http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Edinburgh Bike Shops en Sun, 08 Nov 2026 16:46:50 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=7#post-386248 Sun, 25 Oct 2026 09:10:49 +0000 chdot 386248@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/oct/25/bust-companies-revived-in-phoenix-deals-more-likely-to-fail-again-study-finds" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/oct/25/bust-companies-revived-in-phoenix-deals-more-likely-to-fail-again-study-finds</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=7#post-386102 Tue, 13 Oct 2026 08:07:13 +0000 bakky 386102@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@gkgk their Bruntsfield store lives on… as do a handful of their other stores (not Canonmills) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=7#post-386101 Mon, 12 Oct 2026 23:07:54 +0000 gkgk 386101@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>This may be a silly question but now EBC are gone, where's best for replacing a Brompton rear pivot sleeve? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=7#post-386050 Mon, 05 Oct 2026 15:41:21 +0000 chdot 386050@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/cyclists-mourn-end-of-an-era-as-edinburgh-bicycle-co-op-announces-store-closures-9267594" rel="nofollow">https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/cyclists-mourn-end-of-an-era-as-edinburgh-bicycle-co-op-announces-store-closures-9267594</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=7#post-386045 Mon, 05 Oct 2026 13:06:53 +0000 chdot 386045@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>“</p> <p>It's understood that around 25 jobs were lost across the two stores, head office and warehouse.</p> <p>“</p> <p><a href="https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/26605575.jobs-lost-scottish-retailer-forced-close-stores/?shem=dsdf,sharefoc,agadiscoversdl,,sh/x/discover/m1/4" rel="nofollow">https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/26605575.jobs-lost-scottish-retailer-forced-close-stores/?shem=dsdf,sharefoc,agadiscoversdl,,sh/x/discover/m1/4</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=7#post-386037 Sun, 04 Oct 2026 11:00:54 +0000 LaidBack 386037@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><blockquote>Cycle-to-work schemes became increasingly popular,</blockquote></p> <p>And eats away at dealer margins typically taking 10% from dealer. Not complaining... the car industry is based on massive financing too. This is one version of the modern economy. The other is make do and mend which keeps colleague JBG busy. As everyone here knows most steel bikes can go on for ever. We had an Elephant Bike in with retrofit Bafang which provided owner with a compact longtail.<br /> Passed the Bike Station yesterday and could see people in browsing. Newbies just want an affordable bike that works from people they trust and BS serve that market.<br /> Edinburgh Bike Coop mark 2 (under Rothar) may adopt an Alpkit model providing more extras. Expect electric gravel bikes with bike packing extras, tents maybe? Who knows? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=7#post-386036 Sun, 04 Oct 2026 10:30:20 +0000 chdot 386036@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://scottarthurmp.wordpress.com/2026/10/04/can-edinburgh-bike-co-op-survive-until-its-50th-birthday/" rel="nofollow">https://scottarthurmp.wordpress.com/2026/10/04/can-edinburgh-bike-co-op-survive-until-its-50th-birthday/</a></p> <p>Good summary of Edinburgh/World bike market in recent decades</p> <p>(Doesn’t mention his role in encouraging cycling…) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=7#post-386035 Sun, 04 Oct 2026 07:10:01 +0000 chdot 386035@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>“</p> <p>New company registered at the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op<br /> .<br /> Rothar26 Ltd, (Irish Gaelic for Bike) was registered with Companies House and incorporated on September 18th, two weeks before a significant number of EBC staff were made redundant and some premises closed.</p> <p>The new company is wholly owned by the managing director of Edinburgh Bike, Mr Alan Nestor and is described as the retail sale of sports goods, fishing gear, camping goods, boats and bicycles...