Boston Area MTB Mechanic Recs?

[Cantdog]

I've had lackluster experience at JRA(despite other's positive experiences) and it's a bit of a PITA to get to. What other shops in the Boston area would be good options for MTB? Need the pivots overhauled on an Ibis Ripley. I don't mind paying for good service, but it's always nice to not leave and feel like the price is completely disproportionate to the type of work done.

[OldCrank]

Not sure where you're based, but I've heard generally good reports on Belmont Wheelworks.

[benb]

It might annoy people on here but I've had really mixed results at Belmont Wheelworks, customer service was terrible there. I never bought a bike from them so it might have been that.

Couldn't really tell you. I've had mixed results at Cycleloft too, they are the most convenient for me so I go there. They are great with the bike I bought from them, not so much at all with anything I have that wasn't bought new from them.

I've had mixed results with Ride Studio Cafe as well. I bought my nicest current road wheelset from them. Took it back to get the rear wheel trued and the mechanic had lent out the truing stand. How the shop's only truing stand leaving the shop for a favor could ever be allowed is beyond me.

For pivots I'd definitely be highly biased towards wherever the bike came from if possible. It's a big enough thing to bias me to buy from someone local.

[Johnnysmooth]

Dedham bike - small, locally owned and have done great work for me in past with my MTB.

Belmont Wheelworks can be excellent, but you have to know/pick the wrench that will work on your bike. They hire a lot of summer help and some of those seasonal wrenches leave a lot to be desired. But the shop does stand by their work and will repair/fix any screw-ups and second time around, they get it right.

[Bruce K]

While Fast Splits in Needham is not an MTB shop, the mechanic there is an excellent MTB mechanic.

BK

[seanile]

give a call to somervelo or allstonvelo, good guys running those shops

[MilanoTom]

I worked with Jimmi Mahalares for a few years at Providence Bicycle. He's now at Harris Cyclery in Newton. He knows his stuff.

Tom

[wc1934]

Dedham bike - small, locally owned and have done great work for me in past with my MTB.

Belmont Wheelworks can be excellent, but you have to know/pick the wrench that will work on your bike. They hire a lot of summer help and some of those seasonal wrenches leave a lot to be desired. But the shop does stand by their work and will repair/fix any screw-ups and second time around, they get it right.

yup - Dave is a good guy - his son know his stuff too!


I have often recommended Steve the bike guy = located in Sherborn
https://stevethebikeguy.com/

[jcs7282]

Scott Novick at Landry's is excellent. He also does Firefly's in house builds, which I think speaks volumes to his capability...

[OtayBW]

I bought 2 bikes at Belmont Wheelworks years ago. Had good luck with the wrenching, but I probably would not buy another bike from them....and that's all I have to say about that....:rolleyes:

[wc1934]

Scott Novick at Landry's is excellent. He also does Firefly's in house builds, which I think speaks volumes to his capability...

The Landry's in Norwood or Boston?

[merlinmurph]

The Landry's in Norwood or Boston?

...or Natick, or Westboro, or Worcester?

[wc1934]

...or Natick, or Westboro, or Worcester?

Said Boston area so I am guessing Norwood or Boston, but I am curious to find out.

[zmalwo]

Not sure where you're based, but I've heard generally good reports on Belmont Wheelworks.

OMG I can't believe you mentioned Belmont Wheelworks. They are indeed an excellent shop. I still remembers an event happened at that place 8 years ago. Back then I took a seminar at MIT during my sophomore summer in HS. I worked my ass off to save up a good chunk to fly from Houston to Boston to attend that Seminar. My money was so tight and I was pinching every penny. I rented a room 2 blocks away from Belmont Wheelworks. When I got to Belmont the first thing I did was getting a road bike. It was a classic Club Fuji for $150 and it needed something, I don't remember what tho. so I took it to Belmont Wheelworks, the mechanic did everything and at the end I asked him how much would it be, and I was so nervous because at that time after paying the rent I was only left with barely enough to get by for the rest of the 7 weeks. The mechanic simply told me don't worry about it, just buy a nice bike from them in the future. For the next 7 weeks I used that bike to commute from Belmont to MIT every single day there and back then sold the bike at the end for $250. To this day I always think back about that event. It always reminds me how important it is to establish returning customers. No wonder their shop is so big and still going strong even tho it's located on the out skirt of Boston metropolis zone after all these years.

