Open Air Bicycles

Super friendly and super knowledgable staff that quickly educated me on how I should be fitting on my bike. Never knew I had been doing it wrong for years! And when you need accessories they make sure that it fits your bike before selling it to you. I really appreciated the help!

These guys are the best and Tyler is greatest. My daughter is attending school in Santa Barbara and needed a cruiser. We live in Hawaii. Tyler was very knowledgeable, patient and efficient in assessing what I was looking for. He put together the perfect bike with all the accessories and had it ready for my daughter to pickup in 48 hours. Tyler even sent us pictures of the finished bike, our daughter was ecstatic.
Thank you very very much.

I needed a replacement tube for my front tire. It’s a new bike to me, and I’d never replaced a tube on it before. I’d purchased accessories from Open Air before, so I thought I’d run in, pick up a tube, and be back on my bike before dark.
Instead, I ended up going back three times and ended up with nothing but a lot of wasted time.
Trip 1: I buy tubes (4 of them so I can have some spares) that the employee assures me will fit. They don’t. I return.
Trip 2: Same employee hands me a second set of tubes and assures me, again, these will fit. As I’m walking down the street, I decided to open the box to see the tube. It was wide – too wide – far wider than the tire and wheel I was holding (that I had tried to show the employee who didn’t care to look at it). I turn around and walk back. He says, «Oh, yeah, these are totally wrong, sorry!» He hands me my third set of tubes. I take the tubes home – guess what? They don’t fit.
Trip 3: I return and talk to a different employee. He looks at my tire/​wheel (finally!!) and I explain that I’ve been in several times and really have no intentions of returning a fourth time. I ask if he can put on the tube in the store to guarantee that it will fit. Sure he can – for $ 8. Now, I don’t mind paying for services, but if I’m an employee of a store and had an unhappy customer, I might just throw in the five minute tube change to make sure I keep a valuable customer. He brings out two tubes with a different valve and says «Yeah, these should work.»
Well, sorry, I’ve heard that too many times. I told him to give me my money back for the tubes I’d bought and I’d buy them elsewhere – which I did, ten minutes later, at a different store.
The employees of Open Air could have saved this situation by offering to put the tube on for me (or just take it out of the box and show me that it did, in fact, fit) on my third trip in – but now they’ve lost a customer. I have no reason to go back when there are numerous other stores that can meet my needs the first time around.

I’ve been going to Open Air Bikes for a few years now and they always give me excellent service! I bought a bike from them a few years back and there were a couple of minor issues with the bike (not the shop’s fault) and they fixed them quickly and even upgraded parts for free. I recently got a pair of biking shoes from them and there was a minor defect and they just gave me a new pair of shoes. I can’t speak for some of the other reviews that are negative but all my many experiences at Open Air have been amazing.

I went there about a week ago, and the guys were friendly and pretty knowledgable. Then, I went back a few days ago, and I wasn’t greeted or asked if I needed any help. They were somewhat busy, but they still should have said «hi» and «let us know if you need help», or «we will be will be with you shortly.» I walked around the store and looked at many different products. I picked up a few items to ask them about, and put a few back. One of the older guys working finally came over, but instead of being friendly he questioned me about where I had put one of the products I had picked up. I told him that i thought I had put it back where I got it from or must have accidently set it down somewhere else. He said it wasn’t there, and that I needed to find it. I couldn’t believe this guy was accusing me of stealing. I was of course offended and outraged. I definatly didn’t steal the freakin $ 5 item. I have never stole anything. That employee was extremely rude. That experience has turned me away from that store. Because of him, i don’t think I will give them my business again.

This place is great my wife and I have been coming here with all of our biking needs and they have been fair, honest, and quick. The two guys working in back Chad and cody on think was their names but they made a fast deadline and did not over charge me or charge me for stuff I did not need. Thanks guys!!! I tried to tip them but they wouldn’t take it.

I had saddlebags installed recently and for some reason the folks here decided to change the height of my seat. Why they did this i have no clue and really wouldn’t care if they had just put it back or told me so I could fix it myself.
But they didnt. The seat can only be adjusted with a set of tools that was not an option to obtain. I’m 5’6 and they decided to raise the seat for someone to is closer to 6’1
So now I am sitting at this bus stop where I have :
1. Missed a work appoint (had to call and explain to a client why i would be missing the meeting).
2. Having to walk my bike to the stop instead of ride it has also cause me to miss my bus and of course be late to work which means the person I am supposed to relieve is now going to miss his ride and inevitably ruin his day.
Get your stuff together guys. A simple mistake maybe but you have caused a ripple effect of negative experience

I took my vintage european ross bike to Open Air for new tires. I was told by a different bike shop that the tires I had on the bike we’re fine to ride for another few months but that I should consider replacing them. Two different employees told me that they had the correct size tires and to come back in a few hours to pick up the bike. When I returned, the first thing said to me by an employee was «You’re going to hate us». As it turns out, they did not have the correct size in stock. Had they been more careful checking the size of the tire, they could have avoided ripping the original tires. I walked home (2 miles) that day.
I was told the new tires would come in by the end of that week and did not get my bike back until Tuesday of the following week. When I went to pick up the bike, I felt completely awkward and uneasy as I walked up as they were talking about me, and saying I was in the wrong for being upset.
Clearly, I will not be going back to Open Air. The employees can be more understanding and empathetic when dealing with their customers, especially when they break that customers property. Furthermore, I think they need to be more careful when working on a customers bike. This entire situation could have been avoided if they had properly checked to make sure the tires they had in their shop were the correct size.

