwinn had a seat problem. The first guy I talked to here said they don’t make seat rails like her Schwinn’s anymore and that we’d have to replace the seat and the rails together. A second guy said they may make rails like that, but couldn’t find any.
Third guy (the charm!) decided to go to their warehouse across the street and look. He came back with a ratty old Schwinn just like ours, but the seat was perfect. A few minutes to swap seats, $ 13 in parts/​labor, and hers was ready to ride again.
Thanks, third guy, for going the extra mile.
Otherwise, the shop looked well-​stocked, although I’m sure they mainly cater to high-​end amateurs, people very unlike us on our junkyard bikes. Still, the service was excellent, and the price was right.