Just seen on Facebook, The Missing Link bike shop in Droitwich, owned and run by Mboy of this parish has called it a day.  From a personal level this is sad news for me.  Mark always looked after me in the recent years.  Building some epic wheels and a fountain of knowledge.  A sad loss to the local community I’m sure.

I hope that whilst the decision was obviously hard, it’s not too mentally and financially draining on everyone.  Im genuinely gutted. 😢

Shame. I (internet) ‘knew’ Mark from a car forum originally. He always was willing to offer advice and seems a genuine chap. I wish all the best for him in the future.

Ouch – best wishes to mboy and his staff

Yeah sad news, good luck Mark going forward

It’s probably got something to do with the local council taking the piss and putting lease prices up.

I only went in there once but Mark is a top lad and I’m pretty sure the town will miss the shop.

Shit news.

🙁

Yeah, just spotted this! Awful news.
Mark’s been a thoroughly good guy. He’s sold me a few bikes over the years at fantastic prices, but even more useful has been his advice to me and to the forum! He’s contributed back into the community far more than most people in the trade. No doubt the local community in Droitwich will feel the ripples too. There was always someone there looking for advice when I was visiting, from the mundane to the very niche. Sad news when another great LBS shuts down. I wish Mark and the rest of the guys all the best! Cheers Mark.

PS: Hope you stick around riding bikes without engines too.

Chin up mboy!

🙁

Aye, sad news. My bestest road bike came from Mark/the Missing Link.

Cheers for the support so far guys. Will write a longer more detailed response later to explain the hows, the whys and the wherefores, but it’s good to know that I’ve made a positive difference to some people’s cycling careers!

In the meantime… Without going into too much detail on here and getting myself into trouble, you’ll have to excuse me as I’ve got some bikes to sell… Quite a few nice ones too if anybody is in the market for a bargain! Scott’s, Whyte’s, a couple of Merida’s etc… MTB, Road, Gravel etc. Get in touch if your credit card is ready to swipe!

You’ve always come across on here as a thoroughly decent bloke, always helpful and willing to give advice.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do in the future.

Hope this works out well for you.

Bugger, Mark sold me the nicest road bike I’ve ever had (KTM) was very good value too.

Good luck with what you do next!

Sorry to hear that Mboy. I’ve passed the shop many times as I have friends who used to live in Droitwich, just never made it in as it was never at a time you were open but I heard really good things.

Bike trade retail is hard these days. Hopefully it doesn’t hit too hard financially you find something else to do fast and you get a bit more time to ride in the future.

Again sad news on hearing on Mboys sad situation. I sort of drifted off MTBs 6 years ago due to other activities but thanks to Mark selling me a very lovely KTM Revelator Sky he got me hooked on being a roadie tosser..
Always sad to see a local shop go down but even sadder when it put on so much for the local bike community, either road or MTB. Will miss the Thursday fast boy rides out( not really, they really hurt!) And the slightly more sedate Sunday road runs, plus the wyre forest off road bimbles..
All the best to Mboy for the future what ever direction he goes.
An aside note.. FFS support your lbs when ever possible..CRC/ wiggle might save a few quid but when it’s 17.35 on Saturday night and you need a new gear cable, widget etc to keep you riding all sunday for that monster ride you planned months ago, best of luck..I can personally attest to mboy driving some 150 miles round trip to pick up a bike for me that the supplier had delivered to the wrong shop, and that was his day off too!

All the best Mboy, don’t let the bastards grind you down.

FFS support your lbs when ever possible..CRC/ wiggle might save a few quid…

Online is more about convenience for me. Lost count of the times I’ve called both of my (well stocked) LBS’s for them to tell me they’ll have to order the part in. You then google and find it and order it because you need it.

Classy.

All the best Mboy.

All the best Mboy.

Yeah, sad news. Don’t know him other than on here and always a decent chap.

Online is more about convenience for me. Lost count of the times I’ve called both of my (well stocked) LBS’s for them to tell me they’ll have to order the part in. You then google and find it and order it because you need it.

You do know why this is and the reason shops are closing down ? Clearly not.
Quite an insensitive thing to post given the circumstances

So errrr yeah…

MASSIVE thank you guys for all your kind words and support, it means a whole lot to me! It really does… Mic, I totally forgot until you mentioned it that it was your bike I had to go fetch on my day off. Not a problem sir, happy to have helped a friend and customer such as yourself.