</p> <p>“</p> <p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/share/198TiGrNz1/?mibextid=wwXIfr" rel="nofollow">https://www.facebook.com/share/198TiGrNz1/?mibextid=wwXIfr</a></p> <p><a href="https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/SC903212" rel="nofollow">https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/SC903212</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=7#post-386033 Sat, 03 Oct 2026 15:59:16 +0000 chdot 386033@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>“</p> <p>The management team have however worked extremely hard to put together an offer that means Edinburgh Bike can continue, saving jobs and keeping four of our stores open:</p> <p>Bruntsfield, Newcastle, Giant Store Edinburgh &amp; Giant Store Stirling</p> <p>“</p> <p><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55566879633_af51ebc2eb_z.jpg"> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=7#post-386025 Fri, 02 Oct 2026 21:35:06 +0000 chdot 386025@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Not aware of anything before about 1980 </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=7#post-386023 Fri, 02 Oct 2026 18:52:21 +0000 SRD 386023@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Hasn’t one been posted in the past? EEN story with pic? Or similar.</p> <p>Would be good if it could be posted again. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=7#post-386022 Fri, 02 Oct 2026 18:27:19 +0000 LaidBack 386022@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Very interesting foundations to what became an Edinburgh institution. The EBC links run through so many bike businesses here. At least three team members at Bicycle Works are ex EBC.<br /> In creative industry the bike photo-shoots were all done by George Ferguson at Dunedin. Early digital studio camera. Three stage shoot to get studio hi res colour image in early 90s (!). Photoshop clean up round spokes if required - shot on white in studio 'tent' to avoid reflections. EBC took the images seriously for their Revolution brand and other featured bikes. Lindsay McDiarmid wrote intros to each brochure I think. Ged Holmyard would also be contributing no doubt.</p> <p>@chdot - have you founders image from this period? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=7#post-386021 Fri, 02 Oct 2026 17:13:56 +0000 chdot 386021@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>As some people know, I was a founder member of the Recycles Cooperative </p> <p>“</p> <p>Two novel ventures in Edinburgh promote bicycles as an important mode of transport within the city. Friends of the Earth have been running a bicycle workshop on Sunday evenings in Drummond Street, and Recycles, a workers cooperative, will be opening a shop on 1 August at 3 West Crosscauseway.</p> <p>Recycles who aim to promote bikes generally will be selling second hand bikes and hope to provide a good repair service, carrying a range of spares that other shops don't stock. Chris Hill, one of the members of the cooperative, said that whilst Recycles would not be selling new bikes initially they would be prepared to advise people on the purchase of new cycles, and hoped that the shop would be much more helpful towards its customers than the commercial cycle shops are at the moment. The shop will be open from 10 am to 6 pm six days a week.</p> <p>The Friends of the Earth initiative is the Community Bicycle Workshop on Sunday evenings held in the basement of 27 Drummond Street. This workshop is open to anyone and seemes to have grown into something more than just Friends of the Earth. It doesn't compete with the bicycle shops in any way but concentrates on the Simple operations of maintenance and bicycle care that the shops are not equipped to do. Two of the organisers Pete White and Mike Sweatman hope that the workshop will grow into a centre for the cycling community in Edinburgh which will then take up some of the wider issues affecting cyclists in the city. They certainly are looking much more deeply into the whole philosophy of transportina city and the lack of provision made by the Council for cyclists. </p> <p>“</p> <p><em>City Lynx</em> July 1977 (Edinburgh’s new ‘listings’ magazine)</p> <p>Mike Sweatman was also a founder member. He worked at MacDonalds (the bike shop in a Danny MacAskill video) before joining the Coop in 1978 and continued for decades </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=6#post-386020 Fri, 02 Oct 2026 17:07:40 +0000 chdot 386020@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>“</p> <p>Website Updates Coming Soon! </p> <p>We are sorry that we are currently unavailable but, fear not, this website will be launching soon. </p> <p>“</p> <p><a href="https://www.edinburghbicycle.com" rel="nofollow">https://www.edinburghbicycle.com</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=6#post-386016 Fri, 02 Oct 2026 16:22:26 +0000 LaidBack 386016@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>EBC Aberdeen RIP :-(</p> <p><ul>"The guys in the bike shop are always pleasant and friendly... I live next door and found a few bikes in the basement which I put into him as I felt it best they go to a good home... This shop has a great selection of bikes and accessories, helmets chains, cogs etc... and the staff are knowledgeable friendly polite and helpful... you can take your bike here to be fixed aswell and buy new bikes and accessories here too... really good service..."