Cycle Spectrum

They are out of business.

Poor customer service-​very creepy. The bike tubes on both of our bikes blew within 2 days of getting the bikes and very little riding, the gears didn’t work properly, and the frame was not assembled tightly. We had to tighten the handle bar ourselves while we were on a bike ride because it kept on sliding down. We offered to purchase good tubes and the owner declined and blew us off saying that they will be fine and he will just replace them… but the thing is, we don’t want to be going in there on a daily basis for him to fix what he should’ve done when he first assembled them. He replaced the tire on each that had a flat (and still left the old tire that he had first put on) .When we tried returning the bikes (bitersweet because we really love bikes but not from here) and he gave us a lot of trouble saying that we needed to test them more .The returns are only to 7 days and this was already day 2). Fortunately, there was another customer in there and he grudgingly gave us our return. I still feel gross from being there. Yuck. Bad and lazy service.

After reading these reviews I had to go visit this place and see if it’s really as bad as portrayed.
I actually found out about Cycle Spectrum since they are an ebay dealer for Bottechia USA road bikes and their auctions give their Shepherd address and phone number.
The Bottechia that are sold online look really nice and they have like a 99.6% rating on ebay 1575 feedbacks so something doesn’t seem to be jiving.
Maybe Cycle Spectrum is really good with online reselling but suck when you meet them in person?
Anyways, I started off by googling Cycle Spectrum and I came upon this page just ripping Dave and Ike for their rudeness, etc. OK do I really want to drop $ 2000 on a carbon fiber bike on someone that behaves like portrayed?
Next I emailed them via their ebay page 2 x’s with routine questions like «how much to assemble the bike if I pick it up in your store» and «would a 61 cm frame be good for someone that is 6’3» — both times Dave responded kindly within a couple hours.
OK time to visit the store and find out in person for myself. I really didn’t know what to expect — the raving a-​holes that many seem to have experienced or the helpful Dave from his ebay emails.
The storefront is a typical strip center location with limited parking — not anywhere as nice as Bicycle World on Dairy Ashford & Memorial where I typically go.
Went inside and was greeted by Ike (didn’t know it was him until we parted ways) and I explained that I was in checking out their Bottechia’s that they have on ebay. He was actually really helpful and I was thinking «this must be some other guy and not Ike since he seems helpful and friendly». He explained the differences between Dura-​Ace, Ultegra, Shimano 105, and SRAM components and was very laid back and pleasant. He also answered questions about the Condor carbon fiber road bikes they have that I have never heard of before.
I will say this — Ike was the only one working when I was in the store and no other customers were there. I can definitely see my experience being less than pleasant if I walked in while other customers were there perhaps and getting no help whatsoever. They probably should have at least 2 people on site to help customers.
I didn’t buy the bike yet and I don’t really care about their lifetime free service since Bicycle World is half a mile from my house and I’ll pay $ 50 to have it tuned if I can just ride it over rather than racking it and taking it to Cycle Spectrum.
In short, I personally haven’t experienced anything that would make me not purchase a bike from them. Ike was very informative and pleasant during my 15 minute visit. I’ll have to think about it and see if I buy the Bottechia or not.
4 outta 5 due to them only have one person to help customers.

Back before I knew anything about bikes, I came here. Big mistake. These guys are super unprofessional and dickish. I cant remember how many times i came in for maintenance (even if it was just a tube change) that i would have to leave it over night before it would get done (yes i know one of the first skills you have to learn is how to change a tube, but they never even showed me how.). Every other bike shop I’ve been to does it right then and there.
i bought 2 mountain bikes from here after one got stolen, followed by the other one getting stolen. and decided to switch to road bikes. I had no knowledge about sizing or anything (and probably just didn’t realize it on the mtb’s because its not as important) and was showed a bike and told to stand over it and lift it up and if it was already hitting my crotch while on the ground it was probably slightly too big. STUPIDEST CRAP EVER! I ended up getting a 60 cm bike when i now ride a 55 that actually fits because of the way he tries to pawn off bikes on newbies. I had terrible back pain and eventually went to a new shop to buy a new one. Free maintenance from this place is NOT worth it. Sun and ski would be better.
Bottom line. DON’T GO HERE FOR ANYTHING. Ike is king jerk and David basically tells you how stupid you are to your face.

