Epicenter Cycling

Just rented a bike from here with my girlfriend and I had an amazing experience. The guy who helped me out getting a bike gave us easy directions to some trails and a nice beach that’s like 5 minutes away. Prices here were ok I guess it was like $ 40 for 24 hours. It’s the first time I’ve rented a bike so I wouldn’t know. But yeah overall I had a great time while I rented, it’s perfect for people that are new to the area and don’t have to «drive around» just cruise on the bike. Also the people who work here have A+++++ customer service

Just a few words. Great service this morning from Epicenter cycling. Darren helped me with my daughters new bike. Half hour later my little girl had a big smile on her face. Great customer service. I will be bringing my bike by for a tune up. Thanks from satisfied customer

My buddy rented a demo bike for the day here. The guy at the front was really nice and had some good trail recommendations. Also can’t beat the price and location near to some sick trails.

We have bought 4 bikes from here (mountain, road and cruisers) and we really wanted to like Epicenter since you want to build a relationship with your bike shop. Unfortunately, we have had multiple bad experiences that we feel the need to let others know through Unilocal.The customer service on the sales end and their «free lifetime tune-​up» policy has always got us hooked to come back. However, the service department is where we have been treated inconsistently and poorly. We have never gone in for a «free» tune-​up without them trying to charge us for something at pick-​up so be wary of that offer when you think about purchasing from them. My recent experience was on a bike that we bought 3 days before with an admittedly defective chain… I expected an apology for the hassle and some concern for my son who got injured on his first ride on his birthday cruiser, not a bill and rudeness. Again, we really wanted to like them and we have given them so many chances… shame on me for going back this last time and expecting different customer service. I talked to some of my triathlon and cyclist friends for a referral to a new bike shop and each of them said they’ve heard similar stories… they recommended the Bike Station which is just up the street or Family Cycling Center for the kids. I have 3 active young boys so Epicenter could have gotten a lot more bike purchases out of us.

I got a new Trek at this shop this week. Matt was very helpful as was the whole staff and I LOVE my new bike. We have already been to Nicene Marks twice and had a blast.

Just moved here from Marin County and was searching for a new bike shop that I could call home. I need shop that can maintain both my road and mountain bikes. Dented my back road rim coming down Eureka Canyon and needed a new one. Darren took my hub, and laced me up a new wheel in just a few days — and even gave me free a loaner wheel to keep me riding while they fixed it! Who does that? The build came to only $ 70. Chandler and his staff are always super friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. Love these guys. Save yourself a lot of time and headaches, go to Epicenter first.

We are a recently retired couple and after weeks of looking at bikes we chose to do business with Epicenter Cycling for three big reasons: their knowledgeable, friendly, low-​key staff who guided us to just the right bikes, the quality of their products (we bought two Trek Verve 4’s), and their excellent after-​purchase service (lifetime free tune-​ups, free bike clinics, terrific can-​do attitude). We’ve now ridden the bikes for two months both on and off-​road and they are just as fun and durable as we had hoped. We are very pleased with both the bikes and the wonderful people at Epicenter Cycling — special kudos to Kenny, Shasta, Darin and Shawn!

Our family has purchased 4 bicycles from Epicenter Cycling in the last 2 years. The staff is great at both locations. It does not matter what type of bike you have they will service it. If you are in the market for a bike you cannot go wrong with this shop.

I contacted Epicenter about a year ago to find out if they had some mtn bike training classes similar to what was offered by REI over the hill in the bay area because we were signed up for a mountain biking trip with some friends and my husband and I had no off road/​single track experience. The owner Shawn emailed back right away saying that there was nothing scheduled until April but he would be happy to teach us and take us for some rides… And he did– and wouldn’t accept payment for bike rentals, or for teaching us basic skills, and taking us/​me for 4 single track rides around the area. Shawn is a very skilled rider and excellent teacher. He never pressured us at all to pay for anything/​buy anything (although we offered and felt we should!).
A year later after demoing several bikes and riding locally, in the Epicenter Epic Thanksgiving ride (Sandy Point ride, meaning 7 mi uphill then downhill at Nisene Marks), Emma McCreary trail, Wilder ranch and in OR, I finally bought a bike (from Epicenter) and can’t wait for it to arrive! All of the staff I’ve met in the Aptos and Santa Cruz stores has been super nice, knowledgeable, friendly and very helpful!

