Thanks Ox. We’re out again tonight by the way.

I have noticed Stirling town centre to be a little “downgraded” thanks to some of the ***** walking around but that happens everywhere. Stirling has a couple of theatres for your culture, including the uni and MacRobert, a few good pubs (although not as many with real ales etc. as there should be) and some great restaurants – Wilawan Thai, Khushi’s Indian, Smiling Jacks Mexican etc. etc. I’ve never had any problems in Stirling at night and it’s fine during the night although the Raploch side of the town always appears to have more job dodgers than elsewhere.

I do need a job that pays so maybe I should apply to be a tourism officer. Good suggestion. Or maybe I have an ulterior motive and I’m so far ahead of myself that I’m hoping folk will move up and buy all my stock…! It’s nice to be surrounded by Whytes, Yetis, Morewoods, Lapierres etc. until you realise they’re costing you money!

Shimano or Spiuk. Lakes for serious quality at low cost. However, recommending someone shoes is tricky – all shoes are different sizes, both length and width – I like narrow shoes simply because I have narrow feet. Try some on at some shops?

Me.

I’d have a Whyte 901 rather than an 809. The 805 is an awesome bike but the 809 is too expensive. 901 has longer forks with 20mm and amazing frame. Our best selling bike last year.

Riding my bike around rather than on Dumyat.

Give us a shout so we can show you some trails when you’re up.

Hey Ally, another one bites the dust unfortunately – about a week or so ago I heard.

I’m no estate agent but I think you’ll get a nice house in the likes of Causewayhead, which is between Stirling and the Wallace Monument. Nice area and great houses. You should also consider Torbrex and King’s Park if you want walking distance. Lots of options.

You’ll be surprised how much riding there is – I hate it when folk round here drive to places to go biking when the trails on their doorstep are so much better. More room for me I suppose. Give us a shout at http://www.flyingfoxbikes.com if you need any more info – just use contact form and I’m happy to help.

Depending on budget – try King’s Park area for houses. A friend is selling his beautiful house right in the centre of town too, which fulfills your description of desired house.

Otherwise, there are a few nice places in Riverside or obviously Bridge of Allan or Cambusbarron. If you’re looking for cheaper then try the villages nearby as I have but mostly they’ll be smaller houses or new houses such as mine.

Some folk are gonna hate me for this (as they think the trails are theirs). You can go anywhere but recommended is the following:

Ben Cleuch, Dumyat, Menstrie Glen, Silver Glen, Dollar Glen. Uni Woods, Mine Woods (and loads more round this area). North Third – technical and scary, great times. Cambusbarron Woods. If you prefer riding on smooth motorways, try Carron Valley a few miles away, go to 7Stanes, Laggan and even a day trip to Aviemore is not so tricky. The Ochil hills get my vote all day long though.

WOW! I moved to Stirling ages ago and now live in the Hillfoots (Menstrie but my shop is next village in Alva). I LOVE it.

House prices are a mess but not as bad round here – it’s superslow but it’s happening and it’s more stable price-wise than even just down the road.

Riding is phenomenal. A total hidden gem which is why I’m now doing holidays and MTB guiding. You can get onto serious trails within ten minutes in almost any direction from most areas around Stirling.

Did I say it’s good yet?

Okay, but we provide a same or next day service within 15 miles of the store so there are options. A friend feels the need to battle with his colleagues to get stuff from me that he delivers to them the next day and then they pay later. Still doesn’t work!

Binners – I have a friend who’s the same guy – I see him looking around and then downing the last half pint so he can buy his round when everyone else has an almost full glass. Maybe I’m as bad – I don’t let him away with it so always order a pint from him regardless of how much is in my glass (always half full, I’m positive, it just doesn’t come across as such!).

derp – PRIDE? It’s gone, gone I tell you! Alright, I’ll go to Morrisons – their meat and fish actually looks like, well, meat and fish.

Why am I spending so long as a forum gimp on my day off? Time for a bike ride. Give us a shout through the contact us form on our website – we’re selling everything off so make us an offer. Now that’s business sense!

Good point. Me neither. Off to Tesco for me.

hora – I cannot buy locally unfortunately. Price has something to do with it but I also buy from the rep who offers me the best service. For example, I can buy Shimano cheaper elsewhere but I buy from the guy who always answers his phone to me and gives me advice and pops in the shop to help us out from time to time. Would it not be poor of me to then buy from his competitors after using him?