Do NOT ever, ever ever ever ever, make the mistake of walking into this bike shop for ANY bicycle needs… Ever.
One Friday evening, my girlfriend, her brother, and I were gearing up to go to Critical Mass. As we were leaving to the meet up location one of the bikes broke a spoke. It was my girlfriend’s brother’s bike, a bike I had recently sold to him that I had been experiencing this particular problem with for some time, I bought it for $ 200 it’s bound to happen… Anyway, we were scrambling to come up with a plan that would get the wheel fixed and us on our way to our destination.
Long story short, Cycle Rectum (as one of the previous posts called it) was the nearest bike shop that we could go to in order to resolve our problem, only problem is this place doesn’t help with anything!
As we walked in we were greeted coldly by some old timer that looked like he was mentally already at his house in the Laz E Boy for the night. We asked if he could fix the spoke, but he answered that we had to leave the bike over the weekend since he had others to fix that were ahead of ours, we understood and went with our alternative, to buy an entirely new wheel set! This prick should have been jumping for joy we were about to spend the easiest $ 200 he had made that day, but stoic he remained.
The entire time during this transaction this creep was just the biggest douchebag to us, every question was answered vaguely and when we offered him EXTRA $$ to stay and put the wheels on the bike he rudely refused.
The bikes at this shop are nothing special, the components are garbage, and the service is complete bullshit.
P. S. There is only one decent human being that works in this shop, you will know him immediately, if he is not there, run out!

Like others have noted, these guys are unprofessional as they come. Not so much snobby, just total dicks looking for beginner/​not-​so-​knowledgeable cyclist to screw around.
I walked in, looked around, checked out their selection, and the bald guy just stood there and looked at me, no words. I shot him a glance, just a stone face in return. At that point I’m thinking, «OK. Your bike selection and accessory stock are a joke anyways.» Walk out, never to return.
Look around and there are plenty of other good bike shops with knowledgeable staff in and around the 610 loop area (icycle, west end bikes, blue lab). And on top of that you can find all the bikes in this shop on
. Free shipping, and if you’re not mechanically inclined, just take it to ANOTHER bike shop and they can put it together for a total cost less than Cycle (rectum).
There is simply no reason to visit this place.

Absolutely horrible horrible horrible customer service. I went in there this past weekend i don’t know much about bikes and the salesperson literally stood there staring at me not saying a word. he was no help at all and completely rude. I will never go there again

Great, no-​nonsense bicycle-​buying experience. The salesman, Ike, picked out the perfect fit. Walked out with a Motobecane 8sp the same day. I especially like the free service for life aspect. Good prices, too.

I’ve been a fan of Cycle Spectrum for a while. I bought my Mt. Fuji Pro bike here after discussing my needs and technical ability with the staff who are, by the way, knowledgeable and friendly. In addition to their bikes, they have a decent selection of bike gear and a repair shop. Last of all, you can find out about local rides and bike events here. Good stuff.

DO NOT SHOP HERE.
I went in and bought a bike cause my girlfriend wanted to get into the healthy thing, and she bought a bike here too. I ended up going in and buying a $ 200 basic bike. It was the most basic, bottom of the line bike they had.
I asked the sales guy if it would be able to handle my 6’4″, 280lb frame. He said yes, no doubt about it. I then said I was going to pick it up tomorrow since I was in a company car and had no space in the back. The guy said ok, and that he would make sure the tires had air, and everything was tightened up just right.
When I come back, the manager, some small, bald headed guy was there. I asked him the same questions, and some extra ones. He said the bike was going to be able to handle my height and size.
A few days later, when I take the bike for the first ride, within 5 minutes of riding, the back bike tire shifted and got jammed up against the side of the frame of the bike, causing me to stall and flip. I didn’t have any tools, so I couldn’t fix the bike and had to walk it back to my car. I took the bike in the very next day and told the small, bald headed manager what happened, and that I would like a refund so that I could save up money and buy something a little bigger and sturdier. He said there were no refunds. I asked why and he said it was cause the bike had been used. I told him the sales guy never told me anything about that, and asked him where on the receipt it said there were no refunds. The receipt says no refunds or exchanges without the receipt, and it had to be within the first 7 days. I bought the bike Sunday, rode it Thursday, and went back in Friday. He tells me there’s nothing he can do for me, and when I ask why not, he says just cause. I told him I can understand if there was a restocking fee or anything like that, but it wasn’t like I was trying to return the bike just because I didn’t like it, it was because it was defective since they did not tighten it up enough. He just kept saying «nope, nothing I can do» and being a total dick about it. I then ask for his boss’s number, and he scribbles some number on a business card. I immediately call it, it rings, sounds like someone answered, but no one says anything. I then call back for the next two hours, and it keeps going straight to voicemail. I left a message and STILL have not heard anything back.
Avoid this place at all cost. I’m going to try to reach the manager one more time Monday, then I’ll be taking this up with the Better Business Bureau, and then after that small claims court. It’s not about the cost of the bike, but because the sales person didn’t tell me anything, when I was obviously the size I am and concerned the bike could hold me, then the manager was such a dick, and finally it feels like the owner is avoiding my calls.
I would rather buy a bike from Wal Mart then deal with these guys again. Do yourselves a favor, skip this place and go somewhere else.

