Coolest Bike Shop Ever?

[jimmy5willy]

Worth a visit for the coffee alone
I think its £4 for a true.£8 for a build/rebuild and £20 if the build is using new spokes[including S/Steel spokes of course]

Where's this? Big Al's?
Those rates are amazing. For a moment I actually thought about posting a bunch of stuff for him to put together.
Shame it's sooooooooo far away :cry:

 

[Mr Panda]

A bit OT but - an aging motorcycle racer once told me - don't worry about things to make your bike more powerful - look for things to reduce friction in the drivetrain. If your wheels revolve freely without undue impediment, friction or roughness, any standard engine can win you a race.

OK a bit simplistic but the guy used to spend hours making his wheels rotate as freely as possible - and he won races so who am I to question the logic?

 

[FMJ]

It's a trend over here to go with big flash, box-type stores. My friend's old shop he was the service manager of is now an official Trek Store, complete with grand opening featuring Greg Lemond as guest speaker (I admit it, I went to that because they were doing a memorial for my buddy, and Lemond was a great listen). Problem is, it reminds me of an Apple store......and I don't want to go in those either.

My LBS? I walk in and the owner has a sarcastic quip ready, and he expects one back. There's stuff lying everywhere. Boxes of loose handlebars in the change room. Forks stuffed in the drop ceiling. Wheels everywhere. Piles of tires. You can actually get hurt going into the back, back, back room (avalanche transponder recommended). I went to look for compact chainrings for my Near Net Forged crank in the back room Monday. Came out with a eclectic RF big, Vuelta middle, and Syncros granny mix............along with 2 NOS Avid Tri-Align IIs (blue and 3DV) I found while I was looking. You can't get that from the box stores.

 

[shuyinxiao]

you are doing an excellent job with your site let it keep coming.

 

[terryhfs]

Cycle Logical near the BT Tower where I saw my first mountain bike. They gave me lots of stickers too...

 

[azaro]

Used to love Bike Treks in Ambleside.
Not been for a while, but always ready with banter and advice, and coffee!
And lots of Orange bikes!

 

[Rod_Saetan]

Is the 'new' Bike Treks not a bit shiney and clutter-free though?

Some bike shops of note:

John Machins; Melton Mowbray, Leics; small and chi chi selection of parts; happy to let eager boys ask them how much things are all lunchtime long; RIP

Bikology; Leeds; basically a shed but great owner/mechanic, good advice and happy to chat shit and let you look through boxes of old stuff.

There a couple in London that have that genuine dusty, there may be treasure here, old man in an overall vibe (I'm not letting on though), and of course there are one or two most excellent independents, specifically the one I go to almost every day.