Broadway Cycle

Simply the best bike shop in town.
A few years ago before searching for a hybrid for Toronto’s busy streets, I did my research. I checked out reviews for all the major (and many minor) shops in town, and visited a dozen locations across the downtown area. I had the best experience with the staff at Broadway Cycle. They were super friendly, incredibly knowledgeable, and never pushy. They helped when it was obvious I needed and wanted it, and let me browse when I didn’t. When I was ready for my choices, they were all great about providing lots of advice. I was looking for something in the $ 450 — $ 550 range, XL size and with just the right feel. Broadway was the only shop that had a wide range of bikes that fit the bill perfectly.
Since buying that first Specialized two years ago, I’ve since bought two more bikes from them :) They offer free tune-​ups anytime, and in fact encourage you to visit as often as you’d like in order to have the bikes tuned properly. I definitely take advantage of that service. And they are really good about doing odd jobs for you without asking for money. For example, I needed various adjustments done on a bike that I didn’t even BUY from them, and one of their technicians still helped me out and spent 20 minutes on it. He also gave me some great tips on winterizing it that wouldn’t cost me a dime. Fantastic :)
I highly recommend this store to all my friends, and I’m hopeful that the owners know just how good their customers have it with this team. I wouldn’t go anywhere else.
Thanks, Broadway Cycle! Keep up the great work, please :)

Staff is amazing!!! They were closing and my back tire had fallen off. They took me in and fixed it in no time. A fantastic and brilliantly helpful experience.

Looked over my second hand bike purchased on Craigslist for free and were super helpful with information on bike locks, lights and seats. Also found lock pricing to be the best in the area.

I happened to go in on a really nice day, and it was really busy.
Despite this, a staff member greeted me pretty quickly and helped me out with what I was looking for. He knew exactly what I was talking about even though I didn’t really give him much to go on. He also didn’t make me feel totally dumb for not knowing the name of the part that I needed, like every other shop I’ve been in. It seems like they know their stuff. I will definitely be back, and recommend newcomers!

My girlfriend went in today with over $ 600 in hand excited to buy a new bike Staff was incredibly pretentious, treated her terribly (because she wasn’t a pro rider or super-​courier?). Evidently, do not go here unless you are a cycling pro who can throw around bike lingo just to get in the door, and probably better if you have one of those titled-​brim bicycle hats, too.
When she came home, I asked her how it went, and, thank goodness Sweet Pete’s was down the street because it was there, she told me, that staff actually helped her out, answered her questions, and got her fitted for a bike.
Store might have decent merchandise, but the sales staff should crawl back under the hipster rock from which they emerged. You’re selling bicycles, yo, not spaceships. Get off your rocket and remember that bikes are for meant for everyone to ride, not just white twenty-​year old from the suburbs with beards, hats, and attitudes. Don’t go here unless you’re cooler than school itself.

I bought my first road bike from these guys and so far, in my experience … these guys are incredible. They are like the Harry Rosen, and the Apple Store of customer service for bikes. When it wasn’t too busy in the store, they not only offered to index my gears immediately, but also offered a few tips as well as answered any maintenance concerns I had. Amazing! Props to Matt who’s usually on the sales floor for reassuring me that they’re there for me and all the mechanics for their awesome knowledge. Keep up the amazing work! :)

These guys are the cat’s ass.
The mechanics know their stuff, and won’t overcharge you to replace things they could fix themselves. Between the 5 years free gear and brake tune-​ups, and their no-​BS approach to repairs, I’ve saved a ton of money here.
Recently, I purchased my second bike from Broadway — and noticed while it was on order they had discounted their selection after my purchase. I gave them a call and they gave me a further discount without hesitation, they already had my business — but now this is my LBS for life.
My only complaint (not really a complaint but more of a wish) is that they carried a bigger line of bikes. As a Specialized dealer I’m sure there are rules about which bikes from competitors are allowed to be sold there, but It would be great if they also carried Kona, Surly, Fuji (listed on their site but I didn’t see any) or Cannondale. Still — not worth taking a star off for. Great shop!

