If you use your local store what is your general impression of them? I went into one today looking for a specific tool and was told that the part the tool fitted didn’t even exist. I have the part waiting in my crc basket and they have been around since 2014 ish. It just shocked me a bit as it was the head mechanic.

Chain bike shop. I don’t call them an LBS. Depends a lot on the staff and who’s there on the day. The mechanics are better trained than the Halfords monkeys, but had similar with them in some places, yet one place the guy took the time to explain using a torque wrench properly and maintaining them which I was quite pleased with. He seemed to know one end of a bike from another. Most the guys in there seemed to be actual riders and quite keen.

The sales staff on the floor in some places know about the stuff they sell (unlike in Halfords) but had many who don’t know anything else or even really understand bikes. Resort on asking someone else or looking it up on a computer.

Used only as a click and collect place. Get money off via quidco and I can sneak my parcels home.

When looking for new helmet and shoes very poor range I thought.

I’ve had to tell a lady that the bike they were selling her was far too large for her.
Also heard a salesman telling a man that he needed front suspension as the frame would snap if he didn’t.

IMHO – Cheltenham branch is shite , most of the staff are kids who dont know their arse from their elbow and the manager hides in the back when they cock up -IMHO .

My local one is mostly road bikes. Quite a good stock of kit and parts and the staff seem fairly informed, though they’re not that good at listening…

“I’m looking for some really seriously warm gloves” “Oh OK, well we have these vented ones, tehy’re really good” “Are they seriously warm?” “They’re really comfy, I have a pair myself!” “How warm are they?” “I’ve been using them for about 6 months now and they still look like new” “WTF is wrong with you?”

Like any chain, it depends on which branch you use. I’m very spoiled, as my local Evans is the Gatwick warehouse, and everything is just tickety-boo there.

Been quietly impressed by the Nottingham store. Had two bikes from them, a few bits and pieces, used them to click and collect. Picked up a £45 Altura top yesterday for £14 yesterday. No problems with staff or advice that I have heard when I’ve been in the shop.

I like them! My local one (Guildford) has a better range of bikes and stock than any other bike shop I know and they price match! Just bought a charge cooker maxi from them which was reduced by about £200! Click and collect, it arrived the next day and the shop staff were all friendly and helpful!

I will happily buy from them in the future, nothing wrong with them just because they are big! We all seem to like crc and wiggle, at least Evans have a high street presence! I have also shopped at Halfords and found them fine as well, either I am just lucky!

Weirdly I get all the spannering done on my bikes by a local shop that only does bike servicing, they are based near where I live! Cyclesphere in Bordon, great blokes and decent prices!

Glasgow = crappy advice, refused to order in a bike unless we could collect the same day (it arrived Weds, we could get there Saturday) due to lack of space.

Edinburgh = one lady rushed off her feet with a queue of customers, two other staff chatting to mechanic with cuppas in hand. But they did sort out the bike and had it ready, and the lady was really good.

Guildford branch, went asking about full face helmets. Oh we don’t stock those, no demand. Okay, said was looking for some to try on. Oh we can order some in but you’ll have to pay full price up front for each!

Their regular helmet selection was a bit poor also. Mainly aimed at roadies and family types.

Though will say when they first opened they were enthusiastic and were even offering to price match popular web sites even without asking to price match.

My local Evans is a five minute walk from where I work (Central London) and is more geared for commuters. As above, pretty poor range of the stuff I like/need so use them for click and collect, which is a great service.

Chain bike shop. I don’t call them an LBS.

Used only as a click and collect place.

The Cardiff store is like this for me. Some of the staff are good but some are awful too, pot luck on which one you get! The young girl who’s in there on Sundays is actually really knowledgeable and approachable unlike the regular mechanic guy who seems to see customers as a nuisance to him fiddling with bikes! He actually put me off buying a cheap commuter bike by his attitude, they had it in stock and I needed a bike for the next week’s commute but driving for a few days extra was more appealing than talking to him for a second longer.

I use them for the stuff my LBS can’t get or if I need something for the next day as they open late and are just off my regular commuting route.

They’re great. Saved me countless times.

I pop into the Waterloo store quite often plus it’s one of their oldest stores – I needed a pair of downtube gear cable adjusters for a road frame and this is a ‘specialist’ road store. Told I couldn’t buy them, they only came with frames i.e. I needed to buy a new frame! F**kw*ts..