Glad you said that – because this is exactly the same scenario as customers with local bike shops and online retailers.

Well Hora, you’ll get your shakeup. But when you or someone else comes in and actually want to buy a Rockshox fork from me and then state what they can buy it for on the Internet, do I turn them away telling them honestly that I’m losing £150 if I sell it to them or do I just cut my losses and help my cashflow? I’ve got no business sense, so I really need to know.

I’m only quoting what I have experienced, I’m not saying it’s the same everywhere. Sometimes we win – we had a guy take out our Cube Fritzz demo bike over and over again because his forks were kapputt from day one and the online retailer didn’t do anything about it for over two months.

I’ve got loads of customers who are incredibly loyal and only spend with us, we have some who spend on the internet and with us and we have some who are disgruntled because they get to try out our bikes and kit and then without speaking to us first, run off and buy them on the Internet. We doubtlessly have many others who never come in at all because my chat is dire.

We try but we cannot please everyone.

lebowski – life does not owe me a living. However, if everyone buys from the Internet then pay a few quid (or nothing as has been suggested) for the bike shop to fit the part then how long do you think this practice will continue?

I buy from a butcher because they’re local, have better advice and have local meat, not water injected bacon from Denmark or Holland, where they’ve been feeding their pigs cr4p. If I buy from a supermarket all the time, I will effectively ensure that my choice in the future diminishes, i.e. no choice.

I don’t hate CRC or anything like that – good luck to them, they’ve taken risks and they’ve found a niche and done well in it. Watch what happens in the future though – coupled with Hotlines and them now taking exclusive CRC bike brands, you’ll see some big changes. I believe as early as next year. Nothing wrong with them as a company though – customers are funding them so right not make the next step?!

hora – really – inefficiency and lack of investment. I’ll take you on a tour if you wish sometime. The only way to get prices down to Merlin and CRC levels is to buy OEM kit (we’ve had a good few suspension forks in from online retailers, whose warranty has miraculously disappeared. We have called the distributors and they won’t do anything about them because of removed serial numbers or serial numbers that denote they shouldn’t be in the UK). Scary and I’m not prepared to do it.

The whole trade needs a shake-up. I sold a Yeti ASR-5 frame to someone for very little. I explained at the time that the headset was free as we did not have a reducer crown race as we had had tapered forks on it. I phoned the supplier, emailed, phoned the works. I was told I did not have an account with them (I had only bought around £1.5K of parts from them before but still enough to realise, surely?). I battled and battled to get this part and still did not succeed. The guy tried another local bike shop (he asked permission from me first!) and they had similar problems.

The amount of times I have had to battle with distributors to buy parts is phenomenal.

With regard to not investing, we have invested big time. Inefficiencies are set down by the trade in general but I have found ways round them some of the time. Business brain – I would never flatter myself and say I’m better than I am but I have had an okay career and run my own company from 2004.

Our shop is looking to the ill-informed to provide its income? No, I really don’t think so. If you feel that you should buy everything online then you’re lucky – it will go that way soon enough. Before I had a bike shop, I built a relationship with a local shop and got regular discounts, free or cheap labour etc. Their location wasn’t ideal and their internal issues meant they closed in the end.

When I set up my own, I founded it on the good principles I had learned from that shop and also delivered on loads of demo bikes, demo lights, saddles, clothing etc etc. I thought it was the best way to compete with online. I think I’m wrong. A few weeks ago, a customer had a tyre sidewall blow out. He did not believe me as to which tyres were best so I took a tyre of a demo bike and allowed him to try it first. He came back two weeks later with a visibly more worn tyre in his hands stating that I “had a problem” as he liked the tyre and had found it cheaper online (cheaper than my trade price). That was the first time I gave in and told him to buy it off the Internet. It’s not isolated, unless I’m laundering money because of dodgy activities on the side, why should I sell goods at less than what I buy them at? I’m not intelligent but I understand that concept, just.

Hooja – we had a demo but sold it to make way for new 2011 stock. Should be in soon.