Loved to hear of the knowledge that Kurt had about my bicycle, as well as happy to be helped by friendly service. I don’t believe they call when your bike is done getting tuned but they did have it done the next day like he had said it would be. I proudly rode away into Nisene after retrieving my bike from Epicenter and had no issues at all. Plan to ride it everyday now and also learned they have a guarantee for the parts replaced and I can bring my bike back if I have any problems.
The chain wasn’t skipping gears like it was as well as its brakes and shifters were also working in top form again. Glad to be able to trust the technicians there as well as not feel bad about paying a price. Every penny was worth it and the time spent in the shop was time well spent. Thanks again guys!

I think this is the best cycling shop in the area. We went here recently to rent some mountain bikes to hit the fire road at Nisene Marks. We were set up with a pair of really awesome Santa Cruz mountain bikes with helmets. They took the time to fit us properly to the bikes and helmets and were downright friendly. Even gave us a flat repair kit just in case. I kinda wish I bought my mountain bike there to begin with. But it’s in desperate need of a tune up and I’m definitely bringing it here. Reasonable price for a mountain bike day rental. I can’t comment on the selection of accessories because I wasn’t specifically looking for those, but the store seemed to be well stocked.

I have been an Avid cyclist for 20 years. I do all my own work on my bikes. Just a few months ago I demoed a Trek Remedy from Shawn the owner. Shawn really took the time to set the bike up for me the suspension was dialed. I ended up buying the bike from him. Shawn gave me a really sweet deal. I live in San Jose and thought for sure what ever work I need done on the bike I would do it myself. One Saturday I had to have the seals replaced on my rear Fox shock, Epicenter did it on the spot while I was having lunch, came back from lunch the bike was done drove back to San Jose. I was very impressed with the service, Today I had a similar issue the rear bearings in my rear wheel need to be checked. I stopped in to have it checked out and Shawn gave me a brand new wheel to use until he checks out what the problem is with the original wheel. TO ME THATS JUST SERVICE THATS OFF THE CHARTS. You can’t go wrong here check them out.

I bought my bike from here and have no issue with the purchase at all. Sam was perfect and I’d certainly work with him again. Recently, and what prompted me to write, I wanted to purchase a product from the Aptos store and to make a long story short, the entire event was so pathetic that I’ll do my future shopping on line. Their customer service is really weak, if not primitive, To the owners of Epicenter: you initially gained two good customers (my gf was so impressed with Sams sales attitude that she was going to change bike shops. Not any more…) and now lost both PLUS gained two naysayers. All you have to do is listen to your customer.

Some of the nicest guys in the business… great source of info and service. super knowledgable about all things Trek. A fun place to hang out and find out what’s going on. Check out Sam’s socks!

I highly recommend Epicenter Cycling in Aptos. Not only are they geographically desirable for me (I live in Soquel CA) but they have the best service in the area. In particular Sam Long has been terrific to work with.
I had a long layoff from mountain biking. Almost ten years. I have a busy work schedule and I just was not using my old Specialized Full Suspension Stump Jumper. So I sold it my brother in law in 2003. Last year I tore my ACL playing basketball. I decided not get surgery and just change my sporting habits. Pivot sports are not an option without an ACL but cycling is a great sport for those without key «knee parts». So I decided that I would get back into cycling and specifically mountain biking.
Epicenter took me in. They educated me. They helped me with accessories and getting me set up to ride again. The folks are super friendly, very knowledgeable and easy to work with. So I started out with a Hard-​Tail a year ago and just recently I bought a full suspension carbon fiber Trek Cross Country Mountain Bike — it is an incredible bike. I have had about 10 rides on the new bike so far and it is so much fun to ride. I still have my Hard Tail and I still ride that sometimes too…
Bottom line — if you are looking for a great bike shop — wether you are just a causal rider or a hard core cyclist, Epicenter is the place to go for great bikes, great accessories and fantastic service.

