November 22/18 21:42 pm - 2018 Canadian Cyclist Best Bike Shops - The Winners

Posted by Editor on 11/22/18
 

We are pleased to announce the winners in our seventh annual search for the Best Shops in Canada, as chosen by you, the readers of Canadian Cyclist. We had a record number of ballots cast - over 9,000! Votes came in from every province, plus the North West Territories and the Yukon.

We have gone through the ballots and broken them down by region to determine the 2018 Canadian Cyclist Best Bike Shops. Forty six (46) shops from across the country have been selected, and they will each receive a certificate identifying them as the local bike shops most respected by their customers.

Twenty six (26) shops repeated as winners, meaning over 40% are newcomers to these awards. The two shops that won in the previous six years - The Cyclery in Ottawa and Pedalhead Road Works in Edmonton - are on our list again, making them the only seven-time winners. Of special mention is Icycle Sport in Whitehorse, Yukon; our first winner from the Yukon!

Nearly 300 shops received nominations, with many shops tweeting about the competition, or including a link to it in their newsletters and Facebook pages.

Two things shone through for all of the top ranked stores: customer service and passion for cycling. [Note: There were also numerous mentions of great coffee and, for the first time, pet-friendly...]

Congratulations to all our winners.

Here are the 2018 Canadian Cyclist Best Bike Shops. We have included a quote from a voter for each shop.

Atlantic Region

Canary Cycles - St John's, Newfoundland Canary [is] a local shop that you can build a rapport with. They make sure you are taken care of. I can go in to chat, ride with them, and trade food and stories. For me, it's a hub in our little east coast isolated community. You have to be hardy to ride in Newfoundland - and it's nice to have folks to trade stories with.

Mike's Bike Shop - Dieppe, New Brunswick Mike's Bike Shop is much more then just a bike shop. It is a community of support for the cycling community!

My Bike Shop - Moncton, New Brunswick Jim Goguen and the team at My Bike Shop are the best, period! They support the local cycling community on all levels and truest look out for the best interests of the people they serve, true class all the way!

Savage's Bicycle Center - Fredericton, New Brunswick The staff are AMAZING. I am new to cycling and from Day 1 I've felt like one of the 'team'.

The Radical Edge - Fredericton, New Brunswick Everyone is very knowledgeable. They live and breathe the sport and are instrumental in community building with clinics, group rides, trail building support and youth programming. They rock!

Bikes & Beans - Quispamis/St John, New Brunswick The personal service they provide and the support for biking in the community by organizing community rides such as Quick Chicks.

Millennium Cycle & Sport - Quispamis/St John, New Brunswick It's my favourite bike shop to buy things for my husband. They take their time and explain things well to me.

The Bike Pedaler - Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Amazing service and staff. Great place to just drop in and shoot the shit. Generous with advice and opinions. I've had so many small repairs/fixes 'no charge' - sometimes I have to demand to pay ... Mark is a cornerstone of downtown Dartmouth!

Hub Cycle - Truro, Nova Scotia The staff are insanely helpful to everyone from newbies like me to the bike experts out there. Their store is packed with everything you could need and they know what's going on in the bike community and can direct you to groups to fit your style and skills.

Quebec - Greater Montréal Region (GMR)

Boutique Velozone - St-Jean-sur-Richelieu Very, very, very good service, the staff is really engaged to provide good advice and service. The owner, Pascal, is such a friendly gentleman [and] well engaged in the community!

Maglia Rosa Velo Shop - Montréal People are amazing, always there when you need it. They serve you [and] they won't sell you things you don't need too. And the best part ... they have the passion!

Cycles Performance - Boucherville The owner and the employees are professionals, they make a great job, they know what they [are] doing and on top of it they are nice!

Bicycle Quilicot - Laval The team is awesome and professional! The service is fast and on the point. Thank you Mathieu Coté for your knowledge and experience.

