What do you think of Conte’s

[lordofthemark]

Conte’s is about to open across the street from where I work – the first bike shop in Capital Riverfront. While I intend to remain loyal to Bikenetics, having a bike shop close to work should be very helpful. I note they have existing shops in ther region – do they have a good reputation?

[Tim Kelley]

Fun fact: FreshBikes used to be part of the Conte’s franchise, but bought out the rights several years ago. Now the non-compete clause has run out, Conte’s is back, just a few blocks down the street.

[TwoWheelsDC]

Per JDLand:

Conte’s will be running a 10-day pop-up version in one of Arri’s open retail spaces on Tingey Street starting Thursday, May 19 through May 29th, opening on Thursday through Sunday during each of those two weeks. This means that the store will be open during both Bike to Work Day on Friday, May 20 and Tour de Fat at the Yards on Saturday, May 21.
This pop-up version will have bikes for sale or rent, repair services, clothing, gear, and “expert advice.”

[Harry Meatmotor]

@lordofthemark 139832 wrote:

do they have a good reputation?

Not with their creditors, I’ve heard… 😮

[MRH5028]

When the Freshbikes in Ballston was still Conte’s I stopped in a few times. Always felt that they were a bit pretentious and not super friendly unless your bike cost as much as a base model Kia. For the record, I have had good experiences at the FB in Mosaic.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@MRH5028 139891 wrote:

When the Freshbikes in Ballston was still Conte’s I stopped in a few times. Always felt that they were a bit pretentious and not super friendly unless your bike cost as much as a base model Kia. For the record, I have had good experiences at the FB in Mosaic.

I stopped at a Conte’s in Richmond just to check it out and was surprised at how much of a whole-in-the-wall it was…basically a smaller version of Capitol Hill Bikes, but the people seemed nice enough. I’m guessing that the new Arlington store is quite a bit different though.

[bobco85]

@MRH5028 139891 wrote:

When the Freshbikes in Ballston was still Conte’s I stopped in a few times. Always felt that they were a bit pretentious and not super friendly unless your bike cost as much as a base model Kia. For the record, I have had good experiences at the FB in Mosaic.

Ditto on this. I refuse to shop at the Ballston store because I had multiple experiences of being ignored or turned away when trying to buy a spare tube, minor bicycle stuff, and when I wanted to get my old beater bike repaired (I was told “We don’t repair old bikes here.”). I think they do an excellent job on the Tuesday night rides and am glad they host the Ballston pit stop for BTWD, but that’s the extent of my positive experience with the Ballston location. They should really advertise that they are a higher-end-only bicycle shop.

In regards to the Mosaic location, I have only had good experiences, and I enjoyed their Tuesday night rides. The reasons I don’t shop there are that I live in Alexandria, I am rarely in the Mosaic area, and I have been loyal to the Performance Bike in Bailey’s Crossroads (bought all my bikes there, the staff are friendly to me, and it’s close to my apartment).

[huskerdont]

@bobco85 139893 wrote:

Ditto on this. I refuse to shop at the Ballston store because I had multiple experiences of being ignored or turned away when trying to buy a spare tube, minor bicycle stuff, and when I wanted to get my old beater bike repaired (I was told “We don’t repair old bikes here.”). I think they do an excellent job on the Tuesday night rides and am glad they host the Ballston pit stop for BTWD, but that’s the extent of my positive experience with the Ballston location. They should really advertise that they are a higher-end-only bicycle shop.

I prolly would have bought a $300+ Castelli jacket there, but they ignored me to the extent that I left. Who can afford to run a business like that?

[MRH5028]

@huskerdont 139895 wrote:

I prolly would have bought a $300+ Castelli jacket there, but they ignored me to the extent that I left. Who can afford to run a business like that?

Just sell $10,000 bikes.

[Tim Kelley]

@huskerdont 139895 wrote:

I prolly would have bought a $300+ Castelli jacket there, but they ignored me to the extent that I left. Who can afford to run a business like that?

There are people in this world who will spend $100K in a bike shop over the course of 6 months…

[KayakCyndi]

@Tim Kelley 139901 wrote:

There are people in this world who will spend $100K in a bike shop over the course of 6 months…

God I hope those people are part of the DC Used Bicycle group on Facebook!

[consularrider]

@KayakCyndi 139904 wrote:

God I hope those people are part of the DC Used Bicycle group on Facebook!

Why do you think you and Subby got your Furleys?

[Vicegrip]

@Tim Kelley 139901 wrote:

There are people in this world who will spend $100K in a bike shop over the course of 6 months…

Somebody has to pay retail………

[lordofthemark]

So the guy from Conte’s who was at Canal Park this AM, and will be working at the temporary pop-up (they won’t open permanently till next year) seemed pretty chill, and eager to disassociate from Fresh Bikes (at least he tried to make clear that FB was no longer affiliated with them)

[lordofthemark]

@bobco85 139893 wrote:

Ditto on this. I refuse to shop at the Ballston store because I had multiple experiences of being ignored or turned away when trying to buy a spare tube, minor bicycle stuff, and when I wanted to get my old beater bike repaired (I was told “We don’t repair old bikes here.”). I think they do an excellent job on the Tuesday night rides and am glad they host the Ballston pit stop for BTWD, but that’s the extent of my positive experience with the Ballston location. They should really advertise that they are a higher-end-only bicycle shop.

In regards to the Mosaic location, I have only had good experiences, and I enjoyed their Tuesday night rides. The reasons I don’t shop there are that I live in Alexandria, I am rarely in the Mosaic area, and I have been loyal to the Performance Bike in Bailey’s Crossroads (bought all my bikes there, the staff are friendly to me, and it’s close to my apartment).

To clarify you mean the Fresh Bikes in Ballston, that had been a Conte’s franchise, not the current Conte’s in Virginia Square?

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