Kopp’s Cycle

BEWARE: they charge a lot and often will charge more than expected.
I dropped my bike off for a simple tune up because my brakes seemed a bit off. I was expecting it to come out to about $ 30-​$ 40 but when the person I dropped off the bike with quoted $ 60+ I just accepted that it was a bit overpriced. They told me they might change the chain but if they were going to, they would call me about it (since it makes no sense the change the chain as we go into winter season). But I received no call and when I picked up my bike I was told they had changed the chain and was charged $ 110, which was significantly over what I expected. If I had known they were going to charge this much, I wouldn’t have bothered to drop off my bike there in the first place.

July 10 2015. I bring in and leave my bike there and go over $ 300-​$ 400 upgrades with Jesus.
July 29 2015 I call about the status of my bike. They first cant find my ticket, then said it was misplaced – in the completed pile. So now I’ll have to wait on parts.
August 17 2015 I call again. They can’t find my name in the system again, not Jesus, and they don’t know about the status of my bike.
August 19 2015 (just now). I call and Jesus & he tells me that we’re still waiting for the part (internal gear hub). I ask politely if I can cancel my order and he’s quick to accept.
40 days without a bicycle in the summer with nothing to show for it; maybe you’ll experience what I’ve learned:
1. The employees are very friendly.
2. Avoid situations where someone must order something.
3. Don’t loose your receipt-​ticket-​stub (my only savior each time).
4. They said someone would call me back multiple times, but they always seemed to have waited until I called.

I have to admit: as much as I talk the talk, I can only proverbially crawl the walk when it comes to working on bicycles.
Simple stuff I can do fine enough but I really have no idea when it comes to cables and housing and derailleurs… Case in point: something was up with my dérailleur, I tried to fix it, but things kept falling and loosening and slackening everywhere until I felt like my whole world was crumbling beneath my fingers and I had to throw in the towel.
José (I hope I got his name right) was extra nice and friendly! I really don’t have much to say except that I got my bike returned a week later with everything fixed and tuned up (beyond the cables that I brought the bike in for). Shifting is smooth like it used to be! As an added plus which I was not expecting, my wibbly wobbly wheels were trued. My bicycle got a full service tune up – everything I could have asked for.
The fee came to ~$ 80 after taxes. For all the work done, I couldn’t be happier.
To note: during the sunnier weather, everyone is bringing their bikes in for tune ups after the winter – so it will probably take around a week for them to finish with yours. I’d imagine it’s a lot faster in the winter when no one is riding.

I bought my first real bike — a Peugeot — from Kopp’s in 1984. I bought my first semi-​serious road bike — a Schwinn Circuit from Kopps in 1986. You might pay a bit more here than at some other shops, but it’s worth it. They are the bike shop for real bikers. Good service, good advice.
I now live in Lexington MA and I buy from bike shops up here. But when I’m in Princeton, I still buy from Kopps (picked up some gloves last week-​end). They have the stuff that I’m looking for and the staff is very friendly. I had a very nice chat with one of their staff about a fixie they had in the shop which was awesome.
The only reason that they don’t get five stars is that they could do more to organize bike rides and support a local biking community. NBX in Narragansett RI does a lot on this front. That all being said, you have to support your local bike shop (LBS)!
PS Kopps’ service and attitude is much better than Jay’s. Jay’s seems to be out to make a buck no matter what, and the sales staff just doesn’t seem as well versed.

Best bike shop in town. Friendly staff and very helpful owner (Charlie). Good selection of bikes and accessories, and they will happily order something they don’t have for you. Prices are the same as any other bike shop so you should really choose them for their customer service compared to other nearby shops.

Updating my review. For the second time in a row, the final bill for the repairs came in well above what I was quoted at initial drop-​off. The quote for replacement of a dérailleur was $ 40, and with that plus the addition of some new handlebar tape, it came in at over $ 80. This time I didn’t have the energy to argue and just paid it, but if I’d known the real price they planned to charge me, I’d have just bought the parts off the internet and done the repair myself.
I’ll still choose them over Jay’s as at least they’re nice about it and they did a good job, but this is starting to look like a pattern. Ugh.

I needed a wrench which bike shops can order but generally don’t carry in stock, and I needed it in 2 days.
I called Jay’s cycles first, and they said they couldn’t get the wrench in stock in my time frame. Then I called Kopp’s and spoke to Charlie. Charlie checked stock at the warehouse, found the part I’m looking for, and told me he can have it at the store in my time frame (in 2 days).
Sure enough, 2 days later, I called Charlie, and my wrench arrived on time! I went to the store, and people were friendly, and I got good service.

