Pasadena Bicycle Repair Shop, $20 Flats: Around the Cycle

Around the Cycle, at 1270 Lincoln Avenue #1500 in Pasadena, will fix a flat tire without an appointment, starting at $20, and it will inspect your bike and give an estimate for free. Everything else in the repair shop runs by appointment, booked online, with tune-ups at $159, $289 and $399. The doors are open Tuesday to Saturday 11am to 6pm and Sunday noon to 5pm, closed Monday.

The shop's own story is short. It says it started in a garage and grew into a full team of recyclists with what it calls easily the largest inventory of used bikes and gear in Southern California. That is the first thing you notice: secondhand road, gravel, cargo and kids bikes take up as much of the room as new ones, alongside new stock from Orbea, Salsa, Surly, Marin, Yuba, Aventon and woom.

The motto is ride it, repair it, reuse it, and the consignment desk works the same way: drop a bike off, the shop sells it, and you get paid. For a family whose kids have outgrown a woom, or a commuter trading up to a cargo bike, that circular setup is the reason to come here rather than to a chain store.

The shop is close to the neighborhoods hit by the January 2025 Eaton Fire, and it has acted like a neighbor. In February 2026 it marked its 12-year anniversary with a Valentine's Day fundraiser to rebuild local trails, including a slow, family-friendly group ride of about eight miles through the Pasadena and Altadena areas affected by the fire. The page signed by Ryan and the ATC crew reports that the event raised $3,631 for two local trail groups, MWBA and LLRCC.

Know the rule before you roll in: repairs and service need an appointment, made through the scheduling link on the website. The two exceptions are flat tires and packing a bike to ship, which you can bring in during open hours. If your bike makes a strange noise and you are not sure what it needs, the free inspection is the smart first step, since it includes a tire pressure top-up and ends with a written estimate.

The shop publishes how it prices labor, which few do. Standard bikes are billed against an hourly rate of $120, and e-bike work is about 20 percent more at $144 an hour. Front-loader cargo bikes and trikes carry a 25 percent surcharge, billed at $150 an hour, or $180 for electric versions. Owners of a long cargo bike should expect that surcharge before they book.

Beyond repairs, the shop rents bikes and offers bike fitting, and its website links to an e-bike rebates and vouchers page, which is worth reading if you are pricing a first e-bike in Los Angeles County. The brands on the floor point to the crowd at the counter: parents shopping for woom kids bikes, trail and touring riders on Salsa and Surly frames, and commuters on Aventon e-bikes or Yuba cargo bikes. Bring your bike's brand and model when you book, because the scheduling form moves faster with them.

The Level 1 Tune Up at $159 covers a full safety check, adjustment of brakes, derailleurs, hubs, headset and bottom bracket, minor wheel truing, a chain lube and a wipe-down. It does not include a hydraulic brake bleed, which is priced separately at $60 per brake. For a commuter bike that shifts and stops, Level 1 is enough.

Level 2, at $289, adds lubrication of cables, levers and calipers, takes the chain off for a proper clean, refreshes tubeless sealant or changes tubes and tires as needed, installs any new cables, pads or derailleurs you approve, and finishes with a bike wash. Level 3, at $399, adds major wheel truing and pulls the whole drivetrain for a soak and clean. If you ride an older steel bike once a month, skip Level 3; the extra drivetrain soak only pays off on bikes ridden hard on dusty trails.

The individual menu is useful for quick fixes. A derailleur adjustment is $30, a chain install is $22, a brake pad install is $30 and handlebar wrapping is $30. Tubeless riders pay $60 per tire for a setup and $16 per tire for a sealant recharge, and a drivetrain clean on its own is $96. A bike wash is $40.

Builders and travelers have their own line items. A custom build from a bare frame starts at $459, a new geared bike from a box starts at $159, and packing a bike for shipping or travel starts at $125. New and specified used bikes bought here carry a 60-day limited mechanical warranty for adjustments needed from normal riding, so new owners should come back for that first check rather than paying for a tune.

Lincoln Avenue is a working street, so the green space is a few blocks east. La Pintoresca Park, on Washington Boulevard, has a playground, a skate area and a seasonal splash pad, which helps if you have kids in tow while a bike is on the stand. The La Pintoresca Branch Library sits on the edge of the same park and is a quiet place to wait out a longer job.

If the repair is for a mountain bike, the logical test ride heads north toward the foothills and the Altadena trails the shop's fundraiser helped rebuild. Ride gently at first; a freshly adjusted brake bed-in takes a few stops before it bites at full strength.

Around the Cycle is at 1270 Lincoln Avenue #1500, Pasadena, CA 91103. Hours are Tuesday to Saturday 11am to 6pm and Sunday noon to 5pm, closed Monday. Repairs need an appointment, except flat fixes and shipping jobs. Free inspection with estimate; Level 1 Tune Up $159; flat fix from $20. Ask Karpo in the Karpo APP for a coffee stop or a foothill route to test the bike afterward.