-
February 2024 by Andrew Chin
Place did an amazing job on bike tune up. Bike felt brand new again. I miss their presence in Boston, but it was worth the travel to outside of Boston.
-
February 2024 by Michael Wilberton
Have gotten two bikes from them. The bikes are both amazing and the staff are even better. Super helpful!!
-
January 2024 by Daniel Ward
We were able to find a extra large frame to fit my son. The process was quick and efficient. Lots of bikes in the racks and found the perfect bike for school commuting. Many thanks to Papa Wheelies!!
-
December 2023 by Jacqueline Kassis
Wonderful bike shop great service, prices and staff. The staff is so helpful when it coming to picking the perfect bike for you! They also have a wonderful bike repair shop to!!
-
November 2023 by pegaret p
This is my happy place in Wellesley. After years of endurance road cycling, Mike got me started on gravel biking, with the recommendation of the perfect bike (giant revolt x) and an amazing place to ride - the Great Divide at the top of the Rockies. And the service is great. In addition to my gravel bike I now bring my road bike here. It’s got a wide gear range and Jose got the shifting working better than ever.
-
September 2023 by Jody French
Papa Wheelies has been my goto shop since they moved into Wellesley . I bought two bikes from them . The staff is super knowledgeable, the vibe in the shop is refreshing , and products cover all our family needs ! The shop also runs group rides every week and has a great service department , this is a welcome addition to town .
-
September 2023 by delfig big rig
Hello, my name is Ricky Mendoza, I am a frequent visitor of this shop. I wouldn't recommend any other bike shop for maintenance. Jose Jr. knows exactly what he is doing in and out of my hog. Sometimes the ole hog is difficult and dirty but Jose gets the job done. I couldn’t be more satisfied or relieved knowing the treatment my ole hog gets when I bring it to this shop. Highly recommend, for any and all bike needs.
-
September 2023 by Kim G.
I’ve purchased a half-dozen high-end road bikes from area shops and never had an experience like Papa Wheelies. We went because of low inventory in the area in an effort to find a first road bike for my partner. In the end, they persuaded us to purchase a bike which we learned was clearly the wrong fit (later independently confirmed by two different certified bike fitters within two minutes of seeing her on it), and which Papa Wheelies unsuccessfully and unsafely modified to try to fit her after we reported that she was experiencing extreme numbness in her hands and had difficulty reaching the brakes. (The bike couldn’t be made to fit—the reach was just too long. Papa Wheelies used a stem that’s incompatible with her bike and is a serious safety hazard to the rider, another shop later pointed out—as did the stem’s own instruction manual.)Here’s how it went:On May 27th, 2023, we showed up to check out the 2022 Liv Avail Advanced 1 that Mike (a manager) confirmed he had in stock before we drove an hour. It’s a jade green color, and Mike said over the phone, “Yes, I’m looking at it right now—it’s a beautiful color.” When we arrived, Mike only had the 2021 model in a purple color, saying that the system had the bike entered wrong. (He also neglected to explicitly disclose that this was an older bike.)Mike watched my partner ride around the parking lot and insisted the size was right. We asked Harold (a manager) if a smaller size was necessary, and he said “absolutely not.”On June 1st, 2023 we went back to the shop after one 15-mile ride because it was clear the fit was off. My partner’s hands were quickly going completely numb and she had difficulty reaching the brakes. Mike swapped the stem for a shorter one, insisting that would do the trick, even though the reach still seemed much too long. Worse, he swapped the Giant stem for Dimension stem that, we later learned from another shop, specifically states in the instruction manual (see photo): “Warning: Dimension stems are not intended for use with carbon handlebars or carbon steerer tubes.” (This bike has a carbon steerer tube). The other shop explained that this can damage the bike and compromise the rider’s ability to steer the bike.Right after this, my partner was diagnosed with a complex meniscus tear and couldn’t ride for a few weeks. In August, she was able to try the modified bike on an indoor trainer and still struggled with the same issue (extreme hand pain/numbness).We saw two certified fitters from different area shops. They said there was no point to a fitting and they’d “be mortified if they sold that bike to us.” They said a bike shop had to be very uninformed, or willfully careless, to put that stem on a bike with a carbon steerer tube.When we called Papa Wheelies to explain and ask for a refund, they refused. Mike eventually made a half-hearted offer that we could possibly exchange it for store credit and said he’d research other bikes they have that may work. When I arrived to pick up the original Giant stem (since we can’t in good conscience transfer the bike with a stem that’s a safety hazard), it was clear that Mike’s offer wasn’t sincere. They told us there was nothing they could do. (Harold told us they could take it back for a $1600 restocking fee.) He was preoccupied with the fact that 3.5 months had elapsed since the purchase (my partner had a knee injury, and it took time to consult other bike shops to fully understand the extent of Papa Wheelies’ errors), and he didn’t seem to consider that: 1) we returned, citing serious fit issues within 5 days of purchase; 2) they made an egregious safety error in using an incompatible part; and 3) the bike is in brand-new condition.The upshot: We have a brand-new, $3200 bike that can’t be ridden by my partner or returned, despite the fact that they undoubtedly knew they were selling a bike that didn’t fit properly.There are a number of good bike shops in the area. Go anywhere else besides Papa Wheelies.
