Newport Beach’s Chicago Bike

I had the worst experience with the owner (Tony) of the shop today. He was labeling me as ‘one of those people’ and used discriminatory remarks. This guy is an idiot… stay away.

This guy is a complete douche. Very rude to me and I do not recommend coming here ever. I took my bike to the cyclist off of Newport and 17^th street in Newport Beach and received excellent customer service. If I could give 0 stars I would !!!

Terrible experience. The owner is a very mean. Decided to head to another bike shop (the cyclist bike shop) and the guys there felt bad and helped us for free. I can’t believe the owner was so mean to my son and I. Do not come here

My friend was having chain issues on
our road bike ride on a Sunday morning. I remembered Chicago Bike and we decided to ride there. Tony fixed her bike then proceeded to rant! He gave us a rash of crap for our equipment and our «suits». He had a hate on for road cyclists! Hey bro, I suggested we go to you! If you ride in with your road bike expect to be belittled and criticized.

Most amazing owner and perfect for rentals. 25 years experience, Very honest and free parking! Perfect for crazy holiday weekends in Newport.

Stopped here in the middle of a ride, *FULL DISCLOSURE* HE HATES ROAD CYCLISTS. Has some sort of vendetta against them.
Me and my buddy rolled up, and he started talking smack to his friend that was there.
I try to walk into his shop, and he stops me at the door (puts his hand in the way) and says very rudely «What do you need?»
After telling him what I needed, and him saying that he didn’t have it, he wouldn’t let me go into his shop.
I would avoid this bike shop at all costs, literally save yourself the trouble.

That guy is a nut! my friends and I were on a 85 mile road ride and decided to make a pit stop for tacos at the place next door to Chicago Bike. After eating we went in to check the place out and right away knew something was wrong with the guy behind the counter. He began ranting and mumbling about guys wearing «the tight shorts and shaved legs» and a whole bunch of other non sense. We kindly excused ourselves and continued on our ride in disbelief about what had just happened. As we left he told us «you’ll never be back» and he was right. I never have gone back. I usually like anyone who has an even remote interest in bikes, but sometimes you just have to know when to say when and find someone with better customer service skills. Cycling is not a cheap sport, when people have bikes worth more then cars they expect a certain level of service.

Tony is a great mechanic. Got my bike in and out right away. Great prices. Adds value to community with knowledge of comfortable riding.

Okay, so Tony is probably a little crazy. But he knows bikes inside out, upside down and all around. Does he have any new bikes in his shop? None that I could see. Did my 5-​minute repair (a pin was falling out of my Dura-​Ace chain) take a minimum of a half-​hour because Tony was on something of a rant? Yes, at least a half hour. Did he fix my back and get me back on the road? Absolutely. And what marvelous, marvelous two-​wheeled creations he has in his shop. You can barely get in the door because of the beach cruisers blocking the entrance, but once you’re inside, if you’re really interested in the history of bikes and what can be done with these things, it’s worth a stop here just for that. Yes, for some of us we don’t have time and that’s to be understood, but if you have time, want to meet a very sweet, eccentric and somewhat crazy guy who knows a ton about bikes now and then, stop by.
I wasn’t going very far with a pin popping out of my chain and locking up my chainrings, so I just took a deep breath, listened to Tony’s complaints, marveled at some of the extremely impracticable bikes he had either built or collected, like a bike you can ride forward or backwards, and tried to give him some advice on what a guy like me in the «shoes» and the «clothes» would be interested in stopping into his shop to purchase. He may or may not be here for long, so just for a very unique experience (and he’s not an asshole, maybe an asshole to an asshole) and some of us who take riding very seriously can come off that way, but if you listen and are tolerant, his shop is a true bicycle museum you may not find anywhere — and for the most part, he really and truly will fix your bike. Maybe not. Don’t go here if you’re in a hurry or you’re impatient. But I recommend a visit. I’ll go back, maybe make a little documentary because for better or worse the experience at this shop is rare and memorable.
That’s my lot –

Went to Chicago bike to have some repairs done. Tony is very knowledgable. Got a quote from another shop in the area for a lot more. Tony did a great job. He knows bikes he stocks so many parts and he can do anything, really a good guy.