</ul><br /> From Google reviews. Not only good one.</p> <p>Bruntsfield has a buyer lined up but won't need warehouse etc. Just will benefit from the folk memory of EBC.</p> <p>Newcastle shop will be at risk. Aberdeen 'permanently closed' though that city could use some skills. Our UA customers there used EBC. Shops like SPARKX sell muscle e-bikes and electric motorbikes. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=6#post-386014 Fri, 02 Oct 2026 13:02:09 +0000 chdot 386014@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>A reply</p> <p>“</p> <p>Alex Cameron • 21m<br /> I had two stints at EBC as a sales assistant. The first was in the late 90s when I was a student.<br /> Those were definitely the glory days at Bruntsfield &amp; a great group of people.<br /> The second was from 2018-20 at the Canonmills shop. That was a very different experience. I felt that the EBC 'brand' had expanded too quickly &amp; lost some of its original heart &amp; soul. However, the bike retail world had changed &amp; bricks &amp; mortar shops seemed like they were on the way out when cheaper deals could be had online.<br /> It's sad to hear of the demise of EBC but the only certainty in life is change so you either adapt or die. I hope the Bruntsfield shop can at least be saved.</p> <p>“ </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=6#post-386013 Fri, 02 Oct 2026 12:19:05 +0000 chdot 386013@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>“</p> <p>Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative, the workers-own store since 1977, is facing insolvency.</p> <p>There are reports coming in of staff being told they've been made redundant, effective immediat</p> <p>The Rodney Street store has closed its doors, the Head Office, Warehouse and online function will cease to exist and while the Alvanley Terrace and Newcastle store will continue to trade while they work through the insolvency process, the future looks bleak.</p> <p>A potential investor put forward an offer to help to stave off closure but the offer didn't include the Head Office, Warehouse and Canonmills staff und regulatory insolvency terms.</p> <p>So what will the future bring for this long-establish cyclists-owned business? The rumour is that a certain Scottish-based independent cycle store m take over the Bruntsfield operation...watch this space!</p> <p>.”</p> <p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1814861506743275&amp;id=100046583295720&amp;hpir=1" rel="nofollow">https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1814861506743275&amp;id=100046583295720&amp;hpir=1</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=6#post-385989 Tue, 29 Sep 2026 21:13:01 +0000 Greenroofer 385989@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I went into the Whitehouse Loan EBC a week or so ago to ask about a cheap and simple low maintenance bike for my rowing club to use on the towpath. Not only was the basement of the shop (which used to be <em>crammed</em> with bikes) half-empty, but the cheapest bike they had was £400 (from memory), and that's not a 'cheap' bike when <a href="https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/low-frame-hybrid-bike-expl-50-green/374041/c288m8996039">Decathlon have them for half that</a>.</p> <p>...and the thing about the Decathlon cheap bike is that it's no BSO: you know you'll get something that's value for the price, rather than being a heap of junk (the lifetime warranty for the frame is because it's made from <u>girders</u>...)</p> <p>It must be tough for shops that made their money from the lower end of the market. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=6#post-385988 Tue, 29 Sep 2026 18:18:58 +0000 LaidBack 385988@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Brands like Specialized do have their fans. Image here taken in EBC of the new Turbo Porto flanked by Garmin display.<br /> E-bikes have changed everything. Only one bike in the Specialized room was without assist.<br /> Every bike retailer spends loads of time working on tech stuff now. Cycling's USP is that you can move using your human energy effectively. Even Danny McAskill is promoting Bosch now.<br /> <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/66067108@N08/55404047148/in/datetaken/" title="Specialized Turbo Porto Cargo Bike at Edinburgh Bike Coop"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55404047148_d91ac5238d.jpg" alt="Specialized Turbo Porto Cargo Bike at Edinburgh Bike Coop" /></a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=6#post-385986 Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:30:25 +0000 chdot 385986@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>.”