Helen’s Cycles

I’ve never purchased a bike from this Helen’s, but I have had a good experience with their service department. I brought my road bike in for an overhaul (chain, cassette, chainrings, bottom bracket). It turned out that the BB was seized into the shell. Despite the fact that I hadn’t purchased the bike (or, indeed, anything) from them in the past, and that the seized BB was likely my own damn fault for not keeping up with maintenance as well as I should have, they got a replacement frame under warranty for the manufacturer at no cost to me and built it up with the stuff from the old bike. I’ve been in a few times since then for small stuff (tubes, co2 cartridges) and haven’t had a bad experience yet. Recommended if you’re looking for a bike shop in the area.

I’ve purchased three bikes from Helens Venice in the last 18 months. Their prices are very fair and service is fantastic. I recently took my bike in to check on a speaker I purchased from them a year ago. The mechanism that attaches the speaker to bike was broken. Helens exchanged the speaker immediately with no questions asked. I then purchased an I phone holder which Cameron and Luis installed immediately. They also made a few additional tweaks to my bike at no charge. Nice staff at this place with excellent service and fair prices.

This is my local bike shop. They have multiple locations but they treat you like a neighborhood store should. The entire staff is passionate about what they do and they want you to be stoked as well. I’ve purchased several bikes from these guys and I also bring my beat up beach cruiser in all the time for repairs and they treat my bike with respect even though it’s mad ugly and janky.
I highly recommend this shop, and the service department is incredible.

Helen’s Cycles is awesome!!! All I knew about bikes when I walked in the door was how much I wanted to spend. The guys hooked me up with a super awesome Electra 7-​speed beach cruiser. And I have to mention they were very patient with me while I was being a diva trying to decide which color to go with. Great customer service!

It appears most complaints are about service and so is this one:
Dropped bike off on Saturday and Initial estimate was $ 40 – 60 with a commitment (in writing as well as verbal) to call on Monday/​Tuesday with cost prior to doing the job. I never got a call and after me calling 3 times (promised a call back every time) I was informed of final cost after the fact and total exceeded $ 140 despite the fact that only half the job requested was done.
Manager on duty was very apologetic, discounted to $ 104 and promised he will pass the information to the general manager whom I never heard from.
Needless to say: with so many bike shops around — this is the last time I give Helen’s my business…

I purchased a bike from Helen’s Cycles about a month or two ago and am so pleased with my purchase and the customer service I received! I was looking for a step through city bike and found a Pure City Cycles bike online that I loved. Unfortunately, I found out that the company stopped manufacturing the bike in the size that I needed. Nick at Helen’s Cycles was so quick at helping me out and trying to find an alternative. I love the bike that I ended up with! It arrived super quickly after they ordered it and Nick was so nice at helping me get my new bike into my very small car. I would highly recommend this place to anyone!

My boyfriend and his family have been regulars here for years, and a recent attempted business transaction made us decide to stay far away.
Long story short: a friend had a diamondback bicycle that he rode around drunk, wrecked, and screwed up the derailer and the derailer hanger. He moved to the Virgin Islands, gave us the back, which sat in storage for 2.5 years. We intended to fix up (being in good shape, issues aside) to give to a friend for his birthday. Where else would we go, other than Helen’s?
So my boyfriend drops the bike off, they give us an estimate… great. But they told us they didn’t have the part and told us WE have to find it, purchase it, and bring it in for them to fix. Well, issue #1 is that I know nothing about where to find bike parts and, bless the boyfriend, I didn’t get many details about WHAT we needed.
So, I look on Amazon, on diamondback, and then I realize– why am I spending MY time looking for a part when I DON’T OWN A BIKE SHOP. So we go back and they look at us completely confused about why we haven’t rerurend with the part. The sales associate literally turned his computer screen to us to show us the many places where we could purchase the part from (being various websites and contacts).
Sorry, bros, but you are just too lazy to do your job and we won’t do it for you. If I had a clue what I was doing, I would probably do it myself. When I take my car to my mechanic, he doesn’t ask me to hunt down the parts I need to fix my car and «bring them back». When I see my hair stylist she doesn’t send me off to find my hair products so that she can dye it properly.
So today, we picked up our bike, and took it elsewhere. And guess what happened? he didn’t have the part in stock so he ordered it FOR US and will have the bike fixed and ready in 5 – 7 days.
Amazing.
You have lost a customer of 12+ years.

As a new cyclist, and a boyfriend who is an experienced cyclist, we have been so happy with every visit to Helen’s Cycles. Not only is the staff knowledgable and helpful, the customer service on bike repairs has been outstanding. We’ve met several of the staffers and they are all awesome — and the vibe in the store is great too. You can tell that customers are happy. I would definitely recommend this as a great place to learn about cycling or if you’ve been at it for a long time, you’d enjoy the atmosphere as well.

This place is staffed with some of the nicest people around. I took my bike in for repairs last week, and even though they were packed, they were able to accommodate me – and get the repair done by end of day. When I went to pick it up, I noticed another problem, and the repair guys stayed after hours to fix it. I’ve also been looking to buy a road bike to do some long rides, and they’re so knowledgeable. I’ve been buying my bikes at Helen’s for years, and wouldn’t go anywhere else.

I went in to repair a tire on my chariot jogging stroller. The staff was super friendly and the service was really quick!

Don’t mess around. Just get a Trek Bicycle from Helen’s Cycles in Venice. You can’t go wrong.
Last week I took my bike in to get the right shifter fixed on my 9-​year-​old Trek 7.3. They found a tiny hairline fracture in the frame and just gave me a brand new Trek 7.3. My old bike was 9 years old, and completely used up! I never post on Unilocal,but this was such a cool experience. Out of gratitude and reciprocity, I feel that I should say thanks. Thank you Scott McPherson and the rest of the crew at Helen’s Venice. You guys rock!

