Ernie’s Bicycle Shops

Customer service is not their strong suit and they don’t seem to value their repeat customers. My wife and I bought a bike for our daughter as a present and were told we could pick it up in a week or so. It was the bike she wanted, but not the right color. After a few days, we decided to see if we could get the color she originally wanted so my wife called and cancelled before they called to tell us that it was ready. She then stopped in for a refund on our credit card and they refused to credit back the full amount and charged a «Restrocking Fee» of 10%. Are you kidding me? It was a total of 5 days from purchase to cancellation and they had still not called that it was ready. All of the sudden, it is ready and there is a 10% fee. By the way, the 10% restocking fee is listed on the bottom of the receipt, but was never discussed with my wife. Seems a little shady in the way it was presented. When I stopped by to discuss, the owner’s wife was very inflexible and while the dollar amount is not material, clearly valued the small dollar amount over a repeat and prior supporting customer. As a result of this, we shopped around and found two stores that were extremely helpful. «Ride On» in Wooster and «Mountain Road Cycles» in Akron. We eventually purchased the bike in the right color and they offered to ship the bike from their store in Cleveland to Akron and when I offered a credit card, they said no worries and just pay when we pick it up. Neither one has a «Restocking Fee» policy. The story here is that you have other options and can deal with business owners that value your business. When your total motivation is money over customer loyalty, then I would recommend spending your dollars elsewhere.

I’ve been here a couple of times, ended up going here for my day off.
They offer bikes for $ 5/​hr and tandem bikes for $ 10/​hr.
You can head as north as Cleveland, although I did not try this.
Overall Impression:
I’d go back and I would encourage others to go back. I recommend this place.

Not knowing much about bike’s, I visited Ernies upon the recommendation of two fiends in search of a fitness/​casual bike for myself and my girlfriend. I couldn’t have been more impressed with the service or selection! They have a ton of bikes, mainly Trek and Specialized, with a wide variety of styles from cruisers to performance. In addition to the wide variety of bikes, they carry about 6 different styles of bike racks.
I can’t remember the gentleman’s name who was working at the time, but he was very informative and helpful. The most important factors for me were that he wasn’t pushing us into buying a bike or to purchase the most expensive rack/​items, he gave us informed decisions on how we could get more for our money by buying one of the upgraded models than the standard and what we might want based upon our riding level. He also informed us of a sale that Trek was having in April so we could save some additional money on a bike if we wanted to wait until then! I was very impressed. As I live in Akron, there are many bike shops in the area from Eddys to Wheel n Wrench, but I’ll always make the 30+ min drive to Ernies due to the great customer service I received.

Took a beginners class on bike repair/​safety. Very informative and worth every penny. The Staff is helpful and friendly. Great selection of new and used bikes, but no high pressure sales. Since they are right on the Towpath, its a great place to start a bike ride!

I usually do business with the Ernie’s shop located in New Philadelphia, OH, but recently I was in Massillon, OH and in need of a bike rack on a Sunday. I was surprised and glad they were open. I had never been to this Ernie’s location, so I decided to stop in. I’m glad I did, because they had a HUGE selection and a very friendly and knowledgable staff. They were not pushy, either. I received help when I was ready and they did not pester me beforehand. All the questions I had were answered and when I bought the bike rack, one of their staff showed me how it worked on my vehicle. They are located right on the Ohio-​Erie Canal Towpath Trail and have great, close parking. Do yourself a favor and pay ‘em a visit!

Can’t say enough about this place been something special to me since my Grandfather bought me my first real bike here from Ernie and ever since have held on to the memories of this family owned business. Will have to make a return trip here to get a new bike and even have it shipped back to Denver as I have yet to find a place that matches Ernie’s service and friendliness.

Great place to rent a bike! Looked like a good place to buy and service a bike, too, but I only rented there.
It’s conveniently located in the middle of a (supposed) 30 mile bike trail along a canal, and the path is level and well groomed. If you go north from the shop, you get to Canal Fulton, a small town with some places to eat, after about 8 miles or so.
Service at the shop was great. We were helped by a really personable person despite the shop being very busy on a holiday weekend. We rented a hybrid and a comfort bike, and both were in great condition. Rates were really affordable– only $ 5 an hour! I’m not sure we’ll ever make it back to Akron, but if we do, we’re coming back here!