J
John B
Guest
It was an afternoon of drooling yesterday when a trip to London allowed
visits to half a dozen bikie emporiums.
The son (now 13 coming on 14) needs a new bike - probably a hybrid that
can be used for some sporty rides like the Round The Island, trips out
with his friends, and rides to buy me cakes down the local shop
First stop was Evans near Waterloo - a mass of fat tyres and indifferent
staff. Little impressed, so it was around the corner to their other shop
in The Cut. Stock was better here, and a lot of nice roadie machines
which also showed the growth in bikes for smaller ladies. Only thing
that took our fancy was a Brommie bag - Carradice, not the rather
cumbersome own brand Brompton make). No suitable bikes stood out for son
though.
A bus took us over to Holborn where the large new CycleSurgery store
beckoned. Lots of bikes here, but again London must be covered in
extreme off-road mountain trails and downhill tracks from the stock. The
staff were again pretty unethusiastic to providing any form of
assistance.
Condors was next - and the best service. Here drooling was the rule but
the staff were also very helpful and not at all pushy.
First choice was the Colnago Ferrari CF2 - apparently only about a dozen
in the UK and at around six grand. What a beautiful machine but just a
tad outside our price range ;-)
Quite who would ride such a piece of art goodness knows.
Here we saw customer service at its very best. A lady of 60-ish who
hadn't cycled for over 40 years was having all the benefits of a £250
town bike explained to her with lots of patience and support. She left
completely enthused. I found out she only lived 12 miles up the road
from me so she also left with a cycle-training leaflet.
Meanwhile son was settling on the Marin 'Urban' range and in particular
the Muirwoods or the Novato - fairly standard hybrids but with the
option of racks and guards for touring rides. Does anyone have
experience of these?
BikeFix, just a short walk away was next, with its laid-back 'real' bike
shop atmosphere. Son doesn't want a 'bent - shame, as many were here. I
particularly liked the look of the Grasshopper and the Scorpion, but he
dragged me away :-(
BTW - lots of Brommies here for off-the-peg sale.
Last stop was the usually ubiquitous Action Bikes under Charing Cross.
Lots of Treks and Marins, again the latter taking our eye, but the staff
left us to wander around and sit on machines - they were more interested
in watching a downhill race on the TV.
As an aside, following comments here, we didn't see one cyclist jump a
red light - all were waiting patiently.
So we were off home - armed with a heap of catalogues and an idea of
what type of bike will be best.
We'll probably be over to our LBS soon to make an order, or back to
Condors
John B
visits to half a dozen bikie emporiums.
The son (now 13 coming on 14) needs a new bike - probably a hybrid that
can be used for some sporty rides like the Round The Island, trips out
with his friends, and rides to buy me cakes down the local shop
First stop was Evans near Waterloo - a mass of fat tyres and indifferent
staff. Little impressed, so it was around the corner to their other shop
in The Cut. Stock was better here, and a lot of nice roadie machines
which also showed the growth in bikes for smaller ladies. Only thing
that took our fancy was a Brommie bag - Carradice, not the rather
cumbersome own brand Brompton make). No suitable bikes stood out for son
though.
A bus took us over to Holborn where the large new CycleSurgery store
beckoned. Lots of bikes here, but again London must be covered in
extreme off-road mountain trails and downhill tracks from the stock. The
staff were again pretty unethusiastic to providing any form of
assistance.
Condors was next - and the best service. Here drooling was the rule but
the staff were also very helpful and not at all pushy.
First choice was the Colnago Ferrari CF2 - apparently only about a dozen
in the UK and at around six grand. What a beautiful machine but just a
tad outside our price range ;-)
Quite who would ride such a piece of art goodness knows.
Here we saw customer service at its very best. A lady of 60-ish who
hadn't cycled for over 40 years was having all the benefits of a £250
town bike explained to her with lots of patience and support. She left
completely enthused. I found out she only lived 12 miles up the road
from me so she also left with a cycle-training leaflet.
Meanwhile son was settling on the Marin 'Urban' range and in particular
the Muirwoods or the Novato - fairly standard hybrids but with the
option of racks and guards for touring rides. Does anyone have
experience of these?
BikeFix, just a short walk away was next, with its laid-back 'real' bike
shop atmosphere. Son doesn't want a 'bent - shame, as many were here. I
particularly liked the look of the Grasshopper and the Scorpion, but he
dragged me away :-(
BTW - lots of Brommies here for off-the-peg sale.
Last stop was the usually ubiquitous Action Bikes under Charing Cross.
Lots of Treks and Marins, again the latter taking our eye, but the staff
left us to wander around and sit on machines - they were more interested
in watching a downhill race on the TV.
As an aside, following comments here, we didn't see one cyclist jump a
red light - all were waiting patiently.
So we were off home - armed with a heap of catalogues and an idea of
what type of bike will be best.
We'll probably be over to our LBS soon to make an order, or back to
Condors
John B