Went in to purchase a part after biking around the city looking for apartments.
First guy that approached me was nice, but he sent me someone to work with and she was soooo miserable. Not interested in helping at all. When she went to install the part she said to her co worker «can you do this I don’t feel like it» and he replied with «no I don’t feel like it either», right in front of me and I was one of maybe only two people in the shop. In hindsight I should have replied, «okay I’ll take it elsewhere.» But no, instead after I paid I actually said thanks to her and then got the silent treatment in return.
I’m new to the city so this did not add to my experience. Where can I find a more friendly bike shop?

I recently bought a hybrid bike here (Specialized Vita) after a lot of research and visiting a number of shops in Toronto. Knowledgeable and friendly staff. My bike was ordered in and built promptly. They installed my accessories for me (e.g. rack). Most shops offer only one year of free service, but Broadway Cycle offers five years of free service (e.g. brake and gear adjustments, tires, wipe down). In most cases, they’ll have someone take care of it on the spot for you. At other shops I went to, there was a lot of attitude when I asked questions… Not at Broadway Cycle. They are happy to explain and answer questions for me — without a lot of jargon but not totally dumbed down which I appreciate. I highly recommend Broadway Cycle.

Always satisfied with these guys… they know their s**t about bikes… no matter you have a crappy bike or high end… they can fix it all… efficient…knowledgeable…great service… thanks again!

what I liked about this place is the 5years free service… the tuning…
After my Mountain bike got stolen, I bought my road bike, specialized from here.
great folks out there. they really know their shit, and will help you too if you need anything… and parts are cheap too.

I purchased my first ever road bike here after wanting to get into the sport a little more. I was taken through the many options according to my price range and received a fitting as well once my bike was order came in. The staff at Broadway are a great group of guys and I always look forward to going in and having a little chat with them when getting little adjustments done on my bike. They show a great deal of knowledge and passion for the sport. As they once said to me, there is no such thing as a stupid question so new guys to the sport like myself and others will feel very welcomed here.
I am also surprised about the reviews for Broadway and wanted to share my experience for the past year so that others will come in to purchase there bike and continue to have it maintained and fixed up if need be at their service shop. It should also be noted that when your purchase a road bike here you get 5 years of free bike service, something I thought was awesome. This applies to things like, oil on the chain, break and gear adjustments etc…

I’m actually surprised that this place has such low ratings, hoping my 5 star off-​sets it, even if only a little.
My husband and I bought our bikes there only last week. I was floored when we found out they offer unlimited tune-​ups for 5 years (five years!) and must admit that I found their pricing much more competitive than the other 6 stores we had gone to (while doing our research).
We were helped by Raymond who was patient and definitely took his time. They have a very large selection of Specialized.

So I went to Sweet Pete’s to replace my bike wheel but they were out of the part and told me to go to broadway. That was a mistake. Pete’s said they could do it in about 40 min. When I walked into Broadway I was the only customer and they never even acknowledged me. When they finally decided they should maybe do their job, I was helped by some guy who seemed pained to do this for me, he told me he could have it done in 5 days! I told him I’d appreciate if it was sooner rather than later and he suddenly could get it done for the next day.
They did a good job on installing the wheel and fixing my back break but later that night I went to ride my bike and my back light was missing. I am 90% sure they took it off when I brought it in for repairs. Needless to say, I should have just bought the wheel from them and took it I Sweet Pete’s, whose staff are much more friendly, efficient and accommodating.

I phoned in to inquire about the stock of an item. After being put on hold for a bit, I was told it was in stock; I asked to have it set aside and was given the OK. When I arrived at the store later that day, I was told that there was some sort of computer error and that the item was in fact out of stock. Mistakes happen and all, but the item was clearly never set aside; if incorrect information is given to a customer, that customer should be contacted and notified.
I was there a few days beforehand with a friend; a different staff member seemed quite knowledgable and enthusiastic to talk about bikes. Overall I see that there’s passion at the store, but as it stands, I doubt I’ll come back.