Quebéc - East

Mathieu Performance - Quebéc City Good friendly service, listening to customers and their needs, many choices of bike and equipment. Lovely place and team.

Quebéc - West

Polo Velo - Gatineau The staff and the owner are really professional. They always treat you as an exceptional customer.

Ontario - Greater Toronto Area (GTA)

D'Ornellas Bike Shop - Scarborough This shop is like a family. Everyone is greeted by name when they walk in the door and well taken care of. They know all there is to know about bikes, cycling and triathlon. Amazing staff and incredible service!

Evolution Cycles - Richmond Hill Excellent service for everyone, regardless of level of experience. They explain, explain, demonstrate and then explain. They also sponsor King Race Series, and Jamie Davies is an awesome trail maintenance crew leader, encouraging the young ones to get to the trails right after school to help set up races, fix trails and enjoy a chin-wag.

Velofix Hamilton - Hamilton Sean not only takes care of my bike; he offers cycling advice and tips. He also comes right to my house. At a triathlon this summer, an athlete's bike blew a tire in transition. Sean fixed it for him before he even knew it happened.

Via Ciclante - Mississauga The customer service is amazing. Andrew and Jean Paul are always very friendly and personable and willing to answer any questions we have even well after we've purchased our bikes. Jean Paul spent hours getting our personalized fitting right and this made all the difference between just buying a bike and owning a bike that I actually love riding and can ride without pain. We were so impressed that we continue to go back for other bike accessories even though we live 55 km away.

Gears Canary - Toronto The people at Gears Canary helped me into cycling almost two years ago, and I have never looked back. Not only are they helpful and skilled to assist a rookie, they also helped me on input on where to ride, and introduced me to a local cycling club. Now I feel part of a great cycling community thanks to them, and they are also very supportive to the club. What started with me buying a bike to get around has now become a 50+ years rider actively competing in cycling!!

Velofix Toronto (West & North) - Toronto Efficient and excellent work. Nick is very honest, never overcharges and works fast. I have recommended Nick to many friend who also provide the same feedback.

Ontario - East

The Cyclery - Ottawa Vince and the boys take care of you, run the town's crit series and now the cross series. If that wasn't enough, they sponsor an incredible women's team and help out many a local cyclist in need. When racing they helped me out with bikes and the like when I couldn't afford it, and hell - they got Mike Woods onto a bike!

Velofix Ottawa - Ottawa Adam provides excellent and friendly service and advice, on everything from minor repairs, to full service overhauls, to advice on bikes and purchasing bikes, as well as components and accessories. In my books, Adam and Velofix are number one for top notch service.

Ontario - North

Velorution - Sault Ste Marie They create such a community around cycling and have been a part of a big push to get women out in huge numbers!

Sessions Ride Co. - Sudbury They are extremely involved in the local scene and help out with every single bike club event.

Parry Sound Bikes - Parry Sound Most friendly, helpful owners: Aleesha and Thomas. Committed to creating and supporting an inclusive biking community for all ages and ability levels. Carry an excellent assortment of equipment and apparel. Give excellent service for all biking products. Just love this store.

Velofix Simcoe - Collingwood I like Mike - I find he is one of those mechanics who really tries to solve problems for his riders, in the best way possible for their Bikes, and their wallets. I have a lot of respect for Mike's integrity as a mechanic. I find he can connect with us, as he is also an avid rider. Thanks for everything Mike!

Kamikaze Bikes - Collingwood They are big supporters of our community and are always willing to help out at their own expense at fund raisers like [the] Hospice! They truly care for their customers and you feel like family when you walk into their store. I would only buy my bikes from them! Good people, good friends!

Ontario - Southwest

Forks Bicycle Shop - Erin Brian is an amazing owner and has great care and advice for all his patrons. I drive an hour from out of town to go to his shop specifically, and wouldn't trust my bikes with anyone else.