I find them very hit and miss regarding advice.

I have bought a bike off them without any problems and the communications etc were spot on. That was at the Trafford Chill Factor store.

The click and collect and price match service are great, but I tend to just find a cheap place online, ring gatwick to price match, pay over the phone for in store collection. Saves standing there whilst the young kid finds out if they can price match, has to find a swipe card etc……

IMHO – Cheltenham branch is shite , most of the staff are kids who dont know their arse from their elbow

I’d say that was a fair assessment. Click and collect only for me too.

Terrible experience with the Nottingham branch. Sold me a £2000 Trek road bike that was too small for me that runs a seat mast not a post. Having never used a road bike before I wasn’t sure about sizing and took their advice on sizing. Anyway, I used it once and then the winter set in and I tucked it up in the dining room.

Pulled it out in the spring and after about 40 miles realised I couldn’t get the seat high enough as I needed.

Phone call later had one of the staff having a go at me and accusing me of lying about the fact I’d not used the bike for 4 months etc etc. Really aggressive and rude to me.

I just wanted them to supply a longer seat mast. The manager then spoke to me and agreed to order one in but I’d have to pay £60 for it. Said he’d call when it arrived.

Never heard from them to say it arrived.

Ive since sourced one from the U.S and wont be using them again despite the fact I would have happily put a £1000 bike to work voucher their way every year since.

It’s a shame as they are on my way home from work.

The Nottingham store, and in particular their Castleford store, have been completely exemplary when I have used them. I’m a former LBS worker and from what I saw they really cared about bikes and people that want to ride them.

Oh, the Sheffield store was great too. Gave me some free zip tie cable guides because they didn’t have stick on ones in stock to see me through.

One of the workshop guys in the Manchester velodrome shop bodged a loose cassette/cracked freehub emergency for me when I had a race just round the corner – no charge, did it on the spot. V impressive service and saved me a DNS.

Other than that, I guess I have such low expectations of bike knowledge, passion, or experience from chain store staff that I wouldn’t be arsed. Even with good LBS people you can only expect so much – you’re armed with in depth knowledge about your one bike, when they need to know about 1000 bikes.

They vary from branch to branch, but generally they’re not what they were.

Most LBS I find (the ones I’ve been to) are pretty much useless to me. They either clueless or just not professional enough or way too pompous. I phoned one once to see if they can cut the carbon steerer tube for me and they said they can’t do it because they don’t do those kind of small things. Evans did it for me for £15 same day too as I explained them my situation.

Evans cycles one near my home has a brilliant head mechanic (a super guy and foreign as well) and extremely knowledgable.

Cycle Surgery is pretty good too and I like the ones I went both in the city where I work and also in Camden and I usually find them very knowledgeable. Just because they don’t know one tool doesn’t mean they don’t know what they are doing.

I went to cycle surgery once and asked about a clip that clips on the tube for servicing disc brakes and they never heard or seen what I am talking about until I showed them the video. No where sells that part apparently.

Durham branch is very good. Workshop open on a Sunday. Replaced two spokes on an Alex 29er rim and trued it up ready for a ride in the afternoon for £18. They are the worst rims I’ve ever had by the way.

Absolutely useless bunch of twunts, lying and trying to make you look like a tool. Luckily for me someone from this parish had a hand in sorting me out.still i will never ever use them again which is a crying shame as the bike I got from them is fantastic and only available via themselves

My mate had a wheel built by them once, it literally fell apart on the first ride lol

Agree with Cheesybeanz… Cheltenham branch is appalling. Got my bike from there due to decent sale offer. It wasn’t PDI’d properly, sales kid tried to convince me that it’s normal for wheels to have a slight buckle. Shame as wanted to use them as a LBS – wouldn’t help me with a fork return to SRAM as didn’t have receipt. In fairness one of the mechanics seems to really know his stuff and another one of the workshop team used to work in Williams and has always been good when I’ve had a problem but the rest of the staff let the store down IMHO.

Variable service and knowledge in chain store staff shocker!

@phil40 – Other punctuation available!?.,:;

Another happy customer of the Nottingham store.

They are friendly helpful and knowledgeable.

