Your local shop thread, good, bad, ugly etc.
Comments
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Jeez don't get them started on road bikes you'll never get out Bought my first MTB from Mike.
I like Mike, he's a really good guy. Do you remember Fred himself? He sold my mate a Scott years and years ago, when he had problems with it he took it back. Only to be told by Fred that they weren't meant for riding, Americans bought them to put on the wall for decoration - bless.0 -
My last visit there was great, went for an helmet came back with a seatpost. Wanted a Fox Flux but poor fit on my head so looked at seatposts whilst there with a helpful assistant. I've just found that my bad visits there have outweighed my good ones.
I'm sure their mechanics are good but I can't wait two weeks to have my back up and running again. I've learn't most of my bike repair skills now and only use shops if I don't have the right tool or time to do the job.
A good case there was a mate wanted an Orange 5, I'd already tested one there so thats where I recommended. He spent over an hour trying to get help when he did the assistant was non too bothered that he had come to buy a £2.5k bike and more on upgrades so he just walked out.0 -
I had been in a quite a few times before Fred made an appearance. I wasn't quite sure who he was at first but I cottoned on when everyone else stopped talking. All good blokes though; got their business heads on first and foremost but never too busy to pass the time of day.Uncle Peter wrote:I like Mike, he's a really good guy. Do you remember Fred himself?0 -
Rubbish. Edinburgh Cycle Coop, Leeds. Just went there for some bar end plugs and some power links. Nearly 45 minutes to come out empty handed. Queued for 30 minutes before someone had the idea to open a till upstairs only for the my transaction to get voided twice because all the other tills where using the card machine lines. Badly organised and wasted my lunch hour. They had a lot people looking at bikes on the cycle to work scheme but they should have someone on the tills all the time. I should have done what others did and just left. I ended up going across to Halfords at Seacroft to get the same bits 30% cheaper with good service too.0
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Literally haven't step foot in any of the few cycle shops I've seen in Liverpool.
If I spin my chair round at my desk at work I can see the warehouse that is Winstanley Bikes. Picked up a couple of bits from them, but they don't seem that cheap compared to some other places.
First time we visited we felt like we were inconveniencing them... Recent visits have been much more welcoming.0 -
To add, I also do my repairs / servicing apart from fork rebuilds and wheel building which I can't do due to lack of space / tools.
on line faves include Superstar Components, Chain reaction, Merlin.
please add on line recommendations folks
From my old stomping ground Cycle Care in High Wycombe used to be the best shop when it was owned by Mike, he had all the trick US made kit weeks before it was even seen in the uk mags (going back to the 90's). alas it was bought by a numpty and the last time I was in there i was very disappointed. :?
does anyone know if it's still there??
Finally for people in the Reading / Henley / Maidenhead area try http://thebikepimp.com/ this bloke is a legend
I'm not old I'm Retro0 -
I went there today for some headset bearings and was served by a purple haired mechanic! What a top geezer, really helpful. He even apologised for not having many headset's in and if i wanted a top end set CRC might be the best option. I ended up buying a BBB(made by Cane Creek) just to get me back in teh hills but you can't fault him for his honest information.supersonic wrote:JE James certainly hit and miss.0 -
Only just got in the whole Mountain bike world but in the few shops i have visited over the last couple of days, Bike trax in Woodford where very good. Its a small shop but took there time to talk me through all the options..
E seventeen bikes in Walthamstow was not impressed one bit. Its a new store but the sales guy (not sure if hes the owner or not) is very abrupt and to be honest a bit of a know it all, came out feeling like a idiot for asking a few new rider questions. I also got chatting to a old guy outside the store on a touring bike and he said he wasn't happy with the service would avoid..
Found Condor cycles yestaday by accident so went in for a look, not a bad store and the sales people seem to know what they are talking about just a shame at the moment i have no clue what the hell to buy :roll:0 -
I was all for using my LBS when I bought a new bike and have to say it was a much over-rated experience!
Mountain High in Pangbourne - very local and very mediocre - one of the guys in the workshop was spot on, spent ages setting up a demo bike I was taking out and was just generally a decent chap! The guy I dealt with when actually parting with a large chunk of my hard earned was just hopeless - a bit arrogant, like he was doing me a favour.
