Lucky Brake Bicycles

I just bought my wife a bicycle here. We looked at all of the big box stores first and we were not impressed with the value. We chose to come in to Lucky Brake to see what a really good bike would cost. We were surprised to find the cost was extremely reasonable. We purchased the bike, a helmet, and some accessories all of which were within our budget. More importantly, I found we had begun a relationship with a great staff and their excellent product. If you are in the market for a bike, you deserve to come here. The whole staff is attentive, efficient and incredibly customer focused, very refreshing for this day and age.

After suffering most of the summer with a chronic back injury, finally I was healed enough for a tentative bike ride just to stretch my legs and feel the wind in my hair.
Oh NO! a FLAT!!!
Fortunately it was the front wheel so I was off to Lucky Brake to have it repaired. Turns out that the valve in the inner tube was leaking so the technician suggested a inner tube replacement.
I was going to leave the tire and rim, but was told that if I’d care to wait a few minutes that they could have it repaired right away. Wow– that was unexpected and it saved me a return trip to pick it up another time.
I really appreciated the great customer service that puts Lucky Brake Bicycles head and shoulders above the «typical» retail buying experience!

This year I moved from a touring/​cruiser bike to a fitness bike with the help of Karrie and her team at Lucky Brake Bicycles. I found the staff to be VERY knowledgeable and super friendly. There always seems to be plenty of staff and technicians on hand to take care of any quick maintenance needs and questions.
When I initially came in, James listened to what I wanted and made a great recommendation. I came back to have my bike fitted and clip-​in pedals installed by Karrie. She is a wealth of information and experience, and I was really impressed with her technical knowledge of biking and how to get the most from your ride.
Not only did I get a bike there but I’ve found it to be a very welcoming community of cyclists. Since May I have enjoyed participating in the Lucky Brake no-​drop group bike rides each week. I’ve met a lot of nice folks who share my passion and are very encouraging. I learn something new each ride and have increased my fitness level and the distance I can go.
If you are looking for a new bike, a place to get your gear or a community of cyclist who share your love of biking stop in at Lucky Brake!

I’m new to the area and have been looking for a shop I can trust. The staff here is super helpful and honest as well. I had a gear problem which developed after a Chicago shop looked at the bike. Not only did the staff at lucky fix it, they no charged me. I will return for all my needs and sing the praise of this shop to everyone.

I was just in the store with my Son for 10 min looking for a Mtn bike for my wife. Not one of the 3 employees acknowledged us at all. First rule of good customer service is saying hello to everyone that walks in to your store. They get zero stars actually.

I used to live in Crystal Lake and now that I’ve moved, I sorely miss this bike shop.
Lucky Brake (under the new-​ish owner, Karrie) is focused on customer attention and community.
The shop hosts free group rides and participates in the yearly police bicycle auction (where I bought bikes for my kids).
They have no issue spending plenty of time explaining anything and everything you may have questions about, even if you explicitly state you’re not buying any time soon.
I’ve been to a lot of bike shops in my new hometown and haven’t found customer service anywhere near the level I had at Lucky Brake.

Awesome shop. I just finished a week of visiting 10 – 12 shops in the area and southern Wisconsin, and Lucky Brake stood out as one of the best. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable. They were aware that I was in the process of test riding a lot of different road bikes and did not hesitate to get several ready for me to try. They carry Specialized bikes, which ended up being my favorite one. While I haven’t purchased a bike from them yet, I absolutely will be in the next 2 – 3 months when the 2014 models are available. They also carry Giant bikes, and that was my second favorite bike. So, they have good taste in brands.
Also, they’re in a great location to test ride, which I think is important. The streets behind the shop are quiet and a good area to get a feel for the bike.
I honestly feel there are only 2 – 3 top notch bike shops in the area, with this being one of them. Give them a try.