</p> <p>Nadine shares how Zyrofisher refocused on its core cycling roots, streamlined warehouse operations, and leveraged daily IBD call sheet feedback to remove purchasing friction for thousands of bike shops across the UK. Plus, drawing on her extensive commercial background at Procter &amp; Gamble (P&amp;G) and brand-side leadership at Endura and Berghaus, she breaks down why cycling must drop technical jargon to welcome a broader number of cyclists. </p> <p>“</p> <p><a href="https://bikebiz.com/podcast-nadine-thompson-zyrofisher/" rel="nofollow">https://bikebiz.com/podcast-nadine-thompson-zyrofisher/</a></p> <p>Whatever the fate of EBC (and many other shops in the past and future), post Covid, things are continuing to move in a new direction </p> <p>After 50 years of Spokes(and other campaign/ers) things are not where ‘we’ might like</p> <p>More people <em>do</em> ride bikes then 20/30/40 years ago, but it’s still not ‘normal’</p> <p>Cycling became a bit embarrassing so the buzz was around “active travel”</p> <p>On the face of it - progress </p> <p>In reality a loss of focus (all round) and increased smoke and mirrors about budgets and where money is <em>actually</em> spent, Scot Arthur, Voi (probably good for ‘cycling’ and ‘active t’, less so retail) and “the price of diesel” </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=6#post-385985 Tue, 29 Sep 2026 14:36:19 +0000 LaidBack 385985@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Very sad. LB bought 3 or 4 Thule Yepp childseats from them in last year just as it's handy shop with no postage required. No trade price of course but could reclaim VAT. Allowed me to do weigh up what they had cargo wise too. Lots of Terns. Gazelles. Specialized had one longtail too. Stopped buying Yepp as can get MIK equipped Polski seats instead via JBG.Stopped<br /> Market is extremely tough. I recommended them to a very local bike library for an item we couldn't supply. Soul cycles and Harts and others too are trying hard to meet market too so worth supporting. Unfortunately most bikes are like a commodity item so people will have shipped up from a warehouse just to save £30 after seeing the same item in a local shop (e.g. EBCs Giant Liv shop in Stockbridge).<br /> Needless to say our family purchased many Edinburgh and Revolution bikes from them over the years. That entry level market has Decathlon in it now and their offerings aren't bad. Average bike price is still very low while all other expenses have rocketed. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=6#post-385984 Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:41:59 +0000 steveo 385984@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>From what I've heard on a few podcasts they'd have been better sticking with Revolution than Spesh. I think the big brands having a hard time is sinking a lot of bike shops, stories of having to buy hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of pretty bad value bikes they'll probably never sell etc.</p> <p>Be a shame to see them go. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=6#post-385983 Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:22:27 +0000 Murun Buchstansangur 385983@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>So probably at least £2.7m losses over the last 3.5 years (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation). Not good... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=6#post-385980 Tue, 29 Sep 2026 08:05:02 +0000 chdot 385980@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55558366723_24113f7d72_k.jpg?s=eyJpIjo1NTU1ODM2NjcyMywiZSI6MTc5MDY3MjcyOCwicyI6IjM4OTIxOWY2MTg3MzRmMDcxYWM4OGU3NjE1ZmJhNDcwNDVjMmM5Y2MiLCJ2IjoxfQ"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55558366723_6675a8e4c3_c.jpg"></a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=6#post-385978 Mon, 28 Sep 2026 20:39:44 +0000 Arellcat 385978@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Also from the reddit thread:</p> <p><blockquote>The rent on the shop at Canonmills was extortionate. I think they kinda got conned in taking it in from the old owners.</blockquote></p> <p>and</p> <p><blockquote>The whole business is up for sale, reportedly, not officially, just news making the rounds on linkedin atm.</blockquote></p> <p>I found <a href="https://lnkd.in/p/eiYs67fc">this post on LinkedIn</a>:<br /> <blockquote>Another substantial UK bicycle retailer appears to be up for sale—but this is not simply another privately owned chain.</p> <p>A confidential sale teaser for “Project Tobermory” has just landed in my inbox. Although the business is unnamed, the description points strongly towards Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative.<br /> ...