London Bike shops..

gkerr4

Hello all - I am off on a business trip tomorrow to London for a couple of days - it is for a conference but I think I will have a couple of hours when arriving and a few when leaving for some free time So I thought I would have a quick look around some of the london shops while I was there. I don't have a lot of bike shops around me to be honest, so it is nice just to see other brands and bikes and stuff - well, you know how it is!

I will be paying Condor a visit of course and have looked them up on the web. I will be staying near the London Eye - at the hotel behind it in fact.

does anyone have any suggestions for other shops to visit which will be be within the inner-zones travelcard reach.

- oh also - Does Rapha have a store or is it just through condor?

Thanks in advance..

Ed Moses

Cyclefit over in Macklin Street, Covent Garden usually have some nice "bike porn" on show.

As to Rapha, they do not have a shop and Condor is the only place in Central London to actually look at the stuff before buying.

Ed

wildmoustache

Ed Moses wrote:

Cyclefit over in Macklin Street, Covent Garden usually have some nice "bike porn" on show.

As to Rapha, they do not have a shop and Condor is the only place in Central London to actually look at the stuff before buying.

Ed

Cyclefit is not really a place to browse though! they have very limited and very high end stock ... remember as the name suggests i's about fitting!

Mosquito bikes in islington i would recommend.

Miles away from the centre in kingston Sigma Sport probably has the most high-end stuff of any shop in london

APIII

Bespoke Cycling? Never been there, but they deal with top end brands.

Lower Ground Floor
6 Hoxton Square
London
N1 6NU

www.bespokecycling.com

gkerr4

thanks - thats interesting - the frame I am currently building up came from sigma on mail order - an S-works roubaix.

they are a long way out though arent' they?


I've heard of mosquito bikes - I'l look them up

thanks again

cookiemonster

On Your Bike by London Bridge isnt a billion miles from the London Eye - much closer than islington (two stops jubilee line from waterloo).

Not particularly special, they dont have the high end stuff of cyclefit say, but they're pretty big; maybe the biggest in London? Thinking about it they dont have the feel of condor, which seems to have tons and tons of stuff inside, but condor is a small shop in comparison so OYB probably has more stock.

There are a couple of Evans opposite waterloo station - 2 minute walk from your hotel - if you get desperate

Coyote

As a fellow traveller who spends time in London I would have a look in Cycle Surgery (lots of nice Wilier in there!) near Holborn, which isn't all that far away from the legendary Condor. Given the location of your hotel I would also look in at the Evans shops at Waterloo Station and just round the corner in The Cut for more roadie orientated gear. There's another shop which is quite good size wise a couple of doors along from the London Dungeon which is usually stuffed with Cannondale bikes and clothing, can't remember what its called though!. if you can only get to one shop then make it Condor. Have fun!

AntLockyer

Coyote wrote:

along from the London Dungeon which is usually stuffed with Cannondale bikes and clothing, can't remember what its called though!.

that's On your bike where I got my Cannondale from.

JWSurrey

I work in Central London, and of all the stores mentioned, agree that Condor is the best to go visit - Although to be fair, I've never been to Mosquito or Bespoke.
Condor's my favourite shop, followed by Sigma in Kingston - Which will take you forever to get to - It's a train journey from Waterloo to Kingston, which is not particularly quick (I'd guess about 40 minutes), then 10 minutes from the station over the bridge on the Hampton Court side of the town.

As suggested above, Evans on The Cut has the road bikes, rather than the one right opposite the station. Supposedly the largest bike showroom in the UK is the Evans in the City of London (near Liverpool Street - Head for Spitalfield Market). There are a few restaurants around there too, and you can catch a bus back to Waterloo if you fancy a change of transport. Although it's big, I prefer Condor for serious bike porn.

gkerr4

Thanks guys - lots of options there - I'll map them out and see where I can get to

thanks again,


Graham

el_presidente

Brick Lane bikes has some fantastic fixed machinery, built up on old steel frames and is a goldmine if you're looking for esoteric NJS bars, offensively bright bar tape or obscure second-hand componentry.

www.bricklanebikes.co.uk

andyp

gkerr4 wrote:

thanks - thats interesting - the frame I am currently building up came from sigma on mail order - an S-works roubaix.

they are a long way out though arent' they?

If you;re staying near Waterloo then getting to Sigma should be quite easy. They are in Hampton Wick so the easiest way by train is to go from Waterloo to Hampton Wick station, which is approx 35 mins from Waterloo. Sigma's shop is an easy 5 min stroll from the station. PM me for more detailed instructions if you want them.

il_principe

Defo go to Sigma if you can find the time, they are a very helpful bunch in there and as others have mentioned the shop is chock full of serious bike porn. Also Sigma is a haven in comparison to Condor which can get very very busy making it hard to get attention. Great shop though.

pcd993

Mosquito is pretty grotty, and not worth the hassle of getting there. Bespoke is not a shop as such, although Barry there is extremely helpful if you want to buy a Parlee or shell out £2k for a pair of lightweights.

Condor is the best shop to browse in central London

wildmoustache

pcd993 wrote:

Mosquito is pretty grotty, and not worth the hassle of getting there. Bespoke is not a shop as such, although Barry there is extremely helpful if you want to buy a Parlee or shell out £2k for a pair of lightweights.

Condor is the best shop to browse in central London

I like Evans since they've started sticking De Rosas on the wall

gkerr4

well - not as much time as was hoping for yesterday as the train down was very delayed!

Managed to get a quick tour around Cyclesurgery, which was good, but Condor was amazing - a well stocked shop with a cave of goodies downstairs. They were busy right enough but the shop was very nice.

I'll see what time I manage to get out of this conference tonight and I have a few hours tomorrow morning before the train - although apparently I "need" to look for a handbag for the missus tomorrow (yeah right..)


(although thinking about it, she has been very good to me recently about this new bike build I am doing so perhaps it would be a good investment!)

northpole

I was in Condor last weekend - the new range of road bikes look fantastic - the top of the range model seemed to have a weight problem - seemed like something must have been left off to weigh so little! Some of the profiles for forks, etc are stunning.

Cycle Surgery near Liverpool Street station is another shop I would recommend.

But Evans? Just don't go there.

Peter

gkerr4

i got a couple of hours this morning to have a look at the evans at london bridge and also on your bike just down the road from that. the OYB shop was nice, but seemed a bit obsessed with Cannondale.

it has been said here though - condor is the shop to go to if you are only visiting one shop in london.