Gotham Bikes

THIS PLACE IS THEFT, AND RECKLESS ABANDON INCARNATE. Wish I could give zero stars. I knew going here was a bad idea, i went there for the sole purpose that it was close to work and I had a busy weekend ahead, so I went against my better judgement/​intuition for convenience. I definitely don’t see any reason to ever go here other than to use the free air pump out front. My bike went in for a «deluxe» tune up, it came out after four days, ($ 130 later) with a lot more problems than it went in with, problems that could’ve left me seriously injured. My wheels needed to be trued, and they did a decent job of that. But they put the wrong master link on my chain, the adjustments made to my rear dérailleur were idiotic at best, and they didn’t even grease the chain. I’m almost positive that when I showed up the day I was told to pick up my bike, they’d completely forgotten to complete the work order and rushed to finish it while I waited 45 minutes to pick it up. Their prices are RIDICULOUS, a total travesty, even by Manhattan standards. They prey off the uniformed, amateur cyclists, with money. I am appalled that this place is in business. Do NOT, under any circumstances have them do serious mechanical work on your bike. FUCK THIS PLACE

The worst bike rental experience. We spent almost two hours there waiting for our bike rentals and a baby ridding seat. The mechanic was selling, ringing and setting up the seat, while four other employees stood motionless. He was called down to fix other bikes and after an almost 2 hour wait we gave up and left the shop without our bikes and with a cranky toddler. Highly advise to avoid this place. Clearly management does not care about customer service or respect people’s time. Use the store on Varick instead, if you need a bike in TriBeCa. We ended up buying two hybrid high performance bikes there the next day.

This is my go-​to bike shop near my office.
I ride 365, all conditions.
I work in the bike industry, however my brand is not sold here (unbiased).
These guys are the real deal. I’ve thrown everything at their mechanics and they’ve always figured it out.
The team is SUPER friendly. Especially Sammy, Ben and Nick the mechanic.
Their new space is ROCK SOLID too.
Support these guys, Tribeca needs a solid bike shop like them.

I’ve never written a review before, but I was so surprised by the number of negative reviews for this place that I figured I’d chime in. I work close by and I stopped in yesterday to get my gears fixed, which weren’t shifting properly — everyone in the store was friendly and helpful. My bike was fixed like new in about 15 minutes and the labor was reasonably priced. I’d definitely recommend!

Pros: clean, decent service, the staff seen knowledgable. Cons: overpriced, doesn’t have lots of options to choose from.

I work two blocks away, so I am familiar with them of course. But I have never shopped there until recently, twice.
They were very helpful, the sales guy recommended the lock that he thought I would best use, turns out it is not perfect for me, but is good nonetheless. I didn’t know enough to answer his questions, and he asked. So I have to recognize him for being thorough.
And I went back for some head and tail lights. A different guy took the time to show me all the different models and explained them all well, and I went home with the perfect set.
Also, I might add that their prices are in line with what I have seen elsewhere, and that is a surprise. I assumed they were going to be expensive.
All in all, I would recommend them and will return when I need more items.

My partner got on her first road bike 6 months ago and had a great experience. I went in to get a very basic hybrid this weekend and had a great experience. I’m shocked by these bad reviews. We interfaced with several staff I think Sammy, Ben and Dave and they were all so helpful. They put my water bottle cage on the bike and installed our car bike rack, which was totally confusing. They never tried to upsell and pressure me to buy more expensive on bikes or equipment. And they didn’t pretentiously try to impress me with their knowledge. They are awesome.

Raj sold me a new bike that perfectly fits what I need. It’s a cute commuter bike that was well priced and I love riding it. Great upgrade!

Ben and Clair on Sunday afternoons are wonderful and knowledgeable. I love this place, I’ll be coming here even from Queens from now on.

I have no firm evidence, but I can say this. Every time I’ve parked my bike on Reade Street, my front tire has been flattened by someone. It’s happened three times now in 6 weeks. What are the odds that it’s just some random, malicious person? I think Gotham is sending someone to flatten tires to drive up business. Anyone else experience this?

Stopped by here after my bike got a flat the other day riding through the post-​snow weather. They were unfortunately closed (along with most of New York) that first day, but when I came back, the staff were more than willing to help.
I had to wait for the person before me, but Sammy had my flat fixed within 10 minutes and even lubed my bike for me. The labor was a lot cheaper than I was expecting and I was happy to pay. All in all, a great first bike shop experience!