This review is based on extensive notes from my transaction buying a bike 2 years ago. After having bought cheap bikes from big boxes all my life, I decided that I would like to buy a decent bike that would last from a local shop. I have had numerous friends and family buy from the village peddler so I decided to have a look. It turned out though some signs indicated it was still the village pdler it had actually changed hands and was now called Lucky Brake bike shop. They had a Simple Seven in stock for what seemed like a fair price. So I decided to buy it late in the day as the shop was closing and ride it home. After riding the bike I became apparent that it was on old model that they had assembled very poorly.
The reflectors were missing
The brake lever rubber covers were ripped
The controls and grips were terribly misaligned on the bars causing the bike to be pretty unrideable until I realized the problem and corrected it
The bottom bracket was not installed correctly and clicked every time the pedals rotated
I took the bike back and was told that it doesn’t include reflectors when every other model on the floor had them. I had to press the issue to get the reflectors that they forgot to install put on. They told me to deal with any issues with the grips. They said the bottom bracket needed lubrication after first telling me the clicking was normal. 1.5 hour later I left with a bike they had supposedly fixed that was now covered in greasy handprints.
Had problems as soon as I left with the seat now squealing every time pedaled and the crank clicking worse than before.
I ended up having to buy a bike rack for my car so I could get the bike back for service which added another $ 60 to the price I paid for the bike due to their inability to correct their quality control problem.
I dropped the bike off again and waited 25minutes when they decided they would need it overnight and would call the next morning which was a Friday. After no return call I called Monday and was told they lost my paperwork and the bottom bracket was bad and it would take at least a week.
After another week I got a call saying it was ready. They seemed to have lost my paperwork again as they couldn’t find the bike when I arrived and kept verifying my details when they had just called me earlier that day.
The bike once again was covered in greasy handprints but this time had some nice scratches in the paint on the bars. The bottom bracket stopped clicking but now the chain grinds every time the sprocket gets to that point which I think is due to the earlier issue damaging the chain or sprocket. The the grips were hanging off the handlebars and loose but at this point I decided to stop wasting my time dealing with these clowns and take it somewhere else and pay to have the bike serviced even though it should have been under warranty at lucky brake.
Bottom line Lucky Brake has no connection with and deserves none of the reputation for service and excellence that the village peddler had achieved. Once the sale was made I was treated like a nuisance and a fool for trying to get a supposedly brand new bike to function as it should and being ignorant enough about bikes to call the bottom bracket the sprocket where the pedals attach. Shops need to realize not every customer is a bike nut and when you treat people who sought out your expertise poorly and try to hide problems behind that same expertise you may get a sale but you lose a customer.
I recommend finding a different bike shop unless you want to keep taking it back until you (unluckily) brake down and take it somewhere else.

What a great, local bike shop!!! I used to do triathlons but a severe back injury kept me off my bike for two years. I was heartbroken and didn’t think I’d ever ride again. I signed up for a bike fitting with Karrie and boy was I impressed! She was extremely knowledgable, understood proper positioning and bio mechanics. She worked tirelessly to find a solution for me that accommodated my unique injury and physical limitations. She found the perfect solution and got me riding again. She did the impossible and I’m forever grateful.
Everyone in the shop is friendly, honest and courteous… they have the best customer service around. They know their stuff from racing to leisure biking. I’ll never go to another bike shop!

Shopping here since it was Village Pedaler. Friendly staff, limited selection of gear & bikes, but great service.

What a great experience I had! I am a new rider and researched bike shops prior to stopping in Lucky Brake. I am so glad I checked out the merchandise here. The sales person that helped me was Brent and he gave me All of his attention. He was very patient with me and all of my questions, as cumbersome as they may have seemed. Brent was extremely knowledgeable not only about the bikes and gear but also about the physiology that goes hand in hand with riding a bike. He made me feel less intimidated. He was also very precise in ensuring that I was fit properly. Loved this place. Exceptional quality and customer service. I will refer many to this bike shop. Thank you again to Brent, Karrie and Katie and the rest of the staff. So excited to start riding.

Awesome LBS for crystal Lakers, I wish there we’re more shops like this. Took a recently purchased vintage trek from craigslist there to get checked out, and they did a bunch of adjustments for free! I ended up giving them 5 bucks for their work, though. Staff is super friendly and engaging, seemed genuinely interested in my bike. Cool place, check it out if you’re local or even if you’re not.

By far the best bike shop in town! Karrie and her staff have gone above and beyond to get me the products I want and make me happy. Great customer service is important to me and Lucky Brake has it. Suport your local bike shop!