-
September 2023 by Harrison Levitan
Took my bike over for some new tires and a shiny new bell. Jose in Service was friendly, knowledgeable and got my bicycle back on the road better than ever. Does great work!
-
September 2023 by Victoria Mizzi
Excellent customer service! I’m new to mountain biking and they spent the morning helping me choose a bike that felt good and fit my budget. I brought it in two weeks later to have some adjustments made and they were just as attentive and helpful as they had been when I purchased the bike. My husband is a more experienced rider and they are also happy to answer questions about components on his bike and recommend riding routes in the area. I Highly recommend Papa Wheelies!
-
September 2023 by Eric Carleton
Mike and the guys were absolutely fantastic to work with. They spent a lot of time with me trying to pick just the right bike, even swapping out wheels to get a feel for different tires. Super knowledgeable, and attentive. Can't recommend them enough! Thanks!
-
August 2023 by Charles Cassidy
I took two bikes in recently for minor repairs. The staff are great, their customer service is excellent and everything is always done well and when promised. I love having them in Wellesley!
-
June 2023 by michael R
My experience at Papa Wheelies in Wellesley was in the end very disappointing. After spending nearly $10,000 I will never be returning or recommending them to anyone. Four months after the purchase of a bike I was forced to reach out to the manufacturer to get missing parts for the bike that should have been installed before the bike left the shop. After repeated attempts to get the bike shop to make the situation right and excuse after excuse they have gone silent on the issue and I do not expect to hear from them again. This experience is why more and more people are choosing online sales over the LBS, why choose local when you get better service and cheaper prices from online vendors. Very sad.
-
June 2023 by Noah Merksamer
I brought my mountain bike into the shop in March 2023 for a season tune up. They replaced my shift cabling, which is a simple job, but they had mistakenly cut the cabling so short that my bike would shift automatically whenever I compressed the rear suspension. I didn’t realize that was wrong with it at the time and I brought the bike in a few weeks later in May for them to fix the shifting. I told them what was happening and they said they had made adjustments to the shifting to fix the problem. I rode the bike again and the shifting remained a problem. Not wanting to bring it back to the same shop that couldn’t diagnose and fix whatever was causing the faulty shifting, I brought it to another mechanic who told me that Papa Wheelies had cut the cabling too short. That mechanic put in new cabling and my bike shifts fine now. The mechanic who diagnosed and fixed the problem even sent me an email detailing the misfit cable. I called Papa Wheelies hoping for an explanation and a reimbursement for the faulty service. I believe a company should stand behind their product. I understand that everyone makes mistakes and I wasn’t upset about the faulty service, but after rudely trying for almost 15 minutes to invalidate my experience and even going as far as to accuse me of not telling the truth, Harold (I think one of the managers there) hung up on me. I immediately called back and Will, another one of the main workers there, also spoke rudely to me and insinuated that I was being dishonest, but after another five minutes he promised that he would talk this over with the people above him and get back to me by the end of the day. I never heard back from him.A bike shop should be trustworthy, good listeners, and stand behind their products and work. Papa Wheelies does absolutely none of this. I wouldn’t send them a razor scooter to fix, let alone buy a bike from them.Also - looking at past reviews, there seems to be a pattern of poor behavior and ethics with this shop. Like the reviewer below, I was also duped by their promise of free tuneups. 100% avoid.
-
June 2023 by Christopher Stokes
Had random flat. Googled bike repair. Papa’s came right up. Called and walked my bike back to church st from the clock tower. Met very nice staff, but Ralphie was the tech who took care of the bike pronto and I was very happy to have finished my ride and goal for that day.Thank you.Best regards.Chris