This summer I went to Gotham Bikes to buy cycling shoes for my new road bike. The person that helped me said they did not have my size in the style I wanted but they would get a regular shipment of more shoes the following Thursday. I asked if we should make an order to guarantee it and he said every size would be available so it was unnecessary. I also needed matching clips and we found a pair that would work. He said he would set it aside for me. I stopped by the following Thursday and every size of shoe was not available. He then made the shoe order and I got it a week later. However, he hadn’t set aside the clips and they were sold to someone else so that had to be reordered!
At the end of the summer I needed to ship my bicycle to a new city that I was moving to. I brought my bicycle in with a bag full of 2 helmets, gloves, shoes, and a small mount. I was quoted $ 125 on the phone by an employee. I ended up being charged $ 200 if you exclude the optional insurance. Furthermore, I asked for them to make sure to ship that bag of equipment with the bicycle and they said they would definitely do it. When I moved to the new city and received the bike the equipment was not there! I called and the woman that handle my bike’s shipment said my equipment was still in their store and there had been a miscommunication. She said she wouldn’t charge me to ship it to me immediately. Of course she better not charge me, I already paid for it to be done right the first time! She wouldn’t do overnight shipping, only ground.
The employees seem incompetent, which seems to suggest that the manager must be incompetent at screening qualified employees.

I went here with my girlfriend to be fitted for clip-​ins, pedals, cleats, and a few accessories. The staff was kind, friendly, and very open to saving us money (most importantly).
I was also impressed with the professionalism and knowledge that the staff displayed; they explained the differences between different styles of shoes, pedals, etc. for us and displayed products that fit our applications (commuting).
Additionally, the store is clean, well kept and has a wide variety of accessories. Que bueno!

I am new to cycling and recently decided to buy my first ever not-​from-​Target bike (you know, a «real» bike). I would pop into a different bike shop in Manhattan /​Brooklyn every few days to ask the same basic questions and hear their recommendations. All I can say after this experience is that bike shop employees, as a group, are a whole new apex of pretentious hipster assholes. They make the sales staff at Barney’s seem down to earth. I was ready to say screw it and buy some ill-​fitting piece of junk at a garage sale because it was impossible to find someone to give me a Bike 101 introduction sans attitude.
Eventually, I found myself at Gotham Bikes, a purveyor of very expensive bikes in a very expensive neighborhood. Despite this, Ben spent over an hour walking me through the basics of bikes, not minding how clueless I was on the subject. He recommended a few options that met my needs of a commuter bike I could also eventually take for longer 30+ mile rides (a combination one smug salesman in Brooklyn told me was «completely impossible»…ok). Ben explained where the bike price comes from, how I could save some upgrades for later to save money upfront, etc. He even gave me advice for buying a used bike off Craigslist if I went that route. None of their bikes were «cheap» by any means, but he was upfront about when bikes go on sale as the next years models are rolled out. In other words, he understood that not everyone who walks into that store has $ 3K to spend on a bike and was very sensitive to cost during our conversation.
After think about it for a week, I ended up buying a Cannondale bike there and am extremely happy with it. They let me take it out for a test run and helped size it for me. I’ll be back for service and upgrades but I would certainly recommend this place for top-​shelf goods and a refreshing absence of attitude.

Just moved to nyc for the summer. Bought a bike to get around. The only way to see the city btw. Walked in to this place with a popped tube and they fixed it up in 10 minutes. Every time I go in there they let me use any tools they got. Great dudes. Thnx for takin care of this west coaster!

Ben is the best! they are putting together a Litespeed Pesgah fully outfitted for me; and their knowledge and assistance has been exceptional
highly recommended! i’ll post a pic of the bike when completed

It’s all right. Gotham in the name makes me wonder if Batman would be a theme bike they’d have somewhere, but no, your run of the mill bike selection,

Not a bad little shop, they have most of the things I need which isn’t more than a tube and some small parts, they also carry Specialized and can order anything frame you want.

This is not the first time I’ve been to this shop — I work nearby so it’s convenient to me to drop in during my lunch break to get repairs or pick up (overpriced) supplies. Lately though the staff has been very unhelpful when I’ve brought my bike in with a problem. Twice now I’ve left having to take my bike elsewhere because of a combination of them 1) not really listening when I was trying to describe a problem I was having with my bike, 2) because of not listening, they didn’t think there was much of a problem at all, and 3) they just shrugged their shoulders and didn’t offer any alternative diagnosis.
Are you kidding me? I took my ride over to NYC Velo on 2^nd Ave near 4^th St and got things fixed right away like a PROPER bike shop would do. I’m never coming to Gotham Bikes again, I don’t care how close by it is. Screw this place and it’s apathetic staff.

Selection is meh. The service is pretty knowledgeable and most of the dudes there are willing to help. A bit of an attitude problem with select employee (s), but I’m of the mindset not to condemn an entire business for the sins of one/​a few sour grapes.
That being said, we in TriBeCa. Try looking for bike stuff in a cheaper part of town.