Cynergy Cycles, 25th and Santa Monica Prices can be on the higher side for some items, but that seems to be changing now that they're cycling through some product (new shop is just a year old). I noticed some great sales there today. Plus, the trade off for paying around retail (sometimes more, sometimes less) is that the shop is majorly high end; tons of top end bikes, road and mtn, and tons of duds and gear. The service is terrific, with knowledgable, down to earth poeple. Nearby Helen's, by contrast, tends to be snootier and have more of an attitude of entitlement (no coincidence they sponsor "Velo Club" La Grange). Cynergy is for people who believe good shops should be able to exist and make a living. It's for people willing to pay a smidge more for good advice and good service. If you're a cheap-skate, then go spend your time bargain hunting on the internet. Me, I've got better things to do.
After test riding a Niner Sir9 at the Fat Tire Fest, i went to Cynergy bikes to order one. I live in Los Angeles, and they are one of the only dealers in town. I ordered and paid for the frame and rigid fork on October 14th and specced out the rest of the bike with Randall. It is now November 26th and I am still without a bike. I did change my mind about 3 weeks ago while still waiting for parts that were delayed. (no doubt it was fed ex or brown's fault) I went from a single speed to a 1x9 setup. they hadn't started building it yet so it was no big deal and they had the SRAM x9 shifter and rear derailleur in stock, or so they said. seriously, I have never in my life been given such a runaround as these cats have given me. Something is always late being delivered by UPS or FedEX to hold up the process. I have been told at least 4 different times that it will be ready by friday. or this weekend. or Monday. 2 weeks after it was supposed to be ready for the first time i was told that they were just waiting for the brakes. really? you're still waiting for the juicy 7's that were supposedly already installed on my bike that was supposed to be ready 2 weeks ago? Do you guys even talk to each other to make sure you're covering each others asses? Were this a bike that i was having custom built with my own measurements, etc. that would be one thing. I'd expect to wait 6 months, etc. But this is a frame already assembled by Niner in STUDIO CITY!! It's gotten to the point where i have to take a deep breath before i dial the phone to call them because i am so friggin' mad. Is this typical of Cynergy Cycles? I don't know. It's been consistently typical of the way they've treated me. It was supposed to be ready yet again this Saturday. I called on Saturday and he told me the part never came in so Monday was the big day. I called him today and he was out to lunch so i left a message to have him call me back. it's now 10:00 pm and something tells me i'm not gonna hear from him today. I worked with Hollywood Pro bikes to build my last bike. those guys were awesome. scott always called me to keep me up to date and informed. i thought that was the norm. silly me.
Do they have all your parts? I'd be happy to help you build it up it wont take a while day as long as we dont have to lace rims. Its a rigid 29er what could be so hard about that
yeah, they supposedly have all the parts. now we're just waiting on the rohloff chain guide. for a week now. sigh.
Back in Arizona, I had my LBS wrench teach me bike building & maintenance. He started with a frame and went step-by-step. Best class I ever took. Now my bike only sees a shop when I have something major. It saves lots of time, lots of money, and the satisfaction you get after you're done is priceless. Oh, and you're not waiting around for your bike to get built by someone else. Just something to consider for next time.:wave:
If he has all the parts and is just to lazy to build it let me know I'd be willing to help with the build and I'm sure i can get my Neighbor CHewi yeti to help out too.
I've never bought a bike from them, so I don't know. But if I had to guess, Niner is probably way backlogged on orders, especially if something on the order is changed halfway through the wait. They're probably the most popular 29er out there. I've ridden with the owners and they say they're blown away by the demand.
hey zero gravity. the frame itself was not the problem. it's the build being done by cynergy that's the problem. and when i changed to a 1x9 setup they had not even started the build. (even tho it was supposed to have been ready by november 4th) believe me, at this point i would not have changed my mind if it meant a significant hold up as i was already itchin' to get my grubby little paws on the bike. niner's excellent customer service is actually a big reason i decided to go with them. i had already paid for the fork and they were out of stock so they sent a used one over to cynergy so that i would still be able to ride the bike until the new forks get in. pretty cool, huh?
