A bargain at Halfords.

[vernon]

Just finished the fine tuning of a Carerra Vulcan MTB for middle child who
had his Carrera Subway One stolen through his neglecting to lock it. It's
not exactly a lightweight bike but first impressions are that it will be
robiust enough to cope with his abuse and neglect. It's certainly better
specced than the £150 quid gas pipe special that he had in mind.

The local Bike Hut in Kirkstall, Leeds has always been half decent and I've
found the staff to be a tad more knowledgeable than the one's I've
encountered in the Leeds branch of EBC. I was surprised to see a female
member of staff in the Bike Hut section - only the second female employee
that I've encounterd in a bike retail environment. I wonder why there
aren't more.

By the time I'd been issued with vouchers, the net cost of the bike had
dropped to under £200. On getting home looking up the bike reveals it to be
highly recommended by one of the MTB comics in the entry level range.
Carerra have a hbit of getting good write ups at the entry level.

Son now wants to go riding with me when I do some gentle off roading - hope
his enthusiasm lasts. His last active phase lasted all of three weeks.

 

[Paul Boyd]

On 12/11/2007 21:35, vernon said,

> By the time I'd been issued with vouchers, the net cost of the bike had
> dropped to under £200. On getting home looking up the bike reveals it to be
> highly recommended by one of the MTB comics in the entry level range.
> Carerra have a hbit of getting good write ups at the entry level.

Halfords do have a bit of a dodgy reputation. but it was a colleague's
Carrera that rekindled my interest in mountain biking. They're not
actually bad bikes, so long as you're not doing the MegaAvalanche

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

 

[vernon]

"Paul Boyd" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On 12/11/2007 21:35, vernon said,
>
>> By the time I'd been issued with vouchers, the net cost of the bike had
>> dropped to under £200. On getting home looking up the bike reveals it to
>> be highly recommended by one of the MTB comics in the entry level range.
>> Carerra have a hbit of getting good write ups at the entry level.
>
> Halfords do have a bit of a dodgy reputation. but it was a colleague's
> Carrera that rekindled my interest in mountain biking. They're not
> actually bad bikes, so long as you're not doing the MegaAvalanche
>
I didn't entrust Halfords with the assemble of the bike

A Carerra Kraken was my re-entry vehicle (sic) to cycling four or five years
ago - never been disappointed with any of the Carerra MTB range that I've
purchased.

 

[[email protected]]

> I didn't entrust Halfords with the assemble of the bike

....is the correct answer.

> never been disappointed with any of the Carerra MTB range that I've
> purchased.

The Carrera Hybrids I bought this year for my wife and my 8 year old
daughter have been similarly good. They'd cost a lot more if they
weren't
associated with Halfords.

fboab

 

[Jonathan Campbell]

vernon wrote:
> Just finished the fine tuning of a Carerra Vulcan MTB for middle child who
> had his Carrera Subway One stolen through his neglecting to lock it. It's
> not exactly a lightweight bike but first impressions are that it will be
> robiust enough to cope with his abuse and neglect. It's certainly better
> specced than the £150 quid gas pipe special that he had in mind.
>
> The local Bike Hut in Kirkstall, Leeds has always been half decent and I've
> found the staff to be a tad more knowledgeable than the one's I've
> encountered in the Leeds branch of EBC. I was surprised to see a female
> member of staff in the Bike Hut section - only the second female employee
> that I've encounterd in a bike retail environment. I wonder why there
> aren't more.
>
> By the time I'd been issued with vouchers, the net cost of the bike had
> dropped to under £200. On getting home looking up the bike reveals it to be
> highly recommended by one of the MTB comics in the entry level range.
> Carerra have a habit of getting good write ups at the entry level.
>
[...]

I was in my local Halford's last Sunday. In the till island, which
contained two tills, were five staff. There was space for two. A
customer (one customer) needed a refund, or the price of an item needed
modifying or something. One till (A) would not perform this act, so the
very competent and leaderly seeming young woman bagged the other till
(B). This threw the spotty youth normally operating till A and he and
till A became inoperative. Till B became then inoperative for the
duration of the change price research project. This project had to be
performed by the operator leaning over the shoulder of the spotty youth
who was formerly operating till B.

