Rideon in Rawtenstall Just up the road from Lee Quarry
And Crosstrax in Leeds
Mountain Trax near Wokingham. Splendid chaps.
RT Cycles, North Ayrshire.
In Edinburgh: [b]The Bike Chain[/b], and [b]The Bicycle Works[/b]. Have a very good relationship with both!
When I started out biking down in Chorley, [b]Merlin Cycles[/b] were excellent and very patient with my naivety at the time!
Pro-bikes Hucknall
+1
Scott Gamble - a belching farting legend of the peleton. Taught me how to build wheels, which has done him out of loads of money and saved me loads (must admit his are exceptionally good), and made me very happy. Pity he's a roadie!
Also, Leisure Lakes at Breaston (listed as Derby) - Andy, Luke, and especially Gavin are top blokes. Always happy to talk bollox, and never try to ram crap down anyone's throats. My bike-per-year shop.
Agree with Mr Agreeable but he failed to mention the best in the Bristol area Bad Ass Bike! My local, ace!
Gear in Glasgow,
iCycles in Innerleithen
Both have gone above and beyond for me.
[url= http://www.flyingfoxbikes.com ]Flying Fox Bikes[/url] in Alva.
I get on very well with the staff and they go more than the distance to get me a deal on whatever I'm after.
I thought it was just because they knew me, but no, they seem to do that for everyone...friendly bunch and always willing to help. Knowledgeable and sell some rather nice kit.
No longer local but
Harry Perry Cycles in Woolwich SE18 was always top notch, not so good for MTB but the own Paul is a proper club man and encyclopaedic knowledge of bikes.
+1 for the team at The Bike Chain Edinburgh...
+1 for Switchback Cycles in Knaphill.
Lloyds Cycles in Swadlincote for my vote.
They organise rides, get new people involved and will sort out your bike out ASAP at very good prices.
Mr Agreeable - Member
Spoiled for choice in Bristol - Bike UK, Psyclewerx, Bristol Bike Workshop, Evans, Spesh concept store, Strada, Zero G, Jake's Bikes and Mud Dock are all good shops within 10 minutes of the centre.
Mud dock are terrible!
zero G/spesh concept(same mob) are OK, looong waiting time for workshops though
Evans so so
Strada is very roadie biased (nowt wrong with that)
Psyclewerx have no stock
Cyclesurgery in filton and the bike station in yate are my best experiences so far.
SigmaSport in Hampton Wick / Kingston-Upon-Thames. Top end road bikes
[url= http://www.sigmasport.co.uk/ ]SigmaSport[/url]
Then Pearson Cycles in Sutton and now East Sheen (both in Surrey).
Cycleworks in Leatherhead + 1
The new BikeLab in Richmond have been very helpful, but I have to admit I haven't spent any money there.
westbrook cycles, stokesley. i mostly use internet sites but this is the best shop local to me.
A N Other one for Al @ Garage in Morley...only discovered recently and haven't tried the coffee or the sweets.....yet 😛
Race Co Cycles, Stourbridge
Two Wheels, Stourbridge
Leisure Lakes, Wolverhampton
They've all been good with me.
I thoroughly wouldn't recommend Cycles 4U Direct in Pensnett, though. Avoid!
Edinburgh:
YEAH! BIKE CHAIN! BRAP BRAP BRAP!
knobblies, Exmouth.
I don't live near there any more but they are good guys.. 🙂
Cycleworks Haslemere. Really helpful guys with great service.
Head for the Hills in Dorking
BikePlus in South Croydon
Freedom Cycles in Brighton
Plush Hill Cycles, Church Stretton.
Small but friendly & knowledgeable.
Their main strength lies in their ability to endure untold levels of faff 😉
Beware the stealth sales technique of Allen though.... 🙂
Bike Lab in Richmond. Can't recommend them highly enough.
Bike scene in guisbrough great shop and staff are knowledgable,proffesional but still friendly. never had a bad experience in over 15 years.Just got a great deal on a stumpy elite from them (cheers andy). Also jay at westbrooks in stokesley is always great to deal with , top bloke.
Wheelcraft at Clachan of Campsie.
Much cheapness ,no nonsense approach to bikes.
Not sure if anyone else has mentioned but Head for the Hills in Dorking are great. My LBS is 5 mins walk from the house but would rather drive 30 mins and give them the business. Good service, not interested in ripping you off and last time they gave me some crank bros spokes free rather than charging.
Thatto Cycles St Helens - nothings too much trouble
Mud dock are terrible!
zero G/spesh concept(same mob) are OK, looong waiting time for workshops though
Evans so so
Strada is very roadie biased (nowt wrong with that)
Psyclewerx have no stock
Cyclesurgery in filton and the bike station in yate are my best experiences so far.
Agree about Mud Dock.
Have found Zero G in Bedminster to be very helpful.
Evans - Good for the occasional bargain.
Never been to Strada, so can't comment.
Psyclewerx - limited experience but they've had what I wanted (pads, chain device, lock-ons).
Cycle Surgery in Filton is like Evans, but smaller.
Another few to consider are:
Fred Bakers (Stokes Croft) was always the shop for me when growing up (mostly road/touring). There's also Cyclelife - good for entry level stuff and workshop.
Harvey's Cycle Exchange in Henleaze is one of those old-fashioned bike shops. Very knowledgeable chap runs it who is always willing to help if he can. Proper customer service.
With regard to workshops, I think the increasing popularity of cycling means that many shops are running at capacity. It's a case of shop further afield, be patient, or learn to do stuff yourself where possible.
