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sounds like you had a bad day at condor. and i know what you mean, they can be tres difficult.. i've had problems there recently, including a service where they left my front wheel nuts with half a turn on one side and completely undone on the other (!) and when i dropped by a day later to politely inform them that they should improve their checks before a bike went out the door, they suggested it was my fault and perhaps someone had tried to nick my front wheel..
luckily before i exploded with rage one of the guys remembered me from Dauphin Sport and apologised..
but what other decent shops are there in london ?
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Cycle Fit :)
Absolutely love them.
The only problem with Cycle Fit is that it's all very bespoke. Which means they don't have a great stock of anything even though they can order pretty much everything.
Their services are wonderful though... but expensive.
I really wish there was a good alternative to Condor though. It looks like rides out to Sigma Sport down in Kingston will be the thing for me.
And to be fair to Condor, they weren't appalling today... they're just consistently sub average on service. It wasn't a big blow-up, or something major, it's the drip drip drip of bad service and a lack of respect for their customers. For me it just reached the tipping point where I don't want to put up with it.
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I've had quite a few bad experiences at condor and i try and avoid them wherever possible. unfortunately they tend to have the best selection of stuff outside of online. and it's sometimes best to see the thing in person than on screen.
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i've never tried cycle fit, but i think i'll check them out in future.
and i can't help but agree with you re condor, most of the guys are great ( and a few of them are really, really helpful) but the bad service is a real problem.. i get the feeling that they're overstretching themselves these days and as result the service takes a bit of a knock..
then again all bike shops can be rubbish with customer service, i used to work at dauphin years ago and we were terrible !
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it's obvious they don't need to give a discount to survive, they have a 'brand' they stock stuff you can't get elsewhere, they are in an area with a lot of suits who flock there at lunchtime picking up sets of wheels at 1k a pop
maybe the new shop in brick lane is better for discount? (haven't been there yet)
the other thing you can do is frequent your lbs, mine (moose cycles coliers wood) have been a great shop, despite the fact that they know i get lots of bike stuff at trade from people i know in the industry and am unlikely to buy a bike from them they still lend me tools, sort small repairs in time for a weekend ride and they still give me a discount on most stuff.
they don't do road though. they still sorted me a cheap seatclamp when the one on my condor broke out on a ride and i needed a stopgap until condor replaced the broken one. -
I was in Condor recently and I decided I'd treat myself to a decent shoulder bag. I'd read it was a good idea to mention discount and LCC card ownership first which I did. I was told it was no problem. I decided I'd go for the more expensive Chrome brand as after 10% discount it wasn't too bad. (I was acting on impulse and am aware there are cheaper deals out there online). At the counter they were chatty and helpful and then the discount card came out. Exactly the same excuse as first mentioned. Aparently the mark up isn't that great. Yeah right. I bet they're easily doubling their money on a cheap to produce bag. I was taken aback and asked what was the point of offering discount if you don't give it.
"We do but not on Chrome stuff. It's hard to get and sells out straight away."
I guess that's way they had tons of the stuff downstairs!!!
Shame really as I still like Condor. They shouldn't rely on guaranteed sales from rich city folk. One day they might just wish they'd encouraged more sales.Bricklane are great when you get talking but discount isn't a word the owner understands. I did get 50p off a new wheel set! However I asked if I could use their tools and was able to sit outside all day in their work yard. In fact, I converted my whole bike to fixed! That was kind of them.
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^ That's nice of them, cycle shops don't normally lend tools. The only bike shop where i've always had good experience is Broadway Bikes, NW9. Not great on stock, but the guy there sold me my first fixed wheel for £20 + £15 Build. The guy who runs it, Adrian, is an ex-racer, and he's a good guy (no attitude). Only thing is, it's a little far from central London.
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Just support your lbs, any one is s.e should check out Perry cycles in Woolwhich http://www.harryperrycycles.co.uk/. I have not tried him for fixed stuff but I expect the the guy could get stuff in. His prices have been not that far off internet prices when I have ordered items. Has his own range of bike and I think I have herd him talk about organising Audax rides and seems quite active in the local cycling community.
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I'm gonna use this thread to give a shout to Brixton cycles. Always friendly and helpful whether dealing with a complete novice or someone like me who does most of my own work and wants them to fit a headset that I bought online. They do a 10% LCC (or CTC - can't remember) discount on parts and accecories and I expect they would hopnour it, although I haven't tried it out. They don't have as big a range as Condor but they are starting to get more and more sweet track stuff (Phils, MKS pedals, Toshi straps, EAI cogs, Nitto stuff, etc) and they have lots of other nice road stuff around.