I guess, like most above if your looking for some repair work with a quick turnaround, or your a «serious» biker — it serves your needs.
To me, with the information of some internet research, showing up on a rainy weekday with no one else in sight, it was one of the most disappointing, if not simply rude retail experiences I have had in the recent past. Wal-​Mart — (who may actually have something to suit my needs, but price not being my main concern I’d rather shop «local» and have personalized options), would be better. Could be that’s why across he country they put places like his out of business?
My having an idea of what I wanted — and I guess it not being what they wanted o sell that day… made me immediately dismissible. After deciding some brands a «cruiser model» may work 2 of them quickly walked me down a row of bikes, ignoring my interest in any, stood next to me at a wall, couldn’t remember — or didn’t have what they brought me there for and were seemingly confused when I asked which it was they brought me to see. I guess to help explain what I was there to buy I said my research showed a Schwinn model 411 that was interesting, but yet would need some specialized changes. Apparently insulted that I didn’t know «They don’t carry Schwinn…» nor able to understand I was mentioning it as an example of the idea, I was dismissed.
So pro’s (or maybe those who need a repair that you can’t do yourself) I guess it’s the place to go. But if your just interested in starting — or like me — getting re-​involved — and want to buy the appropriate thing with some personalized attention for your indiciual needs… you may do better at K Mart. Certainly, the week before I was more welcomed by the sales guy at Sears, even when my girl and I explained we were just looking.
If you do wander in — heaven help you if you see something you find interesting… as I did (before really understanding how unwanted my business was), it was met with one of those «how could anyone not know…» non-​explanations.
That was when it became clearer I do not qualify to be a customer. Fine by me.
Or maybe it’s just they are intimidated trying to compare (what they can’t even find) to a Schwinn? But I’ll just have to have someone else explain that.

Cool shop. For such a small place it has a pretty good selection of commuters and higher end road bikes here. There’s a bunch of NOS Campagnolo parts in box behind the front desk, so if your wallet is weighing you down a bit and you have a vintage Italian frame to build up I’d recommend checking them out.

Went to Kopps after going to a store in Somerville to have two bikes serviced. My wife and I are leisure bikers, around the neighborhoods, to the parks and shore with the bikes. We are not serious marathoners. When we brought our bikes into the Somerville shop we were laughed out. Our bikes are 10– years out yes, do the need a turn up, yes can we still ride them yes, but at Somerville, they wanted us to get new bikes, said they could not make our ride well and quoted us a price that almost seemed like we had to replace the bikes. When I said I“ll take them for a second estimate the tune changed so I knew they were con jobs.
I went to Kopps. We were treated politely and they said our bikes were perfect for what we wanted to do and they can make then good as new for much less than what was quoted @ Somerville. The turn around was 5– days (no problem) we paid what they quoted. Because of their honesty, I brought a helmet and a lock, which I could have gotten cheaper @ Walmart, but I like to support the little guys especially when they work honestly and treat one with respect.
I will use Kopps for all my biking needs. They earned it!

Buy your next bike at Kopps. I just did. Really neat bike. And they serviced another one for me. Great service. Not pushy but knowledgeable and quick turnaround time. Was told in the old days they sold a hundred plus bikes at Christmas. Now not so many. More wii and Xbox i guess. And more obesity and diabetes as well I suspect. Get off the couch in 2013. Get away from Facebook and all the booze and chips and cigarettes and go ride your bike around Princeton. If need a new one, buy it from Kopps or ask them to tune up your old one. BTW, free off street parking right next to the shop that fits a handful of cars. Always an open space when I was visiting the store. P. s. got a cool bike rack from Thule.

Lovely, friendly shop. Have gone in multiple times expecting to pay for small repairs and instead getting friendly help for free. This may be a «serious bike shop» like the other reviewer said, but I’m no bike expert, and I’ve never felt out of place or unwelcome there! Today bought a nice hex-​key set, and will go back for other bike needs in the future.

I’ve been a fairly serious cyclist for 15 years or so and I’ve never encountered a friendlier owner or staff. Charlie the owner will never sell you stuff you don’t need and his prices are always fair. I bought my second bike from him (the previous one was 2 bikes and many years ago) last year and I am very happy to call this shop my cycling home again. Got a very nice deal and was able to get the bike tailored to the terrain I ride in with no hassle. Plus-what’s not to love about Bianchi bikes.

According to their website (
), the oldest cycle shop in the country.
Hours: Tues, Wed, Fri 10 – 6, Thurs 12 – 7, Sat 9 – 5, Closed Sun and Mon
Outside are some of the used bikes for sale, with the super high-​end ones inside or to order (a small fleet of Vespas would be cheaper). Knowledgable staff, but remember that this is a serious bike shop, with bike enthusiasts.

Oldest bicycle shop in the country heißt es auf der Internetseite. Und wenn man den kleinen Laden betritt und die alten Schubladen in der Werkstatt sieht, mag man das gerne glauben. Auch die Öffnungszeiten sind besonders für amerikanische Verhältnisse eher unmodern (oder vielleicht im Gegenteil richtungsweisend??).
Jedenfalls bekommt man hier für knapp 70 $ ein Komplett-​Tune-​up, das keine Wünsche offen lässt. Die Bremsen beißen wieder richtig, die Gänge wechseln präzise, und ausgetauscht wird nur, was wirklich nicht zu retten ist.
Vorbei sind die Zeiten, da ich mein Fahrrad noch komplett selber auseinandergenommen und wieder zusammengesetzt habe. Woher die Zeit nehmen? Gut, dass man sich da auf einen guten Zweiradmechaniker verlassen kann.
Wer ein neues Fahrrad sucht, findet hier vor allem Bianchi. Das Sortiment ist zwar nicht groß, aber man kann natürlich immer bestellen