Just wondering therefore – if everyone would prefer to buy from the Internet, what’s the point of shops? Maybe everything will go this way? I am never resistant to change, but regardless of whether I’m in or out of the trade (and right now I’m thinking being OUT of the trade is the best option), I don’t look forward to not meeting people, seeing what I’m buying, demoing it etc. That was so big for me, I set up my own shop. Now I feel like a right t1t!

Forme bikes?

They take 160 180 200 so easy to use other rotors and mounts no issue. Their rotors have been infallible for us on different bikes.

However, they’ve been a pest when you have to change the pads – normally demand a bleed. I have a shop so I don’t care. I swear by them – they’re the best brakes I’ve ever used. They’re so powerful I don’t know if you’ll need to make any changes out of the box.

Oh.

Even though they’re Crank Bros, and there’s reasons to dislike as a shop owner, mine have been perfect. Super true, never faltered and no kidding, they feel “different” on the bike!

They cost a bomb and they ain’t everyone’s cup of tea.

Is cynicism a necessity for this forum? I’ve tried new stuff as I sell it. Some of it has been really brilliant. It has not changed my life. If I could sell the shop contents to cynical folk, that would change my life.

None. Fat Albert! It’s a v personal question so you won’t get your answer.

Replicate what your dad would have done when “he were a lad”. My dad threw 12 stone haybales 12ft high. I ain’t that manly but my buddy asked for a big old used tractor tyre from a farmer, took it to his house and now lifts, throws it and so on. You use all muscle groups, do core work while you’re there and you’ll generate real strength rather than showy gym muscle.

Advise Thomson, Coves in particular often come with RaceFace 30.0 seatposts and they all appear to creak (although I don’t believe the diameter has any effect!!!). We’ve sold Thomson and it’s cured it every time. Shimming has been fine for me in the past but I would always buy the right size if you can.

No advice to this one (although I do have a big black book so we really do need to start revenge killings soon). However, you should know to take it to Kendo – he’d sort you out as part of our monthly rate.

We have 3 bikes sitting around now for over 3 months. We are entitled to bin them but haven’t. Guys won’t pick them up.

However, it’s a little different – this takes up much of our space.

Seriously?

No choice. Naked.

I moved to Scotland from Northern England. Have lived in Stoke-on-Trent, Wales, Switzerland and Germany before too. If my only choice is UK, I wouldn’t live anywhere else. I’m in Stirling, midges aren’t really a problem. Summer is May and September, the bits inbetween are not always very dependable.

Further north… I would definitely live near Aviemore (which DOES have a lot of midges in summer).

I love Scotland. Had to go to Englandshire this wknd and I only started feeling better when I saw the Scotland sign (weather brightened up too!!)

Spicy’s obviously got more travel but Steve at I Cycles uses his Foxy as a do it all bike – downhilling, XC etc. Pedals well, rear shock placement really works.

As a shop, it’s difficult to go for Mondraker as they’re on the up but haven’t quite taken off yet so I haven’t backed up my feeling and experience with masses of stock..yet…

I’d recommend them though in a big way, wee bit short for me but I’m totally on my own in always liking steep, long bikes!!!

If you’re riding real trails then neither great. If you are riding dry dusty trails – Ardent. Advantage okay but only used it on rear.

Strange, I use Schwalbes on 819s and no probs. Other brands can be painful though. I had to use C02 once to be fair. No harm using a compressor, then it’s easy.

DON’T use C02 as I did though – it causes the latex solution to solidify. D’oh.

Great, bought ours from Bothy Bikes. Enough info to have a good time (but don’t forget Lairig Ghru!).

We had some great Reynolds wheels in that we were doing for around £200. Don’t think we have any more left but they’re superlight and dead cheap. I think they were Shadows. Someone will have them. They were like hotcakes so we might not have any pairs left.

Smartwool socks. Job done. In extreme cold, I use Gore Windstopper socks over the top.

Just noticed this — shredder, you really don’t want 80 – 120mm forks do you? I like really steep bikes and yet I’ve been keeping my 100-130 forks around 120mm most of the time so I don’t think you’ll need less than 100mm at any time.

Forgot to say – I’m riding it. What a tool. Morewood Zula. Love it (took me a few rides to get it but suddenly I’m riding much faster and with a bigger fork, it’s dynamite on the descents).

1981 – think we’ve got exactly that fork left from last year. Will dig about and see if we haven’t sold it. Been thinking of it for myself but haven’t seen it for a while…!