Good prices and quick service rolled out on my new bike in about 20 minutes,.Thanks guys!

I have to say that these guys a very good as well as kind. I was out of a Bike ride when I noticed that my bike was feeling wobbly. And though I know a bit about my bike these guys know it all. In a matter of minutes they had be back on the road and did not charge me. I am very pleased with my bike. It has never rode this smoothly.
Thanks for saving the day!!!

Excellent staff, friendly and they did a terrific job on my Cannondale Hooligan. I went to the other location (Helen’s Cycles in Santa Monica) before and they did a terrible job on my bike and didn’t even fix the issue I mentioned so I was reluctant to take it there again. This time I thought I give the store in Marina del Rey a try and boy, was I happy! They charged me for a tune-​up and did a great job. I told them about some squeaky noise that was coming out of the front hub and they took a look at it and fixed the issue for free without charging me extra. I would recommend this store to anyone that needs work done on their bike.
Edit: Tooke it back the second time and this time they did fix the issue. The squeaky noise is completely gone now (they said they re-​lubed the whole front hub assembly on the Lefty).

5 stars for my 5 star experience at Helen’s. I’ve been going to Helen’s for a couple months now for repairs biking accessories. The products and staff are top of the line. But my last experience has prompted me to write a review (even though they deserved 5 stars from me before).
I got the wheels on my bike stolen this past week. I first stopped at bike repair shops a little closer to my house but they would’ve had to order parts. Helen’s had everything necessary and got my baby back to me in 3 days rather than their counter parts who were saying I wouldn’t get my bike back for a couple weeks. A huge thank you to Luis for making my heart full after the trauma of finding my bike without his legs (wheels).

I paid $ 160 for a tune up only to find out when I got home that nothing had been done to my bike and the lock was missing.
I then took it back into the shop. The guys were really nice but they just acted like it was no big deal.
They said «hey, sorry about that» as I was leaving. I bought my bike at this shop and routinely bring it into Helen’s to get fixed. $ 160 is a lot of money, especially since I just got laid off a couple weeks ago. Plus, it took me two trips to fix my bike and not being able to ride it for a couple weeks because I didn’t have my lock.
I guess, thank you for fixing my bike finally and giving my lock back. I have friends suggesting other shops for future buying and tuning up. Hope this at least gives management some advice to take care of your loyal customers better.

These guys are awesome. Got great advice for some new bikes without any pushy sales stuff.
Service department was very accommodating and after I left behind some tubes and parts the store manager Scott was awesome in that he dropped them off at my house since I was leaving early in the morning for a trip.
I use to go to the Santa Monica location but this looks to be my new favorite store. Thanks again.

Nice selection and great service.
I have been in here a bunch of times over the years. Ive bought gift cards and odds and ends. They have great service. Recently went in looking for a canon-​dale. I had all my questions answered. The parking can be a pain and the selection could be better. They do have some higher end stuff and some liw end beach cruisers. They said they can order the bike I was looking for so if you dont see what you need just ask

A couple of months ago I came to Helen’s Cycles to buy a bike for my gf, we got attended by Kyle nicely, they had the bike in stock, and all together was a 5 star experience, so I decided to come back to buy a Pure Fix bike for myself.
Long story short, and after having few inconveniences when placing the order for my bike, I explained Nick what was going on and he dealt with it remarkably. Got my bike a week in advance that I was once told I would have it, and with a couple of great upgrades on the house.
Also got the chance to meet the store manager and another gentleman who were both very kind and cool apologizing for what probably wasn’t their fault.

We came to this Helen’s Cycles location after the Westwood location referred us since they didn’t carry a size larger in Bontrager mountain bike clip-​ins so that I could compare sizing. This location of Helen’s Cycles is larger and has a full service station, plenty more items in stock. Therefore, +1 star.
We were helped fairly quickly by a guy whose name I didn’t catch (to be referred to as «This Guy»), but allowed me to try both sizes on, and I was able to make my choice. Then it was time to find cleats for the shoes to fit my bike, and in complete contrast to what the guy at the Westwood location told us, This Guy was saying that the shoes would NOT be compatible with my particular pedal.
We were taken aback by this and very disappointed, as we had just spent 40 minutes trying on shoes at the Westwood location and then driving across town to MDR to buy the shoes that won my heart.
Well, my dad (an avid cycler of 40+ years who has built numerous bikes, advocates for bringing bike riding to the physically disabled, built the bike paths in the Palm Springs area, participated in many races and still rides minimum 30 miles a day even though he’s in his 70s) and This Guy deliberated over the style of pedal and what cleat would work for at least 20 minutes before it seemed that This Guy was misinformed and unaware that bikes over 10 years old can actually be fit with pedals that will in fact fit the clip-​in shoes we had set our hopes on.
I’m not riding some hipster fixie, dude.
Even though in the end, This Guy was helpful and assisted me in screwing the cleats on and he got an excellent sale from us, the whole time I detected from This Guy an elitist cycle-​snob attitude that matched his fluffy beard and proximity to Venice Beach.
Not that I’m some Daddy’s-Girl, but when it comes to cycling, NO ONE should take that air with him. or anyone else for that matter! Cycling is a sport that should be shared by EVERYONE! Check the snobbery when you come to work!
Because of this, I’m listing THIS location of Helen’s Cycles «Hipster Harbor,» AND you lose three stars (–3). boooo
But thank you for the shoes! and your service. But my recommendation goes to the Westwood location.