For Trailrider Jim… It’s certainly not about the online vs LBS debate for me… Those boys are in the SHIT too! The entire industry is changing, and not in a good way. I’ve called time now whilst I can retain control of how it happens, rather than go another 12-18 months deeper in and run up HUGE debts with suppliers, and end up being dragged kicking and screaming from my own shop by the Receivers… As it is, I have very small debts to my suppliers that will be paid back almost immediately, and then everything that’s left in my shop is paid for, so I can sell it on as I please.

Cokie, yeah don’t worry mate, I’m actually looking forward to a bit more time to ride them actually! Just ordered some new wheels for my Evil actually, and got to rebuild my Colnago soon and get out on it…

IHN, that’s still an awesome bike you have there! I miss mine, even if I bought the wrong size (ANYBODY with a 55cm Ritchey Road Logic frame they are selling, LET ME KNOW! My 53 was just too small sadly).

Got a handful of bikes left if anyone’s after anything, but it’s slim pickings now, a few half decent road bikes, some hybrids, a couple of MTB’s, that’s kinda it… Got lots of decent tyres in, clothing, grips, helmets, all sorts of other stuff though. If you’re in/around Droitwich, pop in, I’ll put the kettle on…

Thanks again for the support guys!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2gjWi7T]108_0807[/url] by Martin Robbo, on Flickr

I know you made a good fist of it, good luck with a new venture!

IHN, that’s still an awesome bike you have there!

You’re dead right love 🙂

Plus, you delivered it to me at work, and anyone who will willingly travel to Swindon deserves some kind of positive karma.

Hope you get something sorted chap.

Martin, that photo is more depressing than me closing my shop! I was 4st lighter then! Dear lord what a weekend that was though… Good times!

Si, shouldn’t admit too loudly but I’m “Swindon experienced” already, spent a bit of time down there years ago consulting for a company I used to work for, even started seeing a girl from Swindon for a little while back then! LOL. I try to keep quiet about that though, for fear of getting invited back and not having a valid enough excuse to turn the invite down! 😉

I guess the only good news is that it was your choice and you’re in control.
What’s causing the issues for the big online retailers? Who’s causing the issues and making the profit?

Not sure how fast stock is shifting and if you have capacity, but might be worth creating a google docs spreadsheet with what you have for us lot further afield.

Good Shout Cokie, maybe share on here Mark?  Given the amount you have given to the forum community over the years.  Happy to share with the boys locally and via FB groups to help you move on some stock before you bolt the doors.

I guess the only good news is that it was your choice and you’re in control.

It’s not the only good news, but it’s definitely the standout bit…

What’s causing the issues for the big online retailers?

Same things that are causing issues for LBS’ ironically…

Who’s causing the issues

We’re friends on Facebook mate, you’ve no doubt seen my political rants! 😉 Seriously though… My average customer hasn’t had a payrise in line with inflation for at least 3 years. Then you have the value of the £ vs the Euro… Their real term wages are worse than they’ve been in ages. I sold one couple a bike yesterday, he was a Fireman, she was a Nurse, it was a present for their son’s 16th Birthday. They both said that with the cost of living spiralling out of control, they are both FAR less well off now than they were 14 years ago when only he was working, and she stayed at home bringing up a newborn and a 2 year old… The most common conversation I had with my loyal customers last year was along the lines of “sorry Mark, that new bike we talked about, I am going to have to put it on hold til at least next year, I just can’t afford it at the moment with the cost of living going up and up and I haven’t had a pay rise in more than 2 years, I’ll see how things are next year”… And guess what… Those same customers have been into the shop this year to apologise again, giving the same reason this time too!

But it’s OK… The Brexit Dividend is going to make the Super Rich even richer, and Johnson is going to give the super rich a further tax cut, paid for from the Brexit emergency fund and an increase in National Insurance for you and I! **** Great isn’t it!

and making the profit?

Mike Ashley and the receivers…

Not sure how fast stock is shifting

Stock has shifted fast to be fair, once I announced I was closing… Everybody wants a bargain! Anyway… Just got a few bikes left now, I’ll bung em on a google docs spreadsheet in a bit… Still got loads of Maxxis Tyres, DMR/ODI grips, DMR/HT pedals, a couple of Exposure Lights, quite a bit of roadie stuff etc.

Ah, bad news mboy, glad you can get out on your terms though. Good luck with whatever you do next.

For anybody that was asking, here’s a link to the bikes that are left currently… As you’ll see, a LOT has now gone…

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1twXulNrqyVQy3XV__RN5uc4Fv5u4A8Ak/view?ths=true

Many thanks

Mark, just clicked on the link and it’s limited permissions.

The link should work now guys if you want to try it again…

Sorry for that!