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Yea Brixton are great friendly folk and have always honored the LCC discount on everything I've bought (and a few extra discounts for loyalty like free nuts, spacers etc). They will order just about anything you need and find a suppier if they don't have one already. They also lend tools and do a stop in repair service for the first hour every morning.
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Went into Cycle Fit at lunch time to order the wheel build there. They're going to have the spokes and rims within a week (compared to "we'll let you know when they arrive, might be a few weeks or so" at Condor), and were dead helpful about some other strange things I wanted (like a water bottle carrier that attaches to the seatpost).
But, the big news is that Condor now do the entire range of Colnagos. They had their first batch of display bikes arrive on Monday and they look stunning.
Bigger news still is Kimbers, the girl who works the desk (yes desk, Cycle Fit isn't like other bike stores in many ways) is getting a titanium fixed gear bike made up.
Well, she has the frame made up already. She's just waiting on the paint job to be finished, and that's being done by these guys: http://www.bikeart.co.uk/ . She showed me a preview of the paint job and it is jaw-dropping. Not for everyone I'll concede, but if I let it known my father was a biker than you can understand why I have a soft spot for Harley style custom paint jobs.
Anyhow, when the frame is done and she posts pictures, I'll nag her to post them here. They really are quite something and makes me want to strip my frame and send it off.
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Shhh!
The URL to the page showing progress has been sneaked out of Cycle Fit:
http://www.bikeart.co.uk/flamecycle/Notable images
Flame haired clown on head tube, barbed wire wraps around the non-flame part of the bike.
Note those forks! Cut-outs!
Forks done.
Base layer of flames.
Clown on head tube.
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Bloody hell, that's pretty amazing. interestingly enough the skull helmet was featured in the 'folk archive' exhibition at the barbican a while back. i can't even imagine what drivers would think seeing someone wearing that in their rear view mirror.
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That paint job is bleedin'horrible (IMHO).
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laplus - i've never found a bike store which isnt happy to lend tools?!
Agree with knucklehead - i can see its technically impressive, but its tacky as fuck!
Talking about discounts - i pissed off brick lane bikes yesterday because they had an ad up in the window - MKS with clips and straps for 28$ (no sterling sign on this keyboard) - i went in and asked for them and she said it would be 40$. I mentioned the ad and she reacted with disbelief, took it down but reluctantly admitted that she had to give them to me for 28$. She wasn't happy about it but it was nice of her not try and make me pay more. I think I also pissed her off by asking if her bike was for sale (i didn't know it was hers at the time!).
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I was turned down an LCC discount on a Sugino 75 BB last week - I suspect that all of the shiny Nitto / Sugino / other NJS stuff in the cabinet by the door is too expensive for them to discount.
In terms of other places: Will at Hubjub is super-nice and will get things in on special order. (He once hand-delivered an IRO frame to my door, which is above-and-beyond good customer service.)
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About
Things the LCC 10% discount won't work on at Condor
Posted by
@Velocio
This really gets me. You walk around, pick out some nice stuff, head to the counter and produce your LCC card, "Sorry, we don't give the discount on that as our margins are too tight.".
Now, Condor aren't cheap. It's hard to imagine their margins being that tight given that other shops manage it and on a lot of things don't charge as much.
Anyhow, here is the list of things I've discovered through experience Condor refuse the discount on:
[ulist]
[li]Assos Clothing[/li]
[li]Campagnolo Clothing[/li]
[li]Exte Ondo Clothing[/li]
[li]Rapha Clothing[/li]
[li]Carnac Shoes[/li]
[li]Sidi Shoes[/li]
[li]Campagnolo Components[/li]
[li]Campagnolo Tools[/li]
[li]Fulcrum Wheels[/li]
[li]Phil Wood Hubs & Sprockets[/li]
[li]Sapim Spokes[/li]
[li]Stella Azzurra Wheels[/li]
[li]Time Pedals[/li]
[li]Sugino Cranks[/li]
[/ulist]
That's a fairly impressive list of things that they don't discount.
I know each shop is allowed to refuse a discount, but it just pisses me off that they even offer something they don't really provide. Fine if you're buying inner tubes or tyres, a few pence saved, but anything significant is just turned down.
Today I quit shopping at Condor. I've spent Lord knows how much money over the past few years on cycling, and I just think with the amount of money that I spend, the least they could do is reward loyalty. They have no such capacity to do so, but at least the LCC discount remains an incentive to go there and get past their occasional shitty mood swings... well, what discount?
From now on, I either order online, trade stuff or get it from another shop.
Oh, and I'm cancelling my rims, spokes and wheel build... so if anyone knows a supplier of Sapim CX Ray spokes, Mavic CXP 33's and who can build wheels, I'm interested.