Here are some hard facts:
We do not service gasoline-powered bicycles at all. If you remove all gasoline motor parts prior to bringing it in we can work on it.
We can work on electric assisted bikes, particularly brands of assist that we sell or are at least familiar with, but many of these involve proprietary parts that were never meant to be serviced. If we didn’t sell it then you are probably better off talking to an electric bicycle specialist who would have more ideas about component compatibility. If you bought that e-bike kit for half-nothing on Flea-Bay then we wish you luck.
Recumbents mainly use mountain bike parts, with some exceptions. We rarely see STI-type road bike shifters, and rarely see Campagnolo components. We don’t have experience with more sophisticated MTB forks. So while we can work on “regular” upright bikes, you are probably better off taking high-end stuff to a “regular” bike shop. We do have experience working on electronic shifting systems, especially when adapting them to recumbents.
We see lots of folding bikes because of the small wheels and our tire and tube selection that supports them. We see lots of handcycles because these often require our level of inventiveness and ingenuity to work on. We have the space and the facilities to service pedicabs and quadracycles.
There are plenty of cheap bikes out there, which are even cheaper bought used. Just because it cost you half-nothing at a yard sales doesn’t mean all repairs to it will be cheap. You can safely assume the opposite. Grungy, rusty bikes are harder to work on. Cheap bikes are harder to work on. If you are upset because the repair cost more than what you paid for that heap at a yard sale then you should have just bought another bike.
We’ve done rehabilitation jobs on old bikes and trikes, but you’d better have a strong sentimental connection to it to justify the expense. Any time the mechanic has to figure out how to work on something, as opposed to it being another cookbook brake adjustment on a Catrike, then you are getting into time, time, time that we have to bill for. This is why other bike shops turn down jobs. We may well do your work, but be ready to pay for it. Also, really odd jobs are more likely handled by the owner. Mike is fast once he is at his wrenches, but doesn’t always get to his wrenches too quickly. If this is problem then you can pay for expedited labor, but this quickly creates $500 repair bills, FYI.
If plan A doesn’t work and we fix your odd problem with plan B, you still have to pay for the time and non-reusable materials that went into plan A. We don’t mean to be harsh, but if other shops have turned you away it means that it is tricky work requiring creativity and experimentation. We’ve pull lots of rabbits from hats and fixed the unfixable, but that takes time, time, billable time.