Great service. Great bike at a great price!
I will be going back for future bikes.

Well, where to begin. I guess starting with the good is the best plan. First off, the bikes are sold for great prices and they offer a good deal of bicycles there; from Road bikes to Mountain bikes, and they carry my favorite the coveted 29er. Also the bikes come with «Lifetime Service» which is a good thing. And «some» of the staff are knowledgeable.
Sadly the good things stop there. The sales staff have all but vanished and there exists only one salesman there now. He is the worst person, not salesman but person, there is in retail. I do a bit of retail myself and if I had tried using his attitude I would have been fired many, many times. I’m sure I’m tal;king about the same person the guy below is talking about (Adam O.).
Lets start here, I bought my bike (brown Motobecane 29er) for about $ 400.00 bux plus tax from a different guy there. He neglected to issue me a receipt so I returned the VERY next day and that is when I first met Ike Sobel. I asked to print me out a new receipt and he told he couldn’t, it wasn’t possible. It should have been possible since I put my bike on layaway for a few days and they had my name and information. He and I argued for nearly 2 weeks before I convinced him to write me out a receipt, which he did do.
Ever since then he always refuses to help me with my «Lifetime Service» requests. Once about 3 months ago a friend of mine and I both dropped our bikes off there at Cycle Spectrum to get the exact same «tune-​up» and my friend was able to get his bike checked in within 2 minutes. As I walked in Mr. Ike saw me and proceeded to go to the back of the store and put me on hold for 30 minutes. My friend’s bike was ready in 2 days and mine took 1 week.
Today, I went in for air and again he gave me the run around, I told him that I was using my «Lifetime Service» to get an air refill for my tires and after much argument about what constitutes «Lifetime Service» he proceeded to hand me an air pump and said «Get after it».
I am desperately trying to reach his manager or the owner of Cycle Spectrum but have yet to be able to.
AVOID this place at all costs. I, sadly, am stuck there because of my «lifetime service» but I advise anyone else to try Bike Barn, the staff there is much more courteous. You pay more but the money keeps their employees treating you nicer.
UPDATED 8÷12÷09
The manager from Cycle Spectrum returned my email in a very timely manner. He then informed me that he has no knowledge of Mr. Ike Sobel ever discriminating or mistreating the customers. He then mentioned that they are very busy (which is untrue, at least when I am present there are no customers) and if I wanted to leave my bike off to get aired up it may take as many as 5 – 7 business days. 7 days for air?! My god…

Again, what is it with pricky guys working in bike shops.
So I asked the dude in this shop if there was any way that I could find a new or used road bike or hybrid for around $ 150 – 200. I have found bikes like that on ebay or craigslist, but call me crazy… I like trying before buying.
So when I asked that question, the guy didn’t say anything, but just gave me a weird look. So I, after being pissed off by my Houston Bicycle Co and Meyerland Walmart experiences, was a little cranky. So I said «sir, the look on your face says ‘impossible’». To which my roommate cracked up, but this guy didn’t even crack a smile. So I said «wait, seriously, no suggestions»… and they guy didn’t respond more than saying «nope».
So I just walked out, I can’t stand these snobby bike shop people.

This shop has a nice selection of mountain bikes, touring cycles and the ever popular hybrids. They specialize in Motobecane bikes, but others are available and it’s always a good idea to talk to a pro if your not well versed in the latest bike nomenclature. Good selection of accessories; helmets, sunglasses, gloves etc. I think the best part of buying from them is the lifetime free labor you get when you bring it in to them for repairs or maintenance. After a few accidents I have toned down where and how I cycle, but I still need tire repairs and tune ups (hey Houston is not exactly a bike friendly town), so it’s nice to just pay for the parts. Also I have found most repair jobs are done with considerable alacrity (same day usually). If you find the same bike for slightly less, it’s worth it to buy from them.