The four extraneous people in the till island could do little more than
try to look anonymous --- they did their best to ignore the queues
building up.

Result: total inaction for five minutes or so, and another millimeter of
enamel ground off my teeth.

This was in a Halford's established about two years ago. The bike place
is in a partially shambolic state. You would be unwise to buy anything
in it that was not shrink-wrapped or you could fully check yourself ---
missing parts would be likely.

I was in a newly opened Halford's a month ago. Bought a few odds and
ends. Got speaking to one of the floor staff and established that we had
a common bond. The store looked well. I mentioned that Halford's would
have a reasonably poor reputation amongst cyclists, but that, given the
location, and his knowledge of the local community, he could maybe make
an impact by getting to know his trade, and by getting known as someone
who would sort someone out with a bike, or parts, or whatever. He
answered that he had significant retail experience and that he knew what
I meant, but ... the shop had four 'managers' and it was perfectly clear
where floor staff stood as regards initiative.

His 'training' had been a number of days in the shambolic store
mentioned above. Requests for additional training resulted in the
promise of more days in the shambles.

That's the main problem with Halford's; you can smell incompetence the
minute you cross the threshold.

Best regards,

Jon C.

 

[Josey]

"Jonathan Campbell" <[email protected]> wrote in message

> That's the main problem with Halford's; you can smell incompetence the
> minute you cross the threshold.

I've not used the one in my town since they removed the bike racks "due to
vandalism". They left *nothing* I can lock my bike to, not even a tree.
Where is the sense in that?

Jc.

 

[vernon]

"Jonathan Campbell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> That's the main problem with Halford's; you can smell incompetence the
> minute you cross the threshold.
>
Perhaps a minor re-wording: "That's the main problem with some branches of
Halfords...."

Not all Halfords' branches are staffed by incompetent till operatives. Some
actually employ folk with cycling specific knowledge and skills and offer a
decent level of service.

I've not been particularly impressed with the knowledge and competence of
staff at the Leeds branch of the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative. They appear
to have a skill base no better than some of the poorer bike shifting
retailers.

 

[Jonathan Campbell]

vernon wrote:
> "Jonathan Campbell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> That's the main problem with Halford's; you can smell incompetence the
>> minute you cross the threshold.
>>
> Perhaps a minor re-wording: "That's the main problem with some branches of
> Halfords...."
>
> Not all Halfords' branches are staffed by incompetent till operatives. Some
> actually employ folk with cycling specific knowledge and skills and offer a
> decent level of service.
>

Agreed. Apologies to the competent stores and employees. That's the
impression that I meant to convey: some decent products, potentially
competent staff, actually competent staff in some branches (though I did
not state that); perhaps all that in spite of 'management'.

I do shop in Halford's and will continue to do.

Best regards,

Jon C.

> I've not been particularly impressed with the knowledge and competence of
> staff at the Leeds branch of the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative. They appear
> to have a skill base no better than some of the poorer bike shifting
> retailers.
>

 

[Helen Deborah Vecht]

"vernon" <[email protected]>typed

> The local Bike Hut in Kirkstall, Leeds has always been half decent and I've
> found the staff to be a tad more knowledgeable than the one's I've
> encountered in the Leeds branch of EBC. I was surprised to see a female
> member of staff in the Bike Hut section - only the second female employee
> that I've encounterd in a bike retail environment. I wonder why there
> aren't more.

You obviously didn't hang about round Two Wheels Good/Freewheel (Call
Lane, Then Briggate, then Headingley) in the 80s and 90s then...

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email protected]
Edgware.

 

[vernon]

"Helen Deborah Vecht" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "vernon" <[email protected]>typed
>
>> The local Bike Hut in Kirkstall, Leeds has always been half decent and
>> I've
>> found the staff to be a tad more knowledgeable than the one's I've
>> encountered in the Leeds branch of EBC. I was surprised to see a female
>> member of staff in the Bike Hut section - only the second female employee
>> that I've encounterd in a bike retail environment. I wonder why there
>> aren't more.
>
> You obviously didn't hang about round Two Wheels Good/Freewheel (Call
> Lane, Then Briggate, then Headingley) in the 80s and 90s then...
>
I was heavily into motorbikes then

I remember TWG and indeed own a hybrid sold by them. TWG disappeared of the
face of the earth in the 90's.