Went in last week, cash in hand to buy a hybrid bike but was never served. One sales guy busy selling a $ 5k bike, two others busy doing service and eating lunch. Even tho I had $ 1k to spend, it felt rather uncomfortable waiting 20 minutes for the one guy.
I left with no service and no bike. Must have been an off day for them or a thousand bucks for a bike just ain’t enough to get attention. Sorry.

Have been going to this shop since they first opened. It is located at the entrance of Nisene Marks State Park. They have everything you need for your mountain or road bike. The mechanics on site are awesome and can always give you advice on any thing bike related. (They are all experienced riders and have firsthand knowledge.)
Recently they opened a coffee section in the store. Serving Surf City coffee. What is better on a cold morning, than a nice hot Mocha? I’ve also come into the shop to get a coffee on my way through Aptos. There are always a ton of people getting tune-​ups and talking to the mechanics and owner.
They are close to the Public «Pump track» and people can ride here for free. They also offer bike rentals for the day to those people who want to ride Nisene. There couldn’t be a better spot for a bike shop in the Santa Cruz area.
(Not really sure what the guy with the 1 star review is going on about… You were at a public park… not following the posted rules about wearing a helmet. There are lots of families with kids riding and having a great time. Were you embarrassed because someone told you you needed to wear a helmet? It sounds to me like the people at this shop go out of their way to make sure everyone is SAFE and are looking out for the riders.)

Went into the shop today to check out some of the stuff. The place is kind of small, but stocked with everything you could need, including a little coffee shop on the inside. I wanted to get information on some gear, and the guys definitely knew their stuff and were really helpful.
The reason I can’t give them the 4 star rating, though, is that, while they were quite nice and knowledgeable, their demeanor during our conversation gave me the impression that they weren’t really interested in what we were talking about. It was sort of «well we sell these, and these are good, and I use these…» but there was little to no enthusiasm about it, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was bothering them by asking about the things they sell. Again, they weren’t mean… just disinterested. It might have been an off day, and I’ll definitely be in again to see if it was just a one time thing.
That said, i did get all the information I was after… well, enough of it at least, even if it did seem like I had to pry it out of them…

$ 40 bike rentals right next to one of the best single track rides in the country, plus a shuttle service (offered by Dave) makes this a must visit place for anyone serious about mountain biking.
The rental bikes are fairly entry level Gary Fisher hard-​tails, which are well maintained and up to the task of the nearby trails. The staff are knowledgable and friendly (they try and persuade you to take the fire road if they don’t think you’re very experienced) and the are plenty of options for water, coffee, cliff bars and the like.
The 12 mile climb IS very steep, so if you’re even vaguely out of shape, take the excellent shuttle service. After you’re done on the single track, there is a 12 mile downhill which is extremely fast and bumpy. Don’t under estimate it if you’re a beginner on a bike.
IF you’re a seriously biker, you MUST visit this place.

People often say support your local bike shop. One could ask, what is my local bike shop doing to support me? With Epicenter, the answer is easy:
1. They have great hours — open at 8am on the weekends and open until 7pm during the week.
2. They are building a big pump track.
Shawn has a great shop. I’ve woken up to go for a ride at 8 on a Saturday only to find my bottom bracket is shot. A quick call, dropping off the bike, and a couple of hours later I am back in the saddle and still able to get a ride in before noon.
They are located right near the entrance of Nisene Marks which is a popular spot for runners and cyclists alike. Prices are typical of local bike shops, selection is good, service is great. Epicenter is definitely giving back to the community with building a big pump track in the lot behind them (they are looking for volunteers) and they’ve helped out with the Santa Cruz Tri Club.
A good shop with friendly people.