When I picked up the bike (Trek EX) the set up was terrible!! Neither tyre was seated correctly on rim, front derailier caught in every gear, neither shock was set up properly (they didn't even touch fork!). I was supposed to take it back for a free check up and never bothered!
PedalOn in Tadley, on the other hand... Wish I'd gone there in the first place! Very helpful and masses of stock!0 -
Funny how the know it all mentality is a common feature in a lot of cycle shops for some reason.. The way i was talked to in one store was terrible and i was shocked as i would never imagine talking to a paying customer like that. As the post said above, like they are doing them a favour
Really surprised to be honest i mean once you have been riding a bit you could just as easley buy all your kit over the web and forget your local store. I would have thought shops would treat customers like kings esp new riders as they will be spending a chunk of coin in the first few years. Cycling is a leisure sport for most people and these industries take a hit whenever cash is low..0 -
J@mesC wrote:I was all for using my LBS when I bought a new bike and have to say it was a much over-rated experience!
Mountain High in Pangbourne - very local and very mediocre - one of the guys in the workshop was spot on, spent ages setting up a demo bike I was taking out and was just generally a decent chap! The guy I dealt with when actually parting with a large chunk of my hard earned was just hopeless - a bit arrogant, like he was doing me a favour.
When I picked up the bike (Trek EX) the set up was terrible!! Neither tyre was seated correctly on rim, front derailier caught in every gear, neither shock was set up properly (they didn't even touch fork!). I was supposed to take it back for a free check up and never bothered!
JamesC,
Mountain High used to be in princes risborough near High Wycombe, it used to be owned by a fella called Jan, don't know if it still is but I worked for them for a day, what a to***r he was, he had a habit of rounding up prices, lol
When it moved it had a rep for being a boutique shop with lots of candy but nothing of real use that anyone could afford, last time I was in there it was full of snowboarding stuff, is it still?
Mountain Trax used to be quite good they are in Wokingham
but if you you want good service go see thebikepimp.com as per my previous post he's just the other side of the river from PangbourneI'm not old I'm Retro0 -
clioterus wrote:
I went there today for some headset bearings and was served by a purple haired mechanic! What a top geezer, really helpful. He even apologised for not having many headset's in and if i wanted a top end set CRC might be the best option. I ended up buying a BBB(made by Cane Creek) just to get me back in teh hills but you can't fault him for his honest information.supersonic wrote:JE James certainly hit and miss.
i went to jejames a couple of weeks ago to buy a road cassette, i asked for a tiagra 11-25 which was retailed at 16.99 and it to be moved to rotherham shop, i went in to buy it and they brought the wrong one (13-25,), they then tried to charge me £22, obviously a bit mythed i told them they were wrong. I got the cassette for £18. The service at their workshop is great but the tills can be hit and miss as supersonic said.0 -
Seems all three J E James braches are pretty similar.shieldsy94 wrote:The service at their workshop is great but the tills can be hit and miss as supersonic said.
At Chesterfield the workshop guys are really helpful but the organisation and management of stock is chaotic.Trek Fuel EX 8 '090 -
kangaroo wrote:BETD in Newcastle under Lyme also know as Goldtec
http://www.mountainbikecomponents.co.uk/
great place. only small but helpful frendly staff and they also run the local bike club
Good: BETD are great, bought a headset and bottom bracket from them and they offered to fit both for free - even better because I wasn't able to pick them up myself (I sent someone else to collect) the next time I was in they asked if everything they'd done was okay. Very impressed.
Bad: Longstaff Cycles - they seem to have a more roadie base, but the atmosphere always seems tense whenever I've gone in.
Very Bad: Cyclelife in Sale (near work for me) - it's sometimes difficult to imagine that they know what a bike is.0 -
Trax in Butingford, really good and helpful, quite a small shop but they can get stuff in if you want it, just takes ages though so I tend to buy online
Repairs are all good, partly because I do some of them 0 -
Most recent good experience was from Skyline Cycles at the Glyncorrwg mountain bike centre (the other branch didn't seem as friendly). I agree that JE James' stock/mail order system seems a bit chaotic. The last time I ordered from them, I got the wrong part and it took them 8 days to ship it to me.
