Bike Haven in Fair Haven NJ

[knobbyhead]

Just wanted to give a big shout out to Cliff at the Bike Haven in Fair Haven NJ.

A long story short I was riding my bike into Red Bank and my chain broke. I was meeting my wife, so we drove over to the Bike Haven to buy a new chain. Since I was hoping to ride my bike home, I asked if he could cut the chain to the correct length. He dropped everything he was doing to cut my chain.

very pleasant to deal with and they have a pretty cool bird at the shop too.

 

[macdad]

Cliff is a good guy

 

[dogo]

The owner is a stuck up piece s***, and if my chain broke I'd rather walk home then give that place any money whatsoever... Its unfortunate because its in a rather nice location, and could be so much more if the owner wasnt such a condescending prick who charges full retail and "then" some to his customers.. Two thumbs down...

 

[Beachbike]

Wow, harsh. Never had a real problem there. Often stop in on way to H/Shorne. Tubes, lube, tire levers and such. Pretty light duty. Seems more like a soccer mom type shop but always very friendly. Usually rung up by some tall guy behind the counter. Seems pretty into biking at Hartshorne. Haven't delt much w/Cliff. Must have really screwed you.

 

[kingsqueak]

These guys have been nothing but good to me. I tinker around, sometimes poorly and they are always there to bail me out and help me understand what the right way is to do something.

I swapped bars and controls Wed night and forgot that I would need new cables, so I had time yesterday to just pop in unannounced. I snagged the cables and set them up myself while loitering around the shop. I needed a hand getting them finished off and set properly and Cliff gladly lended me a hand....mind you, in the middle of his normal workload.

They barely know who I am and didn't give me any grief for basically dumping myself in their business and mucking with my bike. Think about that for a sec, I didn't expect being welcomed to do it, but it worked out fine. To me that's accommodation beyond what I expected.

As a result of them letting me fiddle around and getting me straight, I got a nice ride in and with my schedule that's important as I'm lucky to have one or two days a week to do it so leaving a bike sitting in a shop sucks.

Are they cheap? No, but I've bought things here and there just to keep them going. The overhead of retail space in this area is completely insane and on top of that, we all live in NJ as do the employees...people have to afford to live somehow. People gotta eat.

If you don't support local businesses you wind up with consolidated corporate shops that aren't going to do anything beyond selling you what is hanging on the peg. Cheaper, sure, but look what you get for the money.

Just to toss them some cash, on the way out I picked up a 'see me' white blinky light that I'm sure I paid about double what I could find it for on Amazon. Did I do that by mistake? No. It's my concession to having a local shop that is decent.

I pay for shop time during my little experiments, gladly. I consider it the "stupid tax" for me, but each time, I walk away with more understanding.

Also another .02, the area they serve (I've lived close to here for 30yrs) is populated by an extremely high concentration of entitled egomaniacs that all know better than anyone else. I can only imagine the fatigue level of working retail in the bicycle business among the local crowd. I'm surprised they remain as helpful and friendly as they are when weighed against years of dealing with the locals around here.

 

[macdad]

Also another .02, the area they serve (I've lived close to here for 30yrs) is populated by an extremely high concentration of entitled egomaniacs that all know better than anyone else. I can only imagine the fatigue level of working retail in the bicycle business among the local crowd. I'm surprised they remain as helpful and friendly as they are when weighed against years of dealing with the locals around here.

sounds like you should have moved a long time ago... what a dickhead comment

 

[don]

sounds like you should have moved a long time ago... what a dickhead comment

X2 - macdad - I've lived in the area for close to 20 years and I have found there are some really good people that live here. Many are very active and participate in the community. Yes, there are jerks but I don't think it is any worse than any other town.

That was very very cool Cliff let you wrench on your bike during shop time. I used to hit Bike Haven a lot especially when Garret worked there but now that Kranky is up and running I go there. Nothing against Cliff (and I think he's a good guy) but with my bike setups I have an easier time mail ordering it and bringing it to Kranky if I don't want to wrench or if I need Garret's magic touch.

 

[Arwen's Mom]

Are they cheap? No, but I've bought things here and there just to keep them going. The overhead of retail space in this area is completely insane and on top of that, we all live in NJ as do the employees...people have to afford to live somehow. People gotta eat.

If you don't support local businesses you wind up with consolidated corporate shops that aren't going to do anything beyond selling you what is hanging on the peg. Cheaper, sure, but look what you get for the money.

Just to toss them some cash, on the way out I picked up a 'see me' white blinky light that I'm sure I paid about double what I could find it for on Amazon. Did I do that by mistake? No. It's my concession to having a local shop that is decent.

I pay for shop time during my little experiments, gladly. I consider it the "stupid tax" for me, but each time, I walk away with more understanding.

Where's the LIKE button?