What more could you ask for?

Canary Wharf one is my local one, and I’ve seen/heard all of the above in that store. Had a few run in’s on
.
1)cleat and shoe combo’s – despite what picture on the box showed, that combo wouldn’t work
2) threaded co2 canisters – apparently don’t exist
3)inner tubes wide enough for cx tyres aren’t made
.
As above, kind of useful for click and collect if they have what you need at the right price. Even then, waiting to be served and then some monkey rummaging all over the shop, I wonder at that…..

Used Reading branch quite a few times and the staff are excellent; helpful, chatty and really enthusiatic. Even bought a bike off them once (buying a bike from an actual shop! Who knew?).

As with any chain store though if someone at head office decides that branch doesn’t need to carry a particular item – then they dont – and not much the branch can do about it.

Always had good service from Evans store in Bristol. Have used them more recently as I didn’t realise before that they’ll price match. A few times they’ve automatically checked CRC without me even needing to ask. When I wanted some 5-10’s they were really helpful with trying them on / talking about their experience with them- and also offering up a viable alternative (specialised) to try on to compare.

Also had sensible conversations about 1×10 and handlebar widths. Happy to use them more and more.

I should add in fairness I’ve only ever used the one branch and won’t be going back. Others may indeed be fine 🙂

I had a good experience buying my mountain bike from the National Cycle Centre branch. When they opened the Preston store I booked my road bike for a service. They did a good job and I was happy with the price. That was the last good experience from them.

Earlier this year I booked a service for my road bike. After a hard winter it needed some TLC and I knew it would cost a few quid. I booked the service for the week I was away on holiday. We agreed that I would collect the bike 8 days later and while I was away to email the quotes for the work that needed doing and have the bike ready for my return. While I was away I didn’t get an email so I called and was told they had not looked at it but would do the quote asap. I got the quote when I landed at Manchester airport. They quoted £250ish for the parts and labour. I was happy with that so called to ask when it would be ready, I was told it would be at least another week. Following a call from the manager who didn’t seem to care I collected the bike and took it to another bike shop for the work.

I won’t rush back.

As with any branch it’s hit or miss , the Leeds and castleford branches have been good for me, but I tend to click and collect, and know what I’m looking for, if you have a tech question use the website questions on crc or evanscycles and type in a question,
The one thing I dislike about Evans click and collect is the, damn sticky labels they stick on items, impossible to remove, my brother got a few cheap bottles and they were ruined, but Evans gave him replacements free and he kept the originals

As above I live close to the Gatwick warehouse so use it purely as a way to get bits quickly if I don’t want to mail order. However I find I am using them more and more as their pricing has become a lot more competitive in recent years plus matching of all the other big UK players.

I cannot say I have ever used the workshop or asked for advice because I research what I want before hand, but the staff are generally pleasant. Sometimes try and engage them in some bike chat whilst paying, but they never seem that interested.

Never been in their shops but double Tesco voucher value and price match are ace. Use them often and they’re as good if not better than the competition online.

Use Evans a lot like others for click and collect in central and south west London. Their prices are generally quite competitive and they carry decent stock. Staff ar generally chirpy and try to be helpful in my experience. I agree about helmets and shoe choices being limited but I’ll go elsewhere for those. Also many of the central London branches, rather understandably, have a heavy road and commuter bias. I’ve found their workshop services to be quite variable depending on the branch, and this is exacerbated by the turnover of staff that chains like Evans have.

By way of comparison I’ve also been let down by independent LBSs with very good reputations who are overwhelmed with the amount of work they attract and take on. This makes for grumpy overworked bike mechanics and poor service. BTW I’m not one of those people that wants things done yesterday but I think it’s okay to expect a job to a professional standard to a timescale that was agreed – or at least a courtesy call to say it’s not going to be ready and establish a new time to collect.

This is one of the things that got me into learning how to do most of the jobs myself and buying all the euipment I need to do the jobs as they crop up. I’ve learnt how to build complete bikes, bleed brakes etc. I would now only use a LBSs workshop services for things which involve expensive specialist equipment that Is uneconomic for me to buy e.g. facing frames for BBs, steering and brake caliper mounting, and anything to do with wheel truing and repair (an area I wouldn’t trust myself to do to a standard I’d be happy with).