Tony is the greatest. He is always so nice and helpful. I own HappiTravels vacation rentals across the street and Tony is always so helpful with all of our bike repairs. He is very thorough and knowledgeable.

Elliott McCrosky
Tustin.
I lived in Newport Beach for 13 yrs. and I still drive down to see Tony for any bike repairs. I took my bike to a fancy bike shop here in Tustin and the guy couldn’t fix it. Tony got it done and got it right.

Touring south to San Diego. Needed an emergency repair on our tandem. I hadn’t checked Unilocal before going in. Probably wouldn’t have believed this guy was as insane or unstable as stated in earlier reviews. After 5 minutes of abuse I asked, «will you help me or not?». He said no and followed me outside continuing his rant. Don’t waste your time here.

There are not many places these days where you get great service like this and actually end up paying LESS then what you’re expecting. Note it’s cash only though.

I don’t know how this shop can stay in business.
I was planning to do a century ride today but I had a flat at around 60 miles. As my spare was faulty and I had already wasted my co2, this shop was the nearest where I was so I stopped by to buy a tube and get some air. It was unfortunate that the shop didn’t carry what I needed so I asked if I could borrow the pump to at least get some air in my tire. Not only the owner refused to let me borrow, he belittled me and he went on and on about how successful he is because he doesn’t work on road bikes.
First of all I was going to pay so it’s not my fault that he didn’t have what I needed. Secondly, who the heck he think he is to talk trash to me like that and also the general cycling community. I would have paid for borrowing the pump too but at this point I had decided to just get the heck out.
I’m really speechless about this. If he’s not willing to help out the community, why should we give him any business? PLEASE THINK TWICE BEFORE GOING INTO THIS SHOP. There are other shops in the area that deserve the business far more than this one.

I never use Unilocal,but this guy pissed me off so much I downloaded the app strictly so I can inform the public on how terrible this place is. Honestly never met someone as rude as the guy who runs the spot. I live right by the shop but will avoid going there at all cost. I would rather drive across town and spend twice as much money instead of giving that prick business. It blows my mind how that place stays open. Someone needs to teach that guy some basic customer service skills before he says the wrong thing to the wrong person.

I went to the place for years and there was definitely a change in his behavior and competency a little more than two and a half years ago. A couple of people have said that he had a stroke, but I think considering the open wounds on his face, a meth addiction is more likely. Really sad because before he changed he was the best bicycle repairman in Newport. I’m giving him three stars simply because of his past performance. I really hope he gets better whatever it is that happened.

To preface this review, I’ll just follow up with what so many others have said before me: People aren’t joking when they say this guy is off his rocker; he really is missing a few links in his chain.
That being said, I can definitely state that I won’t be stopping here again. I’m not a fan of 1-​star reviews, but there’s really no way I could be comfortable giving more than this.
I walked in simply needing one bolt tightened down. What should have been a 30 second stop on my 40±mile route turned into 15 minutes of being belittled, and even at times yelled at, simply for asking for a favor. The guy went on this long tirade about how cyclists are only coming to his store for repairs and never buying anything, and how I’ll never buy anything because we (cyclists) buy new bikes and new equipment elsewhere (there’s not much, if anything, new in his shop that I could see).
He mentioned about possibly going out of business and moving up to the Bay area soon. Well, I can’t say that I’d be sad to see him go. Not that I wish our Northern neighbors to be graced with this man’s presence (sarcasm), but Newport doesn’t need that kind of attitude.

The girlfriend and I were cycling along the HB boardwalk when she suddenly got a flat. Being the closest bike shop that had the proper size tube, I quickly biked over there.
I required a new tube, tire lever, and compact pump which came out to $ 36. With only $ 25 on me (they’re cash only), Tony gave me the goods and told me to come back at a later time to pay him back.
Not sure about what other Unilocalers experienced. I found Tony to be very friendly, and he saved the day!

Like others are saying, if I could leave negative stars I would. This place has horrible customer service and for the prices your better off going to a different bike rental store down the street. I won’t be back here.