Sooooo...some of you may have read my last couple of posts about how unhappy I was with the service I received at Cynergy bikes in Santa Monica. Well, after 6 long weeks i finally got my beautiful new Niner last Wednesday. I took her for a ride on Thursday and again on Saturday. Today I headed out to JPL in Pasadena for a quick ride and as I was riding from my car to the trailhead I felt some play with the left pedal and when I looked down I was shocked to see my left crank arm was coming off. I pulled my foot out and the crankarm came completely off and was hanging off my shoe, connected only by the cleat. I pulled over and removed the crankarm from my shoe and walked the bike back to my car (thank God I had just started my ride). When I brought the bike in to my LBS my repair guy was shocked to say the least. He checked the right crank arm and it was about to come off as well. He replaced both bolts and torqued them both nice and tight so I shouldn't have any more issues with the crank. Did I mention that I was very unhappy with the service I got at Cynergy:-s
I loved that Jim had started this place after SuperGo went the way side and Performance popped up, I kept contact with him such that I could keep some cost down as they knew me to drop coin. I took my bikes there 3 times for service and three times I've had to redo a protion of thier work. Diego is a nice enough guy but either he doesn't understand qa/qc on his work or he has less experienced hands doing things and doesn't check it after. And since they are way across town for me I don't go there anymore, I now use Incycle in Pasadena for purchases. And now I have a close friend (Ted) who works at Pasadena Cyclery. and now I don't have to check too closely the work that is done. I'm curious about your niner, you said you have a Rohloff tensioner... How does that work with a derailluer?
my contention that WestLA has no good bike shops continues. I'm assuming he is using a rohloff chain guide for his 1x9 setup.
My experience with Cynergy is no better. When I was looking around last month for a deal on a small '07 Demo 7, they were the only place that still had one in stock. I got it for a good price, but it ended up not being such a good deal. They must have a gorilla in the back assembling bikes. Every bolt took WAY too much force to loosen. The brake levers, shifter pods, stem bolts, etc. were so tight I was glad the handlebars were aluminum. I certainly wouldn't trust these ham-fisted mechanics with anything carbon. The drive-side crankarm was so tight it had seized on the spindle and it wouldn't budge. No amount of persuasion, lubrication, or finally, brute force worked. Kind of funny they couldn't be bothered to tighten SpeckledTrout's cranks, and mine were all but welded on. The rear shock had about 10-12 full turns of preload on the spring, which caused the shock to separate at the lower seal and leak out most of its oil. I would seriously caution folks against buying assembled bikes from Cynergy, or having any of the mechanics there work on your bike. Thank God I can do most of my own work, and when I can't, there's always The Path.:bang:
Live and learn, i reckon...i still have to get the new fork from Cynergy when Niner gets them in. The one on the bike right now is a used one that Niner lent me so that I'd have a bike to ride. I think I'm gonna pay my neighborhood bike shop to put it on for me even though Cynergy will do it for free. I'd just feel better, knowing that it was done correctly. And yes, it's a rohloff chain guide. Sorry for the confusion. It works great. it ain't real purty, but it's less obtrusive than any of the others I saw. I went for a ride up Brown Mtn. again this morning. That climb is a real bitch with the 1X9 setup. But... that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Or some crap like that.
i think Cynergy have improved slightly since this thread was last active. i took my Epic there in late 2007 to fix some XTR RD shifting issues and had a very poor experience with the staff/service that i had to step up to get satisfactorily resolved - instead fixing/tuning the rear derailleur as i'd asked they gave my S-Works racebike a "after winter tune up special" and did nothing to resolve the bikes problem however in 2009 things are seemingly slightly better under new ownership, but its still potluck if your booked in bike is ready at the end of the day because of walk-ins.
Cynergy = Surf City The management has changed in 09 at Cynergy. Sean from Surf City Cyclery has taken over. Expect even more positive in the future from Cynergy, now that it shares the same DNA as Surf City.
I've given this place several chances in the past to be my LBS, but they've always given me more and more never to return. I hear good things about Surf City, so the news actually sounds promising!
