Pinarello shop in Manchester …..

Ever been to Chris Paulson’s in Rochdale?

I recived a very, very cool reaction when I actally had the cheek to ask if I could take a bike in with me anything.

FTFY

Blimey bland. Bitter?

That bit of Deansgate is mid-life crisis central. You’ve also got Richer Sounds and the Scientology Shop within a few yards.

Isn’t Richer Sounds just a place to buy cheap tellies and hi-fi’s? Certainly is round here.

Roadies are strange anyway so a shop like this does not suprise me. Sounds even worse then the Specialized concept shop in Harrogate. at least the staff in there are reasonable.

I love the fact you can buy mega expensive bikes like this, and why shouldn’t people who can afford them be able to get them from a shop which clearly has made an effort to display them nicely?
You forget that there is a lot of people who earn a lot of money and like to spend it. Nowt wrong with that and catering to that market is obviously something worth doing.
I’m glad there are people who can afford these bikes, same as the expensive cars. They’ve done well and they want a nice bike, fair play to them. I couldn’t care less if they were faster or slower than me (probably faster!).

You’ve also got to remember that cycling isn’t really an expensive sport when you compare it against some other ones like motocross or skiing (do that regularly and it’s the trips abroad that make it expensive) or even motorsports such as rallying. So dropping £5k on a bike isn’t really as big a deal for some people as it may be for me. I know amateur musicians with £10k+ of bass guitars/saxophones/drums (that’s just 3 I know) so it’s not unusual to spend such an amount.

Isn’t Richer Sounds just a place to buy cheap tellies and hi-fi’s? Certainly is round here.

Yes, is everywhere, which is why it’s usually in a, er, ‘less desirable’ retail location.

A few years back, that part of Deansgate was full of empty units. Is there anything in the Great Northern, even now?

Why is it mid-life crisis central then? It’s just a place to buy a telly for a good price 😕

Scrap that, I don’t even care.

Richer Sounds sell pricey stuff too.

TBH, the posh bike shop doesn’t bother me at all.

I still like to pop into Ducati showrooms and have a browse, even though I’ve no intention of buying one.
And don’t Pinawhatsit do cheaper bikes too?

We saw a couple in Evans, new cyclists, spend well over five grand between them on bikes and kit last year.
We did have a wry smile, but the sales staff said afterwards that it wasn’t unusual.
Hope they’re still riding.

Great Northern had a cinema and a Hooters!

Yep richer sounds do the posher stuff, in their window when I walked past was an 84inch tv… didn’t see a price though

in the bike industry you make approximately 80 percent markup on everything especially bikes

sounds cobblers to me, maybe a few items at 80%, I can believe there’s a lot on innertubes 😉 and high end plastic frames but 80% on everything? Sauce?

and high end plastic frames

don’t let Blant at On One hear you say that. He wants us all to think they are pricey to produce.

sounds cobblers to me, maybe a few items at 80%, I can believe there’s a lot on innertubes and high end plastic frames but 80% on everything? Sauce?

How is it cobblers…the entire tinternet says its so bike shops make millions and their owners are on the Bentley waiting list

PS on a serious note those scott’s that cost 6k a pop then get reduced to 2999 in the sales must be doing something reet

in the bike industry you make approximately 80 percent markup on everything especially bikes

I f**kin’ wish!

You can call it jealousy if you want but as a hand-wringing liberal there is something unsettling about such conspicuous luxury. I own several Apple products and am as guilty as anyone but I still find Apple stores pretty sickening cult-like places. Shopping malls like the Trafford Centre just seem like a giant Temple of Mammon.

I f**kin’ wish!

i think i need to work on my sarcasm

you make approximately 80 percent markup on everything

A bunch of tubes may only cost £50 but you’ve got to pay a man to wield them together, someone the ship them from workshop to storage, storage to shop (plus any international/national distribution in between) and some minimum wage spotty youth then has to do the hard sell on a bunch of cynics from here and yeah the finished product will cost considerably more to buy but I don’t think anyone “makes” 80% at any point.

i think i need to work on my sarcasm

I thought it was pretty obvious FWIW.

i think i need to work on my sarcasm

possibly

or is that the Edinburgh defence? 🙂

or is that the Edinburgh defence?

nah i just figured we hadn’t had a manufacturers are ripping us off thread on here for a while

They obviously need somebody on the door dressed in après-ride Rapha to screen customers and refuse entry to the portly MTB’ers dressed in primark looking for a cheap pair of gloves, this approach seems to work for Prada and Gucci.

Compositepro yeah ok, obvious when pointed out, well done 🙂

refuse entry to the portly MTB’ers dressed in primark

cheeky bugger! I sport aldi wear on the bike BHS off actually!

They obviously need somebody on the door dressed in après-ride Rapha to screen customers and refuse entry to the portly MTB’ers dressed in primark looking for a cheap pair of gloves, this approach seems to work for Prada and Gucci.

This sounds harsh but they probably now know how to spot a customer/mark and a complete buffoon/happy shopper like ourselves.

D0NK isn’t fat (he does get turned away from ‘Primani’ for looking too scruffy though).

Lancashire riders will be interested to note that a bike mechanic named Spike is opening a boutique in the middle of Whalley, which is about as “Ribble Valley Chic” as you can get. At least, the boutique now has security grilles through which you can just about make out some frames hanging up but it’s been like that for a month now with no sign of it actually opening. Whalley is the kind of place where people don’t buy anything that’s not expensive ‘cos it can’t be any good.

On Chris Paulson in Rochdale, we experienced his customer skills about 18 years ago when we were mountain bikers and we christened him “Lurch”.

The guys at the Harrogate Spesh Concept store are pretty decent and looked after me very nicely when I bought my Roubaix, setting it up, changing the white saddle and tape for black and giving me a 12.5% discount. I’m quite happy to spend my money there and like the feeling of security that comes with the guarantee.

D0NK isn’t fat (he does get turned away from ‘Primani’ for looking too scruffy though).

guilty as charged m’lud 😳

I know 3 people who work in the shop, 2 ride dogmas and the other one rides for the Node 4 team and rides a pinarello as well. Phil Griffiths wouldnt have had it any other way. Wages arent horrendously poor either or so I believe. Personally I’ve never been in I’m waiting for the colnago/rapha shop to open then I’ll consider leaving the house to shop.

Re “the fell” in Whalley, It will be open when they are ready and not before, if you want to experience their service then they also own pro tool cycleworks near bashall eaves.

They’ve got Assos Factory Outlet stuff downstairs as well as discount Pinarello’s.

I visited last month and was very impressed.

On Chris Paulson in Rochdale, we experienced his customer skills about 18 years ago when we were mountain bikers and we christened him “Lurch”.

One go at the Paulson experience was enough for me to decide never to go back. Especially when I heard similar horror stories from other MTBers.

And LBS staff.

And distributors’ reps.

Fortunately Cycle Addicts has opened recently (OK, 18 months ago) and he’s a nice chap, so I go there instead.