Address: 34-36 E Dulwich Rd, London, SE22 9AX, United Kingdom
Phone: +442077324170
Rating: 4.8
based on 264 reviews.
Customer Service
Pros:
"These guys not only saved me with an emergency bike setup, but Ed went over and above with his attention to detail."
"Excellent service from knowledgeable staff who are always happy to help."
"I had a fantastic customer service experience at Balfe's."
"Came in needing to have my electric scooter fixed. They were amazing!"
"They staff there have always been brilliant: friendly, knowledgeable and kind."
"Absolutely fantastic service."
"Brilliant. Reasonably priced and excellent customer service. Sorted my gears out so my bike runs better than new."
Cons:
"I will never return to this place lol."
"Extremely poor service!! AVOID!! I paid £4000 for bike and accessories for Balfe’s Bikes... Very quick taking the money, but not interested in any customer service, etc."
"It took 2 and a half hours to change an inner tube because there were 3 other bikes in the queue... Not a positive experience and somewhere I would rather walk away from in order to find service elsewhere in the future."
"It is now 30th of June and not only the bike has not arrived as also I can't get in touch with the shop. I have rang numerous times and no one answers. I have sent an email to support, no reply."
"Such a bad experience. I bought an £1000 bike. Balfe’s said they’d fit my Kryptonite lock and didn’t."
"I know every cycling shop from here to Kingston but never visited one with such approach to customers. I attempted to shop in here only to be told shop is already closed after that waited outside and seen couple of girls going in and being served with no issue."
"The young man who looked at it was baffled. He said I'd need to have a full (pricey) service and that the wait for that was about 2 weeks!"
Product Quality
Pros:
"Great independent bike shop - really helpful when I was choosing a bike - without being in any way pushy - and encouraged me to take the bike out for a test run."
"Balfe's are amongst the very best of bike shops."
"Would go back in the future for bikes for the rest of the family. Thanks Balfe's Bikes!!"
"Just bought my 9 year old daughter a fantastic second hand Frog bike from Balfe's in East Dulwich. It's in excellent condition and she is delighted."
"The best bike shop I have ever used and I intend to go on using them."
"Great bike repair and maintenance and they also fix micro scooters."
"Fab experience with Balfes Bikes, cannot recommend highly enough. - bought a Brompton from them - super friendly staff on phones, could not have been more helpful."
Cons:
"Paid full price for a brand new bike online to collect from their Dulwich store... the bike I was given was far from brand new."
"Nice staff and a good local shop... BUT, after getting my chain-set replaced completely, I noticed the front brake pad was loose - the nut had been loosened and then not tightened again."
"When I picked up the bike, the tyres had dried dirt on them all over... the bike I was given was far from brand new. It had scuffs in quite a few places, signs of use, scratches on the bottom bracket and chipped paint on the bottom of the fork."
"They sold me a phone case that didn’t fit my iPhone."
"Ended up having to pay for a full service which wasn't necessary, where brand new parts I had fitted two days earlier were replaced with less quality ones."
"I'm afraid this just isn't good enough - could have caused a major accident."
"I would not recommend buying a new bike there, but if you do, make sure you spend extra time to ensure your bike IS in fact new and has been put together properly."
Staff and Expertise
Pros:
"First class service from Ian and Ben. Struggling to set up turbo trainer for months; Ben set me up to get it sorted and Ian took time out from a busy morning to go through things with me, and give me a tutorial; didn't even want to charge me."
"The staff here are always friendly and helpful!"
"Balfe's isn't just the best bike shop I've ever been to, it's pretty much the best service I've had in any shop. They are so knowledgeable, really generous with their time, and so keen to help wherever they can."
"They are knowledgeable, friendly and above all, helpful."
"The staff at Balfe's bikes were amazingly helpful. They really took the time to explain to me what needed to be done to the adult bike and why and went to some trouble to source the correct bolt for the kid's bike."
"This is what a local bike shop should always be - friendly, keen and well informed staff and mechanics, and extremely good quality work for a really low price."