[Cantdog]

OMG I can't believe you mentioned Belmont Wheelworks. They are indeed an excellent shop. I still remembers an event happened at that place 8 years ago. Back then I took a seminar at MIT during my sophomore summer in HS. I worked my ass off to save up a good chunk to fly from Houston to Boston to attend that Seminar. My money was so tight and I was pinching every penny. I rented a room 2 blocks away from Belmont Wheelworks. When I got to Belmont the first thing I did was getting a road bike. It was a classic Club Fuji for $150 and it needed something, I don't remember what tho. so I took it to Belmont Wheelworks, the mechanic did everything and at the end I asked him how much would it be, and I was so nervous because at that time after paying the rent I was only left with barely enough to get by for the rest of the 7 weeks. The mechanic simply told me don't worry about it, just buy a nice bike from them in the future. For the next 7 weeks I used that bike to commute from Belmont to MIT every single day there and back then sold the bike at the end for $250. To this day I always think back about that event. It always reminds me how important it is to establish returning customers. No wonder their shop is so big and still going strong even tho it's located on the out skirt of Boston metropolis zone after all these years.

Did you buy from them yet?

Look the bike to Allstonvelo. It was quick, they did the job, price was reasonable, and cleaner than when I dropped it off. Win win. Will use again.

[moose8]

I thought the REI in Boston wasn’t bad for mountain bike repair.

[eippo1]

I work seasonally at BWW and rely on our wrenches heavily for my own stuff. Typically will do tear downs and full builds and then take it to them and say help. PM me if you want recommendations etc.



Sent from my SM-P580 using Tapatalk

[wc1934]

I work seasonally at BWW and rely on our wrenches heavily for my own stuff. Typically will do tear downs and full builds and then take it to them and say help. PM me if you want recommendations etc.



Sent from my SM-P580 using Tapatalk

You mean Scott C?

[fmradio516]

You mean Scott C?

Scott is the man!

[jcs7282]

Scott N is at Landry's in Natick, sorry for not mentioning the location! It's not horribly far from Boston, just don't go during rush hour...

[AJosiahK]

Knowing the guys at Alston / Somervelo, they would be a great option.

Ive had good experiences dealing with Chris at Bike Way Source in Bedford. Not sure about their mechanics personally.

JRA would be a good option aside from aforementioned issues. Ive never had a negative experience with sales / mechancis but they are a higher volume shop.

Having worked at one of these LBS, my standards are pretty high for service. But most of the mechanics I know have moved on to different places and states.

[fmradio516]

Knowing the guys at Alston / Somervelo, they would be a great option.

Ive had good experiences dealing with Chris at Bike Way Source in Bedford. Not sure about their mechanics personally.

JRA would be a good option aside from aforementioned issues. Ive never had a negative experience with sales / mechancis but they are a higher volume shop.

Having worked at one of these LBS, my standards are pretty high for service. But most of the mechanics I know have moved on to different places and states.

Id go to Allstonvelo and Somervelo for 99% of things if I couldnt figure it out myself. The other 1% would go to JRA or BWW for shock and fork rebuilds just because they do that stuff a LOT. But id still attempt to rebuild myself first and then go to them if I break it :)

Which shop did you work at? I was a mechanic at Bicycle Bills for a few years when I was still in school, so my standards for service are pretty low :)

[45K10]

Not sure where in Boston you are located but one thing I have learned over the last 4 years is that 10 miles is a long way around here. That combined with the fact that I like to work on bikes leads me to do all of my own wrenching.

The pivot job shouldn't be too hard. Here is a video on how to do it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rj0Vb8uAxgI

I get it if you don't have time or the confidence to tackle it but it may be worth a shot.

[fmradio516]

In description of that video they link to a Ripley bearing tool... now THATs what im looking for.. Well not for a ripley but the same deal but with different sized inserts. im tired of using the old threaded rod version.

[benb]

Ive had good experiences dealing with Chris at Bike Way Source in Bedford. Not sure about their mechanics personally.


Forgot about this one.. I can see Bike Way Source from the end of the driveway.

They are super nice, very pleasant to deal with.

I've bought some small parts there and asked some mechanical questions and I test rode bikes there and would have bought from them if the bikes were the right bike.

Can't really comment on the mechanics though. One of the guys there is a real Sheldon Brown type. Either he's great or he's nuts.

If you have an area of bike parts/maintenance you are particularly strong in one thing I look for when talking to shop mechanics is if in conversation they say things that violate the way manufacturers want something to be assembled/maintained/adjusted. If they say something like that to me relatively quickly it's usually a red flag. If I was talking to someone who is the head mechanic for a Pro Tour team or is the head mechanic for a Pro Downhill MTB guy and they have done parts development with the manufacturer and have disagreed and/or sent parts or procedures back that's one thing but when the local LBS guy who is just a kid says something I usually side with "Manufacturer knows what they are doing and this mechanic is just wrong."