<br /> The sales trajectory tells a difficult story: an 11% decline in two years. Gross profit fell even faster, dropping 19%.<br /> ...<br /> The underlying value may lie in the brand, customer database, online operation, workshops and selected stores, not necessarily in preserving the entire structure.</blockquote></p> <p>I worked at EBC when they were taking their first steps into having "a website". At the great risk of sounding like 'old woman shouts at cloud', they lost something when they went online and built the factory and opened multiple branches and everything. Before that, EBC was just the one shop at Bruntsfield, and it had that friendly, cooperative thing going on. In the 1980s, the shop was very much about homespun touring and commuting, with brown shop coats replaced with cool grey t-shirts; in the 1990s it was all about mountain bikes, and no-one in the shop took themselves too seriously (except maybe me). In the 2000s we got Revolution and a change of colours from grey and green to black and red, and it all got quite serious about brand recognition. I don't know what happened in the 2010s, as I was spending most of my bike shop time visiting Laid Back or Biketrax. I did visit the shop a couple of months ago to look for a tin of Brooks Proofhide, and I couldn't have felt more out of place, and even if I had wanted to buy something, I'm not sure I could have afforded it.</p> <p>One thing though: EBC has had a bit of an odd track record stocking niche brands that came and went within two or three years. Nishiki, Riese &amp; Muller, Whyte...even bag companies like Chrome and Timbuk2. If it wasn't for mainstays like Cateye, Specialized and Kryptonite, I'm not sure EBC would be around even now. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=6#post-385977 Mon, 28 Sep 2026 20:07:59 +0000 mcairney 385977@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I've bought a number of bikes from EBC over the years- even my wife got a C2W bike from them. Their Revolution range was fantastic value for money and I still don't think there's anything quite as good for everyday cycling on the market as my old Revolution Courier was.</p> <p>I'd heard rumours that their Giant dealership was closing down but the Cannonmills store was safe, looks like they were unfortunately mistaken.<br /> I did find a good article on their website about the 'Revolution' brand and it's <a href="https://www.edinburghbicycle.com/info/blog/revolution-a-short-history">rise and fall</a></p> <p>They were a store I visited frequently when I lived at that end of town, but less so in recent times. I think the last time I was in their Bruntsfield store was signing up for the Tour de Forth! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=6#post-385976 Mon, 28 Sep 2026 19:47:43 +0000 wingpig 385976@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Yeek. Winterfeast won't be winterfeast without buying at least one discounted component from their website for store collection for eventual use a spring or two later. Whilst I've only bought three bikes from there new and two secondhand I'd hate to add up how many wee bits and wheels and bobs and CatEye AU100BSes I've had from there over the years. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=6#post-385975 Mon, 28 Sep 2026 19:08:51 +0000 gembo 385975@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Tough news. I bought my first tank off EBC - Cove - weighed a tonne. Indestructible and cheap. Went to a lad banged up at the Kiddie Jail near Montrose. then When CEC used EBC for the BTW Scheme I purchased two bicycles. And out with the BTW Scheme the infamous Spesh with Nexus 7. Did I ever tell you that story? Also Mrs Garto’s bike which is still going strong due to her never using it. Like a cross between the above mention Cove and a Raleigh 14. So five bikes. Loads of kit in their sales and even not in their sales. But lately it has just been gels whenever I have been borrowing the Smoothie bike.</p> <p>Seems if I was spending big on a bike I went Shand built in Livi and Bianchi from Harts. </p> <p>So I went Boutique? Sorry EBC </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=6#post-385974 Mon, 28 Sep 2026 18:50:14 +0000 Morningsider 385974@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Sad news indeed. Think I have bought seven bikes (which includes three kids bikes) from EBC over the years, plus countless other bits and bobs. Hope as much of the business (and jobs) can survive as possible. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20164&page=6#post-385973 Mon, 28 Sep 2026 14:31:45 +0000 Arellcat 385973@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em> it means that the <strong>Head Office function, Warehouse, Online</strong> and Canonmills Store will cease to exist</em></p> <p>That must be a big chunk of the business. </p>