From what I understand Orbit Cycles was owned by the same person that
founded TWG. Orbit Cycles was based in South Yorkshire, Sheffield?? and has
also been sold on.

 

[Paul Boyd]

Josey said the following on 13/11/2007 21:44:

> I've not used the one in my town since they removed the bike racks "due to
> vandalism". They left *nothing* I can lock my bike to, not even a tree.
> Where is the sense in that?

My local Halfords does have a bike rack, but it's positioned so that the
bike is hanging out into a car parking space. If there's a car already
there you have to lock the bike across the end of the racks, thereby
making it useless for more than one bike. If there isn't a car already
there and you park your bike in the normal way, you risk finding it has
become somewhat shorter because a boy-racer has shot into the parking
space ignoring the bike.

I tend to walk there as it's only a mile away, if that...

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

 

[[email protected]]

On Nov 13, 9:45 pm, "vernon" <[email protected]> wrote:
> "Jonathan Campbell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> news:[email protected]...
>
> > That's the main problem with Halford's; you can smell incompetence the
> > minute you cross the threshold.
>
> Perhaps a minor re-wording: "That's the main problem with some branches of
> Halfords...."
>
> Not all Halfords' branches are staffed by incompetent till operatives. Some
> actually employ folk with cycling specific knowledge and skills and offera
> decent level of service.

I know one of the Saturday lads at the local Halfords. Extraordinary
knowledge of £1,000+ bikes, but wouldn't be seen dead on anything
Halfords sell. AFAIK, he hasn't bought anything with his staff
discount apart from a saddle for his mum. Unsure about his bike
maintenance abilities - I've seen him take great care setting up the
brakes on his bike, but after years of failure he's now given up on
trying to fix punctures and just buys new tubes. Am I prejudiced in
thinking someone who can't mend a puncture isn't a proper bike
mechanic?

Rob

 

[squeaker]

On 14 Nov, 08:39, [email protected] wrote:
> Am I prejudiced in
> thinking someone who can't mend a puncture isn't a proper bike
> mechanic?
>
No!

 

[Henry Lockwood]

On 12 Nov, 21:35, "vernon" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Just finished the fine tuning of a Carerra Vulcan MTB for middle child who
> had his Carrera Subway One stolen through his neglecting to lock it. It's
> not exactly a lightweight bike but first impressions are that it will be
> robiust enough to cope with his abuse and neglect. It's certainly better
> specced than the £150 quid gas pipe special that he had in mind.
>
> The local Bike Hut in Kirkstall, Leeds has always been half decent and I've
> found the staff to be a tad more knowledgeable than the one's I've
> encountered in the Leeds branch of EBC. I was surprised to see a female
> member of staff in the Bike Hut section - only the second female employee
> that I've encounterd in a bike retail environment. I wonder why there
> aren't more.
>
> By the time I'd been issued with vouchers, the net cost of the bike had
> dropped to under £200. On getting home looking up the bike reveals it to be
> highly recommended by one of the MTB comics in the entry level range.
> Carerra have a hbit of getting good write ups at the entry level.
>
> Son now wants to go riding with me when I do some gentle off roading - hope
> his enthusiasm lasts. His last active phase lasted all of three weeks.

I can second the recommendations - I rode a Vulcan for 10 years, even
though I outgrew it by the time I was 19. It was robust, hard-
wearing, and had enough flex that mild off-roading was no problem at
all. Reliability was excellent.

 

[Rob Morley]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> Am I prejudiced in
> thinking someone who can't mend a puncture isn't a proper bike
> mechanic?
>
Possibly - many commercial mechanics won't bother to patch a puncture
because it's quicker/easier/more cost-effective to simply replace the
tube. I patched a puncture for someone the other day, but I can't
remember the last time I did that - of course I patch punctures on my
own bikes, but that's because I'm a cyclist, not because I'm a mechanic.