For mail order, SJS, CRC, Merlin and Wiggle have been great for efficiency, support and warranty returns. I don't necessarily know that they're the cheapest, but at least you know when you place an order for an item in stock, you'll get it in, at most, 3 working days. Comes in very useful when you realise on a Tuesday that you need a special part for the weekend's race ! HighonBikes (eBay) has been pretty good too, and very fast with delivery.
Worst experiences over the years - I ordered and paid for a Trek 8500 from Mark Anthony cycles in Buxton. When I went to collect it from the shop, the staff seemed to ignore me. Finally they brought the bike out, and the seatpost had been rammed all the way down. When I moved it back up, they'd scratched it really badly. After giving me the bike, the assistant just walked away - no-one even said thanks. I just walked out the shop and have never returned. Had a similar experience at Leisure Lakes in Bury. Paid £300 for an Exposure light. Went to collect it, waited ages, no-one could find my order, eventually they found my item in the stock room (who'd have thought it could be there ?) handed it over, and just turned to another customer to start serving them. They could see that I'd got the train there after work with my bike and I then fitted the light to my bike so I could ride home. But they didn't say a word. I just walked out without saying anything, and again, I've never returned.
Luckily I'm a good mechanic, so mail order suits me fine.0 -
Edinburgh Bikes Aberdeen – The staff on the sales side are friendly and willing to spend time without any sales pressure. Not so sure about the service side as twice I’ve had minor issues not sorted.
Bike Station Ballater/Foundry Bike Co Aberdeen – Not bought anything from them but I’ve found the service side to be excellent, full strip down service for £40 (bike felt like new) and they dropped the bike off at my office.
A sweeping generalisation - I find that shops that specialise in roadies tend to be staffed by wanks.0 -
Good - Giant Store in Rutland, bough 3 bikes from there for myself (Anthem X3) and the family.
Good service, and even did some work on my bike to solve a creak after a ride round Rutland at no cost. Only issue is the lack of choice as it's a Giant branded store.
The other Rutland store is also very good and has a wider range of stuff in stock.
Bad - Leisure Lakes in Daventry. Got lied to a number of times about delivery of something I'd ordered, wasted 3 weeks waiting for it to be delivered, ended up getting one from Rutland (how I found them) in the time it took me to drive there. LL also set up my old mtb after lack of use and it wasn't done very well and I needed to sort it out myself afterwards.0 -
Birkdale cycles in Southport. http://www.davewhitebikes.co.uk/Tiny shop selling mostly touring bikes but will cut and thread a spoke of any length you could possibly need and builds a mean wheel for not a lot of money.
Formbycycles http://www.formbycycles.co.uk/ When they were a small independent shop they were brilliant but when they got taken over by Taskers and built a new shiny store they went down hill big time. Wouldnt spend a penny there if it was a municipal toilet.Fig rolls: proof that god loves cyclists and that she wants us to do another lap0 -
Forgot to mention another GOOD shop - Rick Green Cycles in Handforth, Cheshire. Very friendly and the main mechanic, Paul is excellent and has helped me many times with complex technical issues that other shops couldn't answer.
Also, I've never had any problems with Dave Hinde, despite their reputation. I've never used them mail order, so that could be the difference. They built me a damn nice bike 6 years ago that's still running perfectly (as you'd expect for £2k).0 -
Bit of a trek for most folk, but Paradise Creek Bikes in Moscow, Idaho was an excellent LBS. Mechanics knew what they were doing (and they had a great wheelbuilder), staff was knowledgeable and friendly, and they would take on new distributors to be able to get the stuff in that I wanted. Also organised lots of local rides, both road and mountain.
I'm looking for a good LBS in York at the moment, so please feel free to send me recommendations.0 -
The Bike Shed in Exeter has been excellent, helpful staff, who know their bikes, and they even employ a woman too!!!