Liberty! Bicycles - St Catharines Amazing work with para athletes. They work with custom adaptions, and integrating new technology into old systems. They never say no, full effort in trying and working together to find solutions to unique problems.

Velofix Windsor - Windsor Steve is very helpful and supports [a] local cycling group that I am a member of by volunteering his time and offering his knowledge.

Manitoba/Saskatchewan

Woodcock Cycle Works - Winnipeg, Manitoba I love my bike. The sales lady helped me pick it out perfectly. I used to have sore knees from my old bike but they fitted me to this new one and now my knees are healed!

Bikes & Beyond - Winnipeg, Manitoba It's where I bought my bike because it was the only bike shop in Winnipeg where they didn't ignore me or scoff at me when I didn't know something that maybe I should have. Everyone was friendly, kind, and helpful.

Dutch Cycle - Regina, Saskatchewan I can walk in and everyone knows my name. Everyone is willing to go the extra mile. Dutch Cycle is somewhere I am happy to spend my hard earned dollars and I always leave happy.

Alberta

BikeBike - Calgary They are hyper local, hyper friendly, hyper involved with promoting cycling in Calgary, very serious about supporting me in cycling on more of my day to day trips; be it commuting to work or shopping for sundries. They're absolute top notch in sales, service and support.

Bike Bros. - Cochrane Customer service is second to none. We had our three brand new bikes stolen while on vacation this summer. They helped us by finding the serial numbers for the bikes to help with the police report. They also offered to help replacee bikes at a deep discount. Love the staff, no better shop in the Calgary area.

Bicycle Repair Hub - Calgary The owner goes over and above what is normally expected of a repair guy! He goes to people's homes, and even offers free safety checks on kids bikes! So much integrity.

Hardcore Bikes - Edmonton They really go out of their way for customers and club members. For example, the shop owner loaned me his own personal tubulars so I could race Canadian Cyclocross Nationals and Pan American championships in Ontario because my tubeless rim/tire setup measured over 33mm. They also aren't focused on making the most money from customers, but instead focus on making sure people walk away with the bike that suit their lifestyle and needs most!

Pedalhead Road Works - Edmonton This is why PRW is my favourite bike shop: P=professional, R=respected, W=worthy - just a few words that PRW stand for. Guri and his team (Scott, Adam and Kim) make it worth the 3+ hour drive. They are committed to being and staying a local bike shop - not too big or too small just right. It's a great privilege to be a part of the PRW family.

Wheeler's Bicycle Repair - Red Deer Amazing customer service and knowledge. I have amazing trust in the shop to do what I need done without over charging.

British Columbia

La Bicicletta Pro Shop - Vancouver Fantastic product lines carried, knowledgeable sales and repair staff, and always fantastic service.

Veloholics Cycles - Vancouver Super high end stuff with none of the attitude. Best mechanic in town with a real passion for cycling! Just an awesome place to browse and hang out!

Wentings Cycle & Mountain Shop - Mission The staff are kind and know their stuff, always willing to help with anything no matter how dumb I seem sometimes when I come into the shop. They also understand that as a student I want a good deal all of the time and are super great with helping me find affordable gear! Bruce is the best; there's nowhere else I'd rather go for advice, a bike fitting, or help with routine maintenance.

The Bike Barn - Penticton They serve a mid size city in the best cycling area in Canada. They treat every customer like a friend. They are loved by the locals and all our biking visitors! The best for sure.

Giant Victoria - Victoria 10/10 service - the staff always go above and beyond and are not just about making sales. They will recommend other places if they don't have the item you are looking for and also spend quality time with you to make sure they understand your needs and wants. Honest, hardworking and easy to talk to!

Yukon

Icycle Sport - Whitehorse The service department remembers the craziest details, like the hat I was wearing two years ago when I came in for a quick link. This attention to detail carries over into the service itself, and information maintained in the computer system makes every trip to see these guys a pleasant experience. Everyone conducts themselves like a true professional, a rarity in any retail atmosphere! Great brand.