CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Stuff

It pays to shop locally

(12 posts)

No tags yet.


  1. Mabs
    Member

    Being on the mainland and having access to such a vast array of bike emporiums it would of been silly not to shop locally.
    I bought my bike from Bike Trax and two days later I popped in to buy a rack and bag. Bought said gear and they popped it on for me within 10 mins. Chuffed!

    Anyways, I had a bit of a worry this afternoon as I headed to the Inoccent railway from KB. It seemed my front wheel was wobbling a bit. Shooting down Lady Road towards Peffermill I decided I better slow down and inspect the wheel.

    No worries there just the tyre had torn away from the beading and the tube was popping out like a delicious hernia. (Bit pants for a week old tire though!)

    Letting a bit of air out I cycled along to Bike Trax, popped in and got a replacement tire within 5 minutes. 5 minutes to admire a Brompton and talk to the owner about her steed. (She remarked on how lovely mine was in keeping with polite codes)

    They didn't have any 25c's on the shelf so down comes the other Ridgeback Solo, off comes the tire and into my hands.

    Alas though turning down their offer to fit it onto mine resulted in the tube popping 2 meters from my front door.

    So I'm chuffed I went to my local rather than the tinterweb as you can;t fault the service.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  2. Nelly
    Member

    Agree entirely.

    I always try to support my LBS when it comes to big purchases and servicing. When I got my road bike, I could have got it cheaper online, however where do you get the first service done, and who do you talk to about the incredibly irritating squeak off the bottom bracket ? Mechanic at Bike Co-op took it in 3 times and got it sorted - that kind of service is impossible on the web.

    However, I am in the incredibly lucky position to live 2 minutes walk from The Bicycle Works, and have Bike Co-op, Velo Ecosse, Biketrax, Bike Repair man, Bike Station all within a 10 minute radius.

    As regards costs, I needed 2 tyres for my winter bike last year and The Bicycle Works gave me a supply and fit deal cheaper than Wiggle could deliver - plus their advice was invaluable when I first got back into cycling, didnt make make me feel like a cretin, despite my (looking back) silly questions !

    I happen to think the same thing about most services though (we use the Dominion cinema, Eddies Fishmongers, the greengrocers in Argyle place and local restaurants whenever possible)- lets face it, if we dont use them, it is bye bye decent shops, hello charity bookshops !

    I understand people using the web if they live a bit further out though - must be invaluable if you live in the sticks.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  3. kaputnik
    Moderator

    However, I am in the incredibly lucky position to live 2 minutes walk from The Bicycle Works

    30 seconds for me :) (15 if I "run", whatever that is. I believe it's like walking, but in a high gear)

    Again agree. Various friendly local bike shops seem prepared to do odd jobs or hand out spares for nothing. For that I try wherever possible to spend my cycling money with them. I think a few of us made forum new year's resolutions to do the same!

    A certain local bike shop will hopefully be supplying my front rollers and next Brooks saddle when I get round to them.

    Also, wiggle doesn't have the comforting smell of rubber, WD40 and lubricants or any oily smears on the carpet :D

    Posted 13 years ago #

  4. ruggtomcat
    Member

    Dont forget the new place Pedals, who gave great service to my friend.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  5. chdot
    Admin

    Posted 13 years ago #

  6. SRD
    Moderator

    And aren't they offering half-price labour on services etc in Feb? Presumed this was a reaction to new competition moving into the neighbourhood!

    Posted 13 years ago #

  7. Nelly
    Member

    My boy (5) also loves bike shops, as he has a good old root around the floor and always comes away with an old allen screw, or knackered spring or something - which keeps him amused for a bit !

    Kaputnik, I could almost have done with the shop this morning if it was open that early - the gears were skipping all the way along Strathearn Road on the way to work, but seemed to cure themselves at morningside - wierd, just put it down to road crud and a lack of a decent cleaning regime on that bike......

    Posted 13 years ago #

  8. crowriver
    Member

    Had a wee browse around Evans and Bike Trax yesterday. Spotted Hoy bikes in Evans, some rather nice but pricey steel road bikes (£1500!), and millions of cross bikes: are they the new MTB? Also notced they have started stocking Ridgeback and Dawes tourers.

    Speaking of which, Bike Trax had some tourers on sale, at good discounts. A beautiful Dawes Galaxy Classic, but small for me (48cm); another Galaxy (in white); and a Ridgeback World Tour (56cm). I was drawn to the Pashley Tuberider, the selection of Bromptons and range of Carradice bags.

    I decided I wasn't quite ready for splurging on an N+1 yet, though I never say never...

    Posted 10 years ago #

  9. Kenny
    Member

    millions of cross bikes: are they the new MTB?

    I suspect they are, and IMHO they are a better all-round bike unless you really are going to go off-roading up mountains.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  10. gkgk
    Member

    I decided I wasn't quite ready

    An interesting three year gap in the middle of this thread. Good not to rush the bike shopping!

    Posted 10 years ago #

  11. crowriver
    Member

    I just thought there was no point making a new thread when I could just refurbish an old one. Recycling, innit? I am a Green after all...

    Posted 10 years ago #

  12. chdot
    Admin

    "I just thought there was no point making a new thread when I could just refurbish an old one.

    But sometimes old threads are just too far gone to economically restore.

    Think of the thrill of a shiny new N+1 thread!

    Posted 10 years ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply

You must log in to post.


Video embedded using Easy Video Embed plugin