Orange 20 Bikes

Doesn't Recommend

wolfsuit

Joined 3 years ago

hipster paradise. I always recommended orange 20 before, but now it's more like a 50/50 shot.

Recommends

Jennifer Smith

Joined 4 years ago

Citysearch Editorial Review. Located on a beer-soaked patch of turf better known as Heliotrope Drive, this full-service indie bike shop is where cyclists go for fixed-gear bikes and accessories. Whether you’re a first time rider or an experienced BMX racer, the knowledgeable staff will help navigate you through the bright orange space. In fact, the shop is owned by two members of the Bicycle Kitchen--a nonprofit (conveniently located across the street) that’s dedicated to building, maintaining and riding bikes in urban communities--who are always eager to spout their bicycle knowledge on anyone who’ll listen. If you’re looking to share the bike lane with someone, you can also ask about riding events, which the store is known for sponsoring throughout Los Angeles.

Recommends

jayjayj

Joined 4 years ago

Great Independant Shop. There are other bike shops in LA with more inventory, top of the line rides, and less attitude, but not many as fun, streetwise, and eclectic as Orange20. They cater to the track/fixie/single speed set but if you love cycling its still worth a visit. Their selection of accessories is especially good and includes many cult and lesser known brands you will have a hard time finding elsewhere. The staff know their stuff and are friendly but very straight to the point. Other bike shops will gladly charge a newbie $10 to fix a flat tire. These guys are honest enough to tell you that being able to fix a flat is an essential skill and will refer you to the Bicycle Kitchen across the street. Thats not poor service but doing you a favor. Its true that waiting to be helped at their previous tiny location could be an exercise in frustration but that's not been an issue since they expanded and hired more staff.

Doesn't Recommend

BySA

Joined 5 years ago

Was told they didn't want to do repair. It is notable that there were about 20 people in and around the shop when I was there. Some possibly interested in bicycles, others just milling around. It was sort of miraculous I got anyone's attention at all. They actively ignored me at the front desk. Everyone had a real chip on their shoulder. The guy I finally spoke to seemed really annoyed that I would have the audacity to come into a bike shop and want someone to repair my tire. He actually said "I could do the repair, but it wouldn't be ready until tomorrow, but you could come back tomorrow night when they're open across the street at the non-profit bicycle repair place and they can teach you how to do it yourself." I have never been to a shop that told me they didn't want my business. I imagine the guy thought he was helping me by giving me that information, but I was there right then, willing to pay, and had just walked my bike 2 miles. But hey, if you don't want my money, I won't give it to you.

Doesn't Recommend

armopunk

Joined 5 years ago

Awful service, but decent stock...‎. I went to this place twice, and both times my experience was pretty horrible.

My first visit I wanted to purchase a single gear complete bike (their specialty), and I was willing to spend up to $1K. After waiting for 15 minutes someone finally offered to help. After I explained to him what I wanted, he said that he can make it happen and suddenly he disappeared. After a few minutes, he re-appeared and said that he got "held up." I didn't get bothered by this and just shrugged it off. He then told me to wait another 5 minutes, which turned into 25 minutes. This is when my patience ran up and I eventually left the shop without buying anything.

Needless to say, I ended up buying my bike from a different shop. When I bought the bike, it didn't come with a front brake and this shop didn't have any black caliper brakes in stock. So this is where my second experience with Orange 20 comes in...

After calling all of my local bikes shops, I had no luck finding a black brake caliper in stock. So as a last resort, I called Orange 20 and they had exactly what I was looking for. I rode my bike to their shop to buy the brake and to also get it installed. I waited for an HOUR AND FORTY FIVE MINUTES and still didn't get the brake installed. A girl came in after me and they started working on her bike instead. I was told that "she had an appointment." While her repair lasted nearly 2 hours, my brake would have only taken them 8 minutes to install, tops (and I was there before her)!!!

Bottom line is that Orange 20 has a pretty good selection of parts. But when it comes to customer service, it's almost non-existent. (Although I'm sure that you will get great service if you are a chick...so all you dudes should stay away from this shop.)

I know that some of their employees are volunteers, which is very nice of them, but this still doesn't give them the right to treat you like you're worthless.