Speed Theory

This is obviously a shop for real hard core bike enthusiasts. That’s not me.
Being a newbie bike rider, with my oversized helmet down to my nose, I bumped and dragged my very modest bike in for a tune up.
The staff *without* a sniff of disdain or rolled eyes promptly noted something wrong with my brakes and seat height. And just as promptly fixed them on the house and sent me wobbling on my way.
Small stuff yes — but quality professional service is rare and it’s worth noting.

These guys kinda let me down.
I was preparing to compete as a cyclist in the Penticton Challenge in 2013. It’s a 180 km course. Three weeks before the event, I noticed a problem with my cassette freehub. I contacted the wheel manufacturer (Reynolds) who directed me to their distributor (Podium Imports in Penticton), who in turn directed me to Speed Theory in Vancouver for retail ordering.
All went well at first. We figured out the part I needed, and the order was placed with Speed Theory. They told me that it should arrive that Thursday, but Friday to be safe. I went in on the Saturday, and they had no information on me or what the order was. I was asked to call back on the following Monday to the girl I had placed the order with. I went home.
I gave them the benefit of the doubt and did as instructed. Unfortunately when I called, she was not in. And to make things worse when I called back, I found out that she was not in all week.
I was running out of time. It was too late to place a new order since I had to leave for the event within 3 days. The race was 5 days away. and now I had to make the decision of riding with a faulty freehub on my wheel, or hoping that Podium had the part I wanted when I got to Penticton.
The good news is that Podium was able to find what I needed, the day before the event. And I barely made the bike check on time. Too much stress for a first-​timer at an event like this.
FYI. I didn’t receive one call from Speed Theory regarding the original order that I placed.

Even though I live in Surrey, I go out here on a regular basis for my parts and bike work. It’s a bit of a trek, but I can’t believe how friendly and knowledgable the people that work here are! They are willing to chat with you about different options for parts or gear, to share their opinions and expertise with you. I’ve bought 3 bikes from Speed THeory Vancouver and have had numerous services performed on all my bikes. They’ve even helped me out when I’m in an emergency jam!
If you want a fantastic store that has a huge focus on customer service, Speed THeory is the place to go!

Best shop in town! Very knowledgable staff and great service.
Always willing to help without ever being pushy.

Super nice staff, and an awesome bike selection if you’re into road and have the money to burn. If you’re looking for a new carbon road bike (be it a Cervelo or Argon 18 or others they carry), this place would be it.
Unfortunately, I didn’t buy my carbon bike here, but they did help me out no questions asked style to rectify a warranty claim situation and it was resolved to my complete satisfaction. the other two places I went for my dream bike were the Bike Gallery and Mighty Riders. In retrospect, those shops are lame and rude an upsold me way beyond my comfort level. Let’s just say that my dream bike took 6 months to complete and it was all due Mighty’s inadequacies.

Candy store for Road Bicyclists and Triathletes that wants of lots of support to improve times with high tech equipment. Since I have not bought a bicycle there or had major service. I would say the place is A-​OK for me. For a Rider with Big Goals or a Big Budget /​Wallet this may be the shop for you.

So you think you want to ride a road or tri-​bike? Speed Theory is the place to go. My wife wanted to get into road biking (I guess running marathons is not enough) and we shopped around a few places.
After ruling out where NOT to go (Simon’s!) we tried Different Bikes which was good but suffers from the failing of all other bike shops: they focus primarily on mountain bikes.
Speed theory is all about triathlons, and so they know their road bikes. The service is great but not overly pushy. The staff are all athletes themselves so you get good advice. Don’t expect any great deals (only two bikes under $ 2,000 makes shopping on a budget easy!) but expect quality and professional fitting.