The Bicycle Link

The BF and I went to the Bicycle Link a few times before deciding to finally purchase our bikes. The experience was very pleasant as the employees there were friendly and knowledgeable. Steve was the man who answered our billion questions with ease and gave us great tips as we rode our bikes home. Totally recommend!

I grew up in this area and (regrettably) bought bikes and had service done at this shop many times.
Retail: They stock an average selection of bikes. Nothing special, but a reasonable selection. You can expect there to be some teenagers working the floor that will point you towards your price range or type of bike. In my experience, they usually don’t know much about the bikes beyond what you would read on the manufacturers flyer.
When I was buying my first road bike I was looking at a Specialized Allez that was discounted because it was several years old (I now know it was probably on sale since it was so large). I was around 14 at the time and knew nothing about bikes. The girl working told me, «If it feels good, it fits!» It is an XL (58) size frame and was WAY too big for me at the time. I’m now 20 and the bike is still too big for me (I’m 6 ft tall). Selling a 14 year old way too big of a bike just to make the sale… dispicable. It led to me having back issues while riding when I was younger.
Service: I had many small repairs done there that (I now know) were way overpriced and sloppily done.
The last straw was when I had an older mountain bike with a persistent chain skipping issue. I later found out it was due to stretched rear drop-​ins, but I had no idea initially what the problem was. I explained to them that I had replaced the cassette and chain, tuned the derrailleaur to perfection, and it still skipped. They said they would figure it out. I came to pick it up and was handed at $ 130 bill. They replaced all the shifting cables and housing, replaced chain rings that were not fully worn yet, and did a few other unneccessary «repairs». The chain still skipped. I brought it back asking for my money back and they refused and treated me like I was trying to rip THEM off. It got ugly. They accepted no responsibilty and only offered to try replacing more parts for additional $$$. To finish the story, I then took the bike to Rockland Cycles and Dave immediately found the problem, and determined it was not fixable, but still gave me a temporary fix, totally free!
This is a bad shop that I have regrettably given thousands of dollars. I was eventually told by a friend to check out Rockland Cycles and I have never looked back. 100% worth the drive to Rockland to have a quality, friendly, and honest experience.
tldr; Overpriced, dishonest, worst shop I’ve ever dealt with.

Dropped my bike off for a few simple repairs and when I picked it up my very clean red handlebar tape was *covered* in black grease. Completely filthy. When I asked them what was up, they miserably brought it back downstairs to clean it off and said accusatorily, «Try not using so much chain grease.» Total dickhead. As if him getting grease on my handlebars was somehow my fault. And even if I soaked that chain in full tub of grease, maybe give me my bike back clean and tell me what I did wrong in a helpful way.
If you need repairs, I suggest you go across the street to the Schwinn dealer/​shop. The guy there did a bunch of stuff on my bike while I waited, was pleasant and conversational, and only asked for «future business» as payment. I still gave the guy $ 20 because I wanted him to know that kindness goes a long way.

I have been going to this place off and on for the past 10 years. I’ve had a few experiences where my bike was not ready when they said it would be.
For the past several years I’ve been tossing around the idea of buying a new bike. My birthday was coming up and I was going up to Stowe, VT to ride bikes, so I thought I’d treat myself to my first 29er for the trip. I went in on a Sunday and they didn’t have the bike I was looking for, but I was told that it was in an order that should come in on Monday (the next day). The guy went in the back and double checked that. He said it would come in on Monday and it would be assembled on Monday or Tuesday and they would call me to come get it. I reiterated to the guy that I was going out of town on Thursday, so as long as I had it before then. He assured me that would not be a problem. I was pretty excited about it and even paid for it up front so all I’d have to do is pick it up on my way home from work. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday went by without a phone call, so I stopped by Wednesday evening on my way home and dealt with an older guy that informed me that the bike I bought was not in the order that came in on Monday. I was disappointed that I had to stop in the day before I left town to find out that they didn’t have it and were not going to get it. I had to ask for a refund. That left a real bad taste in my mouth.
Overall, the people there seem pretty knowledgeable. Not the friendliest of service though. I might stop in to pick up some small item of need, like a tube or something. Aside from that, REI’s bike department in Hingham has earned my business with their expertise and friendly service. Never thought I’d choose REI over a smaller local shop, but it’s been a great experience so far.
Really this place deserves one or two stars based on my experience. I’m in a good mood though, so I’m gonna bump it up to three stars on the merit of their rap video/​commercial at the Patriot Cinemas.