BIKE is still my go-to shop though.
There always Cash Converters, innit?
+1 for Cycleworks Haslemere
for anyone in North Manchester/ Lancs - DJ Cycles in Holcombe Brook. never lets me down! always honest and fair too.
Mud dock are terrible!
Care to elaborate?
They've got a decent range of stuff (last time I went in there it was very Bontrager-centric but there's nowt wrong with that, it's reasonably priced and it works), and if you want to try out clothing, rather than just buying blind online, they are one of the few shops in Bristol that carry more than a couple of jackets on a rail at the back.
Quite a few ex-staff have gone on to bigger and better things in the bike industry, I can think of two off the top of my head who are working for Felt and Hotlines. One of their current staff came and helped us with an event on Sunday despite having done a 100-miler the day before.
When I moved to Bristol ten years ago I lived next to the shop that is now Strada. It was half cheap and nasty BSOs, half fishing tackle. Neither the staff nor the owner seemed to have any interest in bikes and when I went in there to drop off a poster for a trail maintenance day they refused point-blank to put it up. That was a bad bike shop...
And one I forgot - Chaos Cycles in St Nick's Market - kings of the cheap 'n' cheerful.
Never been to Bad Ass Bikes but Box's post-PC Facebook updates make me laugh a lot.
Certini, Saltash.
Great guys, great service and usualy get what i need instead of the "we can order it and get it next week" speech that is common to many bike shops.
In my experience, mud dock are not very helpful at all. The staff just haven't been interested when I've gone in (not even a hello on entry). I have found stuff at more than RRP and they charge an extra 10% on cyclescheme. I do like the cafe though but again is expensive for what it is.
It's the people that make the shop IMO, if they don't have the right staff then the shop will suffer.
Cyclesurgery in filton despite being a chain have always been attentive, friendly and helpful to me which is why they've got over £3K from me this year. Normally some good bargains too (which can't be said for Evans).
Garlands in Bedminster is by far the best shop in the Zero G chain, good stock and helpful.
The Bike Chain guys however are just big softies. Out for a night ride yesterday and Mark had been invited - " too tired / got to be home early" - but what did I see - the lads sat outside the pub with beer and fags as I was on my way out for the aforementioned bike ride.
Big softies they are
Back on Track in Malvern - near the clocktower at the North of the hills. A very friendly bike shop - also the source for route advice on the hills (though remember local hills for local people).
http://www.backontrack-bikes.com/home.html
Tredz: both the Swansea and Cardiff branches have helpful, well informed staff.
Pop into the Cardiff branch all the time for accesories and get 10% off everything 'for being a regular'.
We've bought two bikes from the Swansea branch in the last few years: a my-first-MTB £300 Specialized for my girlfriend, and more recently a new full sus for me. Got helpful, patient and impartial advice on both, and a big chunk off the shop floor price with haggling 😀
The Bike Chain guys however are just big softies. Out for a night ride yesterday and Mark had been invited - " too tired / got to be home early" - but what did I see - the lads sat outside the pub with beer and fags as I was on my way out for the aforementioned bike ride.
Incorrect - my kitchen is being gutted and replaced and that is why i needed to get home to sort things out.
Of course there was 10 mins spare for a pint though. 😉
(p.s. what you doing on Sunday?)
Another vote for Biketreks in Ambleside
Can't believe nobody has said Terry Wright Cycles in Market Deeping - Paul and Ben are simply two of the most helpful and knowledgeable people in the cycle industry.
i go to Leisure lakes to feel stuff up, try things on etc - then go home and buy online miiiles cheaper! 😉
Hargroves in Fareham, Hants.
Always good service. (Wish the place had air-con though!)
Spoiled on the north side of Glasgow...
WHEEEEELCRAFT! Big Al at the Clachan of Campsie institution and miracle of consumer economics. No matter how obscure a part you're looking for, it'll be "in that drawer there, laddie!" The man even had an [url= 
]Oor Wullie cartoon[/url] in his honour.
Just don't be in a hurry and don't ask for black spokes.
Also lucky enough to have Solid Rock Cycles nearby at Balmore - Mark, David and Robin are super duper chaps who'll always go the extra mile for you, especially for racing needs. Not uncommon to order something off their website in the afternoon and for it to be waiting at home by the time you get in. Some lovely kit in the shop too.
Samways in Derby. Great lads. They even offered to call silverfish when I brought my old Cove in for advice. Can I aso mention Stanley Fearns? They are ace!
Langdale Lightweights on Westdale Lane in Nottingham
Willy Bain on the Southside of Glesga
http://www.bicyclerepair.co.uk/index.html
Another one for BikeTreks but also Ghyllside Cycles in Ambleside who are great for hard to find bits that no one else has in stock and chat
Nowhere decent within 20 miles which really is into MTBs. Tri-Store is helpful and good but that's it. The others are incompetent, inefficient or mainly preoccupied with their hire business.
Another vote for Bike Scene in Guisborough, It's like Santa's grotto in there (no elves though) & everyone knows what they're on about. (I'm biased cos I get coffee)
The chaps at The Bike Shop in Skipton are always very helpful and have done quick jobs for free a few times. Try to use them when I can but the interweb prices make it hard to use your LBS all the time.
Stif's also close to me and always offer superb service. Lot's of bike p*rn too!
Street life in lowestoft is great the owners annoying at worst a doosh but no harm but howard who works there is a legend and a really good laugh goes out of his way to help and makes a cracking cuppa tea 😀