Have had great service and help from them and they even manage to look after the real mixture of people that wander through at the weekend with a smile on their faces - and dont treat women as if they are idiots!
Big Peaks- Ashburton, when they are good they are very good, and when they are bad.......
Some staff are great, but a few are not, and this has lost them sales.
Dartmoor cycles- Tavistock.
These guys exist for Downhill only, and while they are polite, they are downhillers and that what they do!- got some great brushes for cleaning my bike, but as far as we could tell XC is something that other people do!Wheeze..... Gasp..... Ruddy hills.......0 -
Sunderland Town Center I goto my LBS
Out of respect I've used Darke Cycles since basically I was neigh high, the mechanics are great and we know each other well. I had a bike on order with a bit of discount and payment arrangements were sorted, called today and no bike there and to find my deposit was now increased to 3x the amount and a shorter term to pay the bike off so obviously got that back and now looking again.
Pro's:
Mechanics do a good job (especially chris)
Staff (apart from the owner) are very friendly
Con's:
General shop prices fluctuate sometimes weekly and mostly increase
Getting ignored at the till (personally by the ower) and people served before you
Cycle World
Not used them as much but when I have can't really fault them, I got some bombers serviced and they were spot on, the guy took down my weight and set them up and everything, I've bought some components from them and the cheaper shop of the two. The crack is good, they do a good finance option, THEY SERVE YOU FAIRLY!
so without a doubt now oficially my LBS due to the fact that loyalty does not come at all with the owner of Darkes so sorry guys!0 -
so far i have only limited experience of the new kid on the block in York. However CycleStreet seems to be pretty good. The guy is friendly and helpful and has made me a returning customer. When i get my headset i'll be popping up there to have it fitted.
http://www.jondean.f2s.com/index.html
I can't comment on other bike shops in York as i havn't really used them as of yet. Evans doesn't seem to be too bad however.0 -
Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative, Rusholme, Manchester. Great! In just one month, for free, they have adjusted my wheel bearings, showed me how to glue a tub, adjusted my cleats, and today fitted (for free) SKS mud guards while I waited. Over the last two years always received spot on advice and had great banter with them. The staff are knowledgeable and friendly. Many of them race. One of them is currently an elite cyclist..
"Let not the sands of time get in your lunch"
National Lampoon0 -
Bike Culture http://bikeculture.co.nz/, absolutely awesome guys who really know there stuff and are really willing to help.
Have just ordered 2 bikes from them, one for me and one for GF.
With the GF being only 5' 1', they made sure she was getting the right size frame so as to make her really comfortable and put together a really sweet custom build for me.
Love doing business with them.0 -
I am still very new to this game and for that reason I feel a vulnerable.
My chain started slipping on my bike. I took the bike in and explained clearly the issue. The guy said no problem give me the afternoon to sort it out. I went back the next day as I was tied up at work. I was met by a lot of head scratching and confused look by this so called mechanic. He said "remind me what was wrong with it?" I explained the simple issue again. He still couldn't remember and didn't have a reciept or bill.
We walked outside to the bike. Suddenly it all came flooding back to him, "aargh I remember, I have sorted out the gears they change correctly now, sorted out the suspension and tweeked the breaks." All well and good I was thinking but I only asked for the chain to be sorted. He boldly said "40 quid, not a full service but almost. Not doubting the chap I parted with my cash.
When I got home the chain was still slipping! I flew straight bike to the shop and explained my problem. He accused me of calling him a liar and said that he had told me I needed a new chain and sprockets! I was amazed, we went round and round in circles arguing the case. I demanded my £40 quid back but he refused and said, "i'll undo the work I've done and then you can have your money back!"0 -
I usually buy my parts online then do my own repairs but i must give a special mention to my local evans store though.
I've needed some new olives and pins for my brake hoses a couple of times now along with a new sram split link for my chain and they've generously let me have the parts for free rather than pay 2.99 from CRC, of course i dint tell them what crc were charging but credit were its due.
Evans and other big stores do come in for alot of flack but every now and again u get a good store and mine seems ok with everything i've needed so far.
Im hopin to get my new bike ordered with them this week so we'll see how the service is on somethin bigger and more significant.0
