Recommended MTB shops in East London

Rachel__A

Hi all

I'm about to take the jump and buy my first mountain bike (well as an adult, I'm not sure the £100 one I had when I was 12 really counts!). The advice on these forums to visit a local shop and get advice on all the different models and fittings seems very sound, but I'm having trouble finding a shop with a decent range of mountain bikes in east London. Other than Decathlon, all of the stores I've visited seem to focus on road, hybrid and folding bikes and only stock a very limited range of MTBs (often I can count them on one hand!). I'd ideally like to go to a store which features some of the bikes in Bike Radar's best for under £500 and under £1000 lists so I can try them out (my budget is £400 - £600). I'd also like to try some bikes designed for woman, as when I've hired MTBs in the past my arms do often feel uncomfortably stretched, so I think it might be better for me.

Any help on this much appreciated!

Thanks

Rachel

philcubed

How East London are you? Lakeside has Decathlon, Go Outdoors and Evans all close to each other.

Rachel__A

I live in Wapping, so maybe central east London is better description. I could drive up to Lakeside though - it's about an hour away - but that means if I buy something I'll need to drive it back. Guess I'll need to buy a car rack eventually tho so might as well get it at the same time!

snowster

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19748715#p19748715]Rachel__A[/url] wrote:

I live in Wapping, so maybe central east London is better description. I could drive up to Lakeside though - it's about an hour away - but that means if I buy something I'll need to drive it back. Guess I'll need to buy a car rack eventually tho so might as well get it at the same time!

If you buy one get it delivered to your home address if that suits you better I found Decathlon build quality was very good.

perfectmark

I got my mountain bike in Canary Wharf Evans, which have a fairly decent selection. Cycle Surgery in Romford also had a good selection last time I visited, there is a Cycle Surgery in Stratford Olympic Park as well (which is closer), but don't know how good their mountain bike selection is.