Towners Bike Shop

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Location

1048 University Avenue, Rochester NY, 14607

Hours (As of June 2009)

Monday - Friday: 10:00AM to 8:00PM

Saturday: 10:00AM to 6:00PM

Sunday: Noon to 5:00PM

Phone

585 271 4553

Website

http://www.towners.com/

Cycling Links

Towners Bike Shop is a large bike shop on University Avenue in the Neighborhood of the Arts not far from the Village Gate Square. They are well known around Rochester.

Comments:

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Towners Bike Shop is the coolest bike shop I have ever been to. A walked my bike over today (I know nothing about bikes) carrying my fancy-pants bike pump I don't know how to use. I walked right into the store, and one of the guys waved to me and walked over. I asked if he could help me tune up my bike.

The guy then spent 10 min. showing me how to use the bike pump, oil my chain, check my tires, and gave me a map of local places to bike. He pumped up my wheels, glanced over my bike to check that it was OK. All without buying anything at all, or suggesting I buy something. I bought some oil on the way out for my chain because I didn't want to walk out, after all that great help, without getting something. I haven't tried other bike shops in Rochester, but with service like that, I don't know if I'll ever be inclined to. -FarMcKon

2007-05-18 11:18:23   Towners treated me fairly well. One dude there was sort of patronizing, but the rest of the staff was very helpful and knowledgeable. I bought a bike there and they have since made several adjustments for free. I would recommend Towners to anyone looking to buy a bike or have theirs serviced. —DaveFranco

2007-05-18 21:43:19   My experience at Towner's is much closer to MattSnow's. I was in there last year looking for a helmet - a rather difficult process, since my head is quite large, and almost nobody stocks helmets my size. I assumed that if anyplace in Rochester would have one, Towner's would be the place. A rather stocky gentleman was the only one in the store - there were no other customers - and he acted as if it was a *huge* imposition when I asked for assistance. He wasn't even willing to check catalogs to see if they could order one my size. Quite honestly, he was one of the worst clerks I've ever encountered. Apparently he just really wanted to get back to the magazine he was reading when I came in.

RV & E in Fairport, on the other hand, bent over backwards to find me one that would fit. The clerk was cheerful, helpful, friendly, and obviously quite knowledgeable. In that light, there's no way I would *ever* consider going back to Towner's. —RichMulvey

2007-06-16 17:17:22   My experience is also closer to Matt Snow's. The first time I walked in there were three guys standing behind the counter playing with a laptop and ignoring everything else. This was fine since I don't like being bothered by salespeople. When I needed something, though, they acted like I was taking them away from something. This happened the next time I went in to buy 2 bikes. They weren't very helpful. The only reason I bought the bikes there is because only they had the Schwinn and Giant bikes recommended by Consumer Reports. When I hit a pothole and needed to fix the rear tire, the salesperson offered me a cheap replacement, relized it didn't fit, disappeared for 15 minutes and told me that they don't have what I needed. It would take a week to order and about $75. I went to another store and got it fixed for $25. —SimosEconomides

2007-06-17 17:19:41   Went here the other day to look into a recumbent bike. Very disappointed. Will not return —PeterBoulay

2007-11-09 14:25:22   I also agree with Matt and Rich. The big fat guy who works there (does he even ride bikes?) is a rude, condescending jerk who will try to make you feel stupid for asking any question. There are however a couple of good clerks, and Patrick who works in the shop is actually really nice. They have a decent selection of parts compared to some of the other local shops, but I would be hesitant about getting tune-up service done there. I had my MTB "Tuned-up" and got it back with both the wheels still out of true and the derailleurs still out of whack. Long story short: Enter with caution. —JoeyMac

2007-11-26 14:54:15   I've had mixed experiences at Towners. There are other bike shops in town - like Full Moon Vista - where I've had nothing but positive experiences, so I try to stick to those, but I still buy from Towners from time to time when it's convenient. —AdamDurand

2008-05-07 09:47:52   I was glad to see Im not the only one who has had a negative experience at Towners. They were very rude as I came in when they were closing. All I needed was a tube. Very short and very rude. I came there to spend money, im going to Park Ave from now on. —MusicIsMyAntFarm8

2008-07-05 17:56:17   towners most certainly contains a judgmental staff. it seems to me as if they really only LOVE fancy fixed gears and brand new top of the line stuff. i have heard of them turning people away with older bikes saying it's not worth it to fix. still they will acknowledge a good bike and have extremely reasonable prices to help you get stuff up and working well.

some people swear full moon is the place to go for fixed gears, but don't be fooled - especially if you're building one yourself or converting. i needed to find an extremely long reach break and full moon couldn't get it while towners could with no trouble and fair pricing. towners can get you pretty much ANYTHING you need.

though the staff is judgmental, they are a fairly well rounded bunch and there's always at least one person you can talk to who knows about what you are looking for/into. —travisjames