Proper high end shop opened down the road from me

guy.spartacus

http://www.velorefined.co.uk

impressive stable!

markpotts147

Bike p0rn alert!

The appointment only thing made me

derosa

Time to ask for a higher credit card limit

tri-sexual

great to see a shop which will offer a such a high level of customer service.
sometimes some shops offer really poor customer care and can often feel ignored.

there are other times when i just want to pop into a shop just to touch, feel and often pick up bikes without having a shop assisstant hovering around, it would be better to have a bit of both where you can book a personal service if you want the personal touch and allows you to ask questions and try different bikes before making an important purchase but also allows you simply to go in to browse at your leisure (i make alot of impulse purchases this way)

Sethjkay

I hear what you're saying Tri-sexual and have taken your very useful comments on board.
Seeing this I'm going to start opening on a Saturday from 10am until 3pm "no appointment needed" so that people can just pop in to browse and maybe chat a little about the products (but you don't have to chat if you don't want to! ha ha)
First "Drop in Saturday" will be this weekend (Saturday 5th March) so anyone please pop in if you like.

Seth

guy.spartacus

Hi mate! Nice one! I may just pop down!

(I used to work round the corner at the stable place too)

edhornby

very glad kent and manchester are a long way away....

golfergmc

I really want a Storck but no one over here stocks them

speshsteve

take this anyway you want and it is just an opinion but the website comes across quite elitist to me.

I'd like to see a welcome open door policy from a high end LBS with the ability to book 1 on 1 bike fitting sessions. I also like flexibility on opening times i.e. like most professionals your opening hours are while I'm at work with my customers and its not like your in the city where I could drop in.

The pictures of the store look great and some great kit, as I said take the above with a pinch of salt (what do I know about running a bike shop let alone a high end one!!) and good luck with the venture.

Sethjkay

Hi Speshsteve. No worries on your views, they're absolutely fine and to be honest the more feedback I get the better really.
I'm sorry we have come across as elitist, that wasn't the intention. We are trying to come across like a super car showroom only obviously with bikes, with very high performance products. The idea is that a customer comes down to us, gets a one to one service and chooses a bike based on the information that we have supplied and the products they have viewed.
From our decent selection of showroom models the customer can get an idea of which bike they want with which spec so that we can custom assemble it for them - much like you would in a Ferrari/Porsche etc showroom.
As I have already said, having read the comments on this forum I am now opening Saturdays for drop in customers - I'm open to suggestions and not adverse to my business evolving should it need to so all ideas are very welcome.

Many thanks to all for your comments so far.

Seth

on-yer-bike

Its good to see that WR Composoti are now available in UK. I am waiting for a new frame to come from Italy and they are the only company I found to make 29.4 carbon seatpost apart from the Deda Magic Stick which I read falls to bits. If you are still watching this forum how much is the RSN seatpost going to be?

flanners1

I have both,

The seatposts fitted to C40 and C50s were made by WR and I have a Deda Magic Stick on my Master. They are both good posts imo and well made. I believe the newer Magic Sticks do not have a problem falling apart, mine certainly is sound.

For the bargain price it was at Ribble the Deda was a bargain and lightweight to boot; not the nicest looking though.

giant_man

Sethjkay wrote:

Hi Speshsteve. No worries on your views, they're absolutely fine and to be honest the more feedback I get the better really.
I'm sorry we have come across as elitist, that wasn't the intention. We are trying to come across like a super car showroom only obviously with bikes, with very high performance products. The idea is that a customer comes down to us, gets a one to one service and chooses a bike based on the information that we have supplied and the products they have viewed.
From our decent selection of showroom models the customer can get an idea of which bike they want with which spec so that we can custom assemble it for them - much like you would in a Ferrari/Porsche etc showroom.
As I have already said, having read the comments on this forum I am now opening Saturdays for drop in customers - I'm open to suggestions and not adverse to my business evolving should it need to so all ideas are very welcome.

Many thanks to all for your comments so far.

Seth

After all you are a bike shop, in that respect like any other. The brands you sell are immaterial really. You provide a service as I say like any other lbs. Or are you trying to project yourselves as more of a 'boutique'?

Good luck to you.

Monkeypump

I'd agree with some of the comments above - the website comes across as very elitist and from the (limited) pics the store itself doesn' look much like a bike shop at all.

I love the idea of a store selling high-end product, but this doesn't seem very real-world to me. I have no idea how to run a bike shop, and don't know anything about your business model, but it does seem to eliminate the chance of popping in and making impulse buys!

This is especially the case since you're open later than most bike shops in the week (great), but only for appointments (frustrating). My lbs would certainly get more of my cash if I could pop in at 7pm in the week, but perhaps you're deliberately trying to avoid the 'mediocre' customers like me (the wording on your website seems to suggest this, as I don't do sportives or competitive TTs/races).

Good luck with the shop, but my lbs will continue to get my business - they manage to provide excellent customer service and I can turn up whenever I like.

TMR

I think the point is that the exclusivity of the buying process is part of the appeal. When you're spending the sorts of sums involved, you want to feel special, to have the dedicated 1:1 customer care.

It's not a shop for clampets clearly - but they can buy their Specialized elsewhere can't they?

If you've got the money and need then go for it. Live and let live IMHO.

on-yer-bike

Its not elitist its just not stack em high and sell em cheap. We've got enough of those. IMO Competitive Cyclist is the best online shop out there, shame its in the USA. I dont think there is anything wrong with aiming it just at the sport cyclist in the same way CC do.

Anonymous

Is this just a renamed Race Wheels UK? I remember the prices of their builds on frames, about 1500 quid extra for ultegra and bottom of the range DT Wheels! :shock:

Edit - looking at the build prices it would appear so...

Garry H

Is this what we call a "cycling boutique" then?

dcj

Its good to see that WR Composoti are now available in UK. I am waiting for a new frame to come from Italy and they are the only company I found to make 29.4 carbon seatpost apart from the Deda Magic Stick

OK so apologies in advance to the OP for staying off topic but i have same issue on my 'steel frame from Italy'.
I've gone for a sleeve that takes 29.4 down to 27.2 and is basically invisible when fitted. this isn't the seatpost i am going to use: i just took a photo to show you what the sleeve looks like.

edit: i will probably paint it black and turn it round in the frame so the split will be hidden from behind, then there is no way anyone would notice there is a sleeve.