I have had good experiences at The Bicycle Link. Nearing 60 years of age, I thought I might be too old to ride a bike! Determined to look into the possibilities, I visited bike shops on the south shore. Every shop was encouraging, but the bike that I wanted was at Jim Quinn’s shop, The Bicycle Link. I bought a TREK road bike. I love it! I did have to bring it back to the shop for minor adjustments… everyone was always pleasant, helpful and more than willing to fix the problems… a bubble in a tire… the tire was replaced… the seat was tilted in a way I found uncomfortable, it was adjusted. My son bought me a computer for the bike… it was installed free of charge. I just had my bike tuned up on a holiday weekend with a $ 10 off coupon, brought it in Thurs. afternoon, picked it up Saturday… it feels brand new! I need a slight adjustment, Jim told me to bring it back in. I mentioned to Sam that I was thinking of getting clips/​shoes. He explained the advantages, patiently found the right fitting shoes and taught me how to use them. He gave me a lesson on adjusting the tension of the clip release so I can do it myself. An added benefit, I can use my shoes for spinning classes as well!
I am also interested in getting glasses. Sam has explained the benefits and downside of different styles. I tried the transition glasses on a cloudy day, went back on a sunny day and tried them again. I get the impression the Bicycle Link wants me to be happy and educated about what I buy without any pressure. Humans work at this shop, they are not perfect, but they sure make me feel comfortable about being there to solve any issues that come up. Give them a try!

I’m not sure why this shop is getting bad reviews, I just bought a bike from The Bicycle Link — my first bike in 20+ years. Sam was helpful and friendly, knowledgable and patient. I love my new bike and would highly recommend this bike shop.

I had a very positive experience with The Bicycle Link recently. I’d been agonizing over buying a new bike for a long time, and finally tentatively decided on a hybrid. I went to both EMS and REI and got TERRIBLE service. When I walked into the Bicycle Link, I was immediately greeted, and asked what I was in the market for. After describing my situation, the guy agreed that a hybrid was the perfect choice for me. I tried out 2 or three, and finally decided on a Trek Neko S. I picked it up later that afternoon, and i haven’t been able to tear myself away from it ever since. I’m totally in love with the bike. I’d definitely recommend this shop as far as PURCHASING a bike goes– the staff member I dealt with was super friendly and extremely knowledgeable.
I can’t comment on the service. With the purchase of a bike came a free tune-​up in 60 days, so I’ll check back in after that. But for now, I’m totally impressed.

Jim,
I’m glad you have 3 generations of return customers but I’m sorry to say I won’t be one of them.

Best bike shop around, only place that actually has some knowledge of the bikes they sell, knew every answer to every question I had as someone getting back into bmx. Will be back for my future needs.

Unfortunaltely, I bought my bike here so I thought this would be the best place to take it when I need service, I was wrong.
I was happy with the purchase of my bike. I have a Trek fitness bike and love it.
But, after I bought it I brought it back them to have a kickstand put on. I had to leave it there for several days to have them put it on which I understand they get busy so wasn’t too upset about the wait, but when I got it home and tried it out, the stand was way too short for my bike. It would just fall over, I assume they put a kid’s one on by mistake.
So, I brought it back and they told me I didn’t buy the kick stand from them! Can you believe that?! They said they don’t sell small kick stands so I couldn’t have got it from them. I had to argue with them and finally get the owner and show him my receipt so they finally fixed it.
For some reason I went back to them for my tune up. Took a little over a week and cost around $ 80. When I picked up my bike it was still all dirty and my tire was completely flat.
This time they gave me money back though :) that’s the only reason I gave 2 stars
Now, I have learned my lesson — Never again!

I actually stopped into the Bicycle Link for the first time in about 20 years the other day and I must say I quite like this little shop. As far as shops on the South Shore go it’s quite nice. Two floors packed tight with a variety of bicycles and accessories. They carry brands such as Cannondale, Trek, Specialized and Felt in both road and mountain.
I think what people who are coming from the city should realize is that the demographics of the area don’t really support an elite style shop like Wheelworks with fit rooms and high dollar accessories everywhere. Most people in the area are looking for $ 300 rec bikes so the fact they carry as much high end stuff as they do ($ 3,000+ bikes) is impressive. They don’t sell many but they make an effort.
I met the owner who’s a white haired middle aged fellow (Jim) who’s been racing bicycles since he opened the shop back in the 1980’s and still commutes to work sometimes. He’d be the fellow to talk to and he knows his stuff-he’s also friendly.
If you’re in the area I’d stop in and see if they have what you need. Probably one of the best of the South Shore shops. That said, they’re not a city shop. No, some of the folks working there aren’t part time pro racers or know who Jens Voigt is, and no there’s no Andy Pruitt trained fit specialist, but that’s OK.

The ‘Link never ceases to amaze me, but I don’t mean in a good way. I think I have been spoiled by the Landry’s and Wheelworks of the Metro West region. The Bicycle link is good if you need a tube or want to purchase a mountain bike or hybrid. If you want to purchase anything like a road bike or a cruiser all bets are off. They do offer some custom bikes like IF and Merlin, but I’m not sure they use any of the sophisticated fitting methods that other shops use — but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
They generally do not have a large selection of high end parts and take a long time with repairs. I do give them credit for their community involvement of scheduling weekly training races and rides.