Some stores give one the impression that being their customer requires an advanced degree in whatever their particular niche is, but Broadway Cycle has taken arrogance to an entirely new level: this is the only store I have ever visited where the manager yelled at me for «knowing nothing about the bike business».
I would give 0 stars if I could.

I went here to get some lights and a helmet and also to replace a flat tire. I don’t know much about bikes and I hate how a lot of bike stores in Toronto will make you feel like a complete idiot for not knowing everything there is to know about bicycles. Anyway, I told them upfront I didn’t know much and when it came to fixing me tire, they completely over-​charged me. They said it needed some kind of tape put on it which would make it cost more. I said sure. But when it came time to pay the bill the tire ended up costing over $ 25. When I spoke with some friends after who had been to other places, they told me I paid way too much. The actual products are nice enough, but I wouldn’t suggest going here to get your bike fixed. Rip off.

Based on Christopher’s review i decided to go to Broadway this time. I did not have the same experience as Christopher did.
They were to replace my tires (one had disintegrated while I was replacing a tube!) and brake pads and do a tune up. I know you are never supposed to ask for a tune up but I did :(They were charging me for the tires ($ 32 each), the pads, installation fees. The tune up is $ 50. The total was to be $ 150. Erk. But the guy said, «We’ll get your bike running like new,» and I left happy and optimistic.
They promised to have my bike ready on Friday morning (the next day). When I showed up at noon, it was not ready. They had not called to let me know. I had a billion errands to run so I was pretty irritated.
The reason my bike was not ready was that they «did not realize how wide my wheel was and did not have the tires in stock.» They were going to go and buy some tires.
They called me at about 4 to tell me the bike was ready. I apologized fro being irritable earlier. The guy took $ 12 off the bill. He said he was reducing the cost of the tires because of the inconvenience but I think that they have used a different (cheaper?) tire than they had initially promised so that was probably a bit cheesy.
The tires seem fine but I could have installed them myself. The brakes work okay in terms of stopping the bike but the front one bucks against the wheel rim in a rather alarming way and they sometimes do not release properly and I have to lean down and unjam them from the rim.
I am not sure what they did in terms of a tune up. My bike still has all the weird creaks it had before and my gears do not shift well. I cannot shift onto the smallest chain ring at all. And for some reason that I cannot figure out, I always feel as though I am cycling through sand — even when going downhill!
I will not be going back but you may draw your own conclusions.

How disappointing! I bought a bike from the store and was promised it would be in for Tuesday of last week, I mentioned I was going away until the following week and received a call FIVE days after the bike was supposed to arrive being told it was not in. After a back and forth with the sales guy he offered to lend me his wife’s bike!?! No thanks, I am training for the Ride To Conquer Cancer and I want MY bike to train on — you know — THE ONE I PAID FOR IN FULL TWO WEEKS AGO.
I won’t even take my bike in to be tuned up by them even though I am entitled to several years of free service because I don’t want them getting another penny from me.
Disappointed and upset.

Broadway is often overlooked when compared to Sweet Pete’s down the street. At Sweet Pete’s you get the feeling that everyone leaves the store gets on their fixie and rides home to Kensington for Vegan Tofu burgers and joints. Broadway feels almost corporate in comparison (I don’t think the patrons voted for Rob Ford or anything, but they probably own a car). Despite lacking the hipster vibe, there are three reasons that Broadway is a better bike store when it comes to things that matter:
1) Service — You get 5 years of service when you buy a new bike. That is huge savings over the long term. In addition, the service department doesn’t seem as busy as Sweet Pete’s. Sweet Pete’s took over a week to tune-​up my bike. Broadway took 2 days.
2) Selection — I think Specialized bikes are hands down my favourite bikes. Broadway has them. Sweet Pete’s does not.
3) Staff — This is a tough one. I think the staff at Sweet Pete’s are for the most part super friendly and knowledgeable, but the staff at Broadway are better when it comes to making sure I get what I need, asking if I have any questions and answering them.