I had 2 new tires put on my road bike this week in preparation for a big ride this weekend. I asked the mechanic if he could make sure it was in road safe shape as well.
They did a great job on the tires and made sure my 10 year old Torelli was ready for 85 miles. The price was fare and they did not charge me for the safety check! Todd and his crew were friendly and helpful. Open Air on Upper State is my new go to Bike Shop!

I only went in for new handlebar grips for my cruiser but they helped me find what i needed, and it was priced reasonably. They even offered to blow my tires up. I will definitely be returning.

I don’t usually write reviews, but this particular instance deserves a negative review.
I took my bike into to be serviced today — I needed a new shifter cable for my rear dérailleur. I figured that since they were going to be working on my bike I would let them align my front dérailleur too. I get a call the same day to pick up my bike because it was ready (no mention of any problems). I get to the shop and they tell me that they had some issues. It turns out that my front dérailleur cage was broken! and they were gracious enough not to charge me for an alignment –_​_​– How it was broken? I don’t know — it wasn’t when I dropped it off and I know this because I rode it there. They were un apologetic and even a bit rude. They would not admit to any fault and said it was like that when it came in. Again, this is very uncommon of me to bother writing a review for anything, but I felt that this event needed to be heard.
With so many bike shops on State I will never be returning to this one.

****update****
These guys opened another shop on upper state. They are still great guys, super helpful, low key and open minded. They are amazing riders, but you don’t have to be a pro or wannabe pro to shop here, but you like fair prices, good products, give them a chance.

I had to write about the exceptional customer service!
I came to this store on Monday, ³⁄₂₄ mid day, riding a bike I’d rented from another store at the beach. I was lost and looking for the bike path to UCSB.
Even though I was clearly not going to buy anything from Open Air Bicycles, the man in this store was so very helpful and drew me a map showing me how to find the bike path. I really appreciated his taking the time to do this. If I lived in Santa Barbara I’d come here first if I needed something for my bike.
Thanks!

Great store! Open air has a fantastic selection of bikes for any style of riding and ability level. They continue to impress me every time I walk in. Jermaine knows me by my first name, even though I have never actually purchased a bike at this shop. Every time I come in for a jacket or water bottle or tune up we start talking about local trails or answers questions I have relating to their stock.
Both of their stores are equally great, keep up the great work guys and thanks for supporting our local trails and trail riders!

I live around the corner and have stopped in for a number small fixes and purchases. I recently had to exchange something that was faulty, and though they replaced it, I was spoken to in a fairly condescending and cold manner. I thought maybe it was a sexist thing until my husband experienced the same thing a day later… attitudes there could be better.

They have a nice selection of moderately priced bicycles. I usually buy on the high end of the cycle line so I usually have to special order what I really want.

Ed Brown is the most awesome guy I have ever met! Super committed to his business and biking! And that age, he still kicks butt! You can feel his enthusiasm by talking to him… I live in San Diego now but, I still visit often. He turned that shop around and gave it a cool vibe! Service –Phenomenal Customer Service– Amazing! I have nothing but positive things to say about the place… if you can, CHECK IT OUT!
Thanks Ed! For keeping the Gnar alive — Barbarah

My son brought his BMX bike in for a tune up weekend of July 20^th. Staff identified a flat tire and need for chain adjustment. 2 days later his brake cable broke and the same tire has lost all air pressure; he had it fixed at Open Air. A week later his crank is grinding and again having a brake issue. Took it to a competitor who questioned the work done at Open Air. My wife and I were in the market for a new bike for our college bound son to navigate the streets of Santa Barbara. I had based our visit to Open Air Bikes on favorable Unilocal Reviews. We will take our business elsewhere.

The folks at Open Air couldn’t be nicer! I wanted to buy a good commuter/​cruiser bike, but I know next to nothing about this type of bike. They let me test drive several bikes, and were so patient in answering all of my many questions about the bikes, the accessories, safety, etc, etc, etc. To top it all off, they helped me install my brand-​new bike rack onto my car — no easy task!
I’ve also taken my road bike in for a tune-​up here, and they did a wonderful, thorough, and very quick job of fixing my bike up. Their staff is knowledgable, patient and friendly — a customer service dream!

These guys were great, they dealt with my incessant visits and complicated requests and time lines.
They were lovely and beyond competent, they do this because they love it and it shows.
I wish they were in London :(