 

[[email protected]]

On Nov 14, 11:00 am, Rob Morley <[email protected]> wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> [email protected] says...> Am I prejudiced in
> > thinking someone who can't mend a puncture isn't a proper bike
> > mechanic?
>
> Possibly - many commercial mechanics won't bother to patch a puncture
> because it's quicker/easier/more cost-effective to simply replace the
> tube. I patched a puncture for someone the other day, but I can't
> remember the last time I did that - of course I patch punctures on my
> own bikes, but that's because I'm a cyclist, not because I'm a mechanic.

I agree it's hardly worth the effort commercially, but I feel that a
bike mechanic ought to be able to do it in the comfort of a warm
garage, even if they don't bother very often.

Rob

 

[MJ Ray]

Paul Boyd <usenet.is.worse@plusnet> wrote:
> My local Halfords does have a bike rack, but it's positioned so that the
> bike is hanging out into a car parking space. [...]
>
> I tend to walk there as it's only a mile away, if that...

LBS Somerset Bike is closer and nearer other interesting shops, unlike
the big boxes by Halfords. By the way, Tesco's bike racks are about as
stupid and they claim 0 cycle parking spaces on their recent planning
application - I posted a link on www.wsmforum.co.uk under 'Current Issues'

Regards,
--
MJ Ray http://mjr.towers.org.uk/email.html tel:+44-844-4437-237 -
Webmaster-developer, statistician, sysadmin, online shop builder,
consumer and workers co-operative member http://www.ttllp.co.uk/ -
Writing on koha, debian, sat TV, Kewstoke http://mjr.towers.org.uk/

 

[Paul Boyd]

On 14/11/2007 20:40, MJ Ray said,

> LBS Somerset Bike is closer and nearer other interesting shops, unlike
> the big boxes by Halfords.

Ah, but I didn't say I used Halfords as an LBS! Somerset Bikes is my
preferred choice

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

 

[Andy Morris]

vernon wrote:
> "Helen Deborah Vecht" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> "vernon" <[email protected]>typed
>>
>>> The local Bike Hut in Kirkstall, Leeds has always been half decent and
>>> I've
>>> found the staff to be a tad more knowledgeable than the one's I've
>>> encountered in the Leeds branch of EBC. I was surprised to see a female
>>> member of staff in the Bike Hut section - only the second female employee
>>> that I've encounterd in a bike retail environment. I wonder why there
>>> aren't more.
>> You obviously didn't hang about round Two Wheels Good/Freewheel (Call
>> Lane, Then Briggate, then Headingley) in the 80s and 90s then...
>>
> I was heavily into motorbikes then
>
> I remember TWG and indeed own a hybrid sold by them. TWG disappeared of the
> face of the earth in the 90's.
>
> From what I understand Orbit Cycles was owned by the same person that
> founded TWG. Orbit Cycles was based in South Yorkshire, Sheffield?? and has
> also been sold on.
>
>

TWG started as a partnership of Gareth Rainford, Simon Gershion and
myself some time around 1985 in Call lane Leeds. We were later joined by
Rachel Rhodes and Paul Warburton, became a Freewheel franchise, moved to
Boar Lane when the lease ran out, and opened a branch in Sheffield.

In 1991 I left to pursue a career messing around with computers, I'm not
sure of what happened then, but I think Simon went on to buy Orbit
cycles and move them to Sheffield and buy up the Freewheel name.

Rachel and Paul were both excellent mechanics, I think maybe the
majority of mechanics we ended up employing were women, this was not as
a result of any policy, it just ended up that way.

A lot of the trade is very sexist. It was a policy of ours to try to
serve women customers well, both because it was the right thing to do
and because their money is as good as blokes.

The cycle trade was great fun, but very hard (for us) to make a decent
living from, I've nothing but admiration of EBC.

--
Andy Morris

AndyAtjinkasDotfreeserve.co.uk

--
Posted via NewsDemon.com - Premium Uncensored Newsgroup Service
------->>>>>>http://www.NewsDemon.com<<<<<<------
Unlimited Access, Anonymous Accounts, Uncensored Broadband Access