Brick Lane Bikes (BLB) Bike Shop

Actually that's just me being rude, sorry.
I can't remember but I'm gonna go ahead and say no but that was the first year I rode a track bike, a year later I rode a fixed gear on the road and then about 6 months later I bought an SE draft and swapped between fixed and SS whenever I was allowed to :)
A brief history of me and fixed.
/csb

Cool story, 'dra.

I've said it before and I will say it again. I have never experienced such rudeness as the day I took my old Hoover in to BLB and asked if they had any bags of the right kind, it being rather old and the bags being very difficult to find. A simple 'sorry, no' was clearly beyond them.

Actually that's just me being rude...

No, that was more me but I guess neither of us are in BLB's league.

They do a great Bacon Lettuce and Bacon sandwich

Iggy, pick one shop and go there so regularly that you know everyone's names... Best service comes from building a relationship.

Shops where I know I will get good service:
All the shops with people I know in them (plus A&J in south Wimbledon... But never bought a bike from them)

do you mean A&W cycles? i like that guy. he's really nice but was very confused by my drop brake levers that don't have integrated shifters (they're the TRP ones with lots of holes) and my bike isn't exactly complicated.
but ages ago i had a triumph 3-speed bike from the 70s that needed serious sorting and had odd sized wheels and such, nowhere had the right parts for it except him.

i've only been to BLB a few times but never bought anything, i was considering buying some soma tyres but they were bloody £33 each or something. that's bupkes!

People usually just fly into a messy rage when BLB are rude to them.

(Not to me, I've only been there once and they were very friendly and helpful.)

this but i've been in there hundreds of times and they've always been nice to me

Dicki and Oliver - I have to agree.

Lovely friendly folks - always have time for a chat and have done me some nice deals on stuff.

Dicki and Oliver - I have to agree.

Lovely friendly folks - always have time for a chat and have done me some nice deals on stuff.

my 5p lands the same side up;

i'm the proud owner of an inflatable and detachable mud-guard thanks to BLB, ;~)

BTW its not just to walk in the shop customers that get it, they are the UK distributors (though for most of the manufacturers they'd be better off switching away from BLB) for a number of different brands, all of which are dealt with in a lackadaisical and amateur fashion.
Avoid.

Also the guy that owns/runs the place seems to have the most expensive collection of sherif star's in the world?
#although got to admit, to be fair some of the younger guys are actually good at what they do and are helpful.
I think its just the location of the shop (and the state of LDN in general) that allows a poor shop to exist, anywhere else in teh country and they'd be out of business with a quarter.

still love their vibe though BrickMan - Lundun Town is plenty big enough for shops-with-attitude to exist!!

but.. for finger-less gloves (preferring not to wear the 'BLB' branded efforts and wanting something a little more long-lasting than the Altura.. i'm off to Kiniko..

Is this where you vent about BLB?

£12 cheaper than what I paid my Phil Woods/velocity aeros, and my 853 frame... from here.

fuck blb

Fuck me, how can you not include rimtape as part of the build cost :O

I got archetypes, on hope hubs (that are like £200), with rivendell jack browns from hong kong, built up for less than that

the thing is though, nothing on that bill is way over priced apart from the tyres
they seem a bit steep

amazing

£42.5 for a gatorskin ulta? They have an RRP of £30.

Is this where you vent about BLB?

or to say how much you like the shop and the guys running it

Miche sprocket for £20!

Good place to go if you need a quote for an insurance claim then.

I've only read part of this thread, I like BLB I get shit loadsa stuff for free and heavy discounted parts but I've invested a lot of my time in the shop and I've become great friends with the guys. I've been riding track bikes for around 7 years and there was a time when the guys were quite stand offish with me because I was a newb but I returned to the shop and have now become a valued customer.

The guys get a lot of clueless customers in that shop wanting to buy a custom bike for peanuts, it must be frustratin for them to deal with a constant flow of airheads asking for foffas and creates.

I've only read part of this thread, I like BLB I get shit loadsa stuff for free and heavy discounted parts but I've invested a lot of my time in the shop and I've become great friends with the guys. I've been riding track bikes for around 7 years and there was a time when the guys were quite stand offish with me because I was a newb but I returned to the shop and have now become a valued customer.

The guys get a lot of clueless customers in that shop wanting to buy a custom bike for peanuts, it must be frustratin for them to deal with a constant flow of airheads asking for foffas and creates.

You work for them?

No

Good place to go if you need a quote for an insurance claim then.

Only if you can keep the bike off the road for the months it takes to process the claim.

Otherwise you have to pay for the work anyway and then claim for the repair.

Well I gave my bike in to have the bull horns shortened and a few other bits.

Can you believe I had to tell the guy the bars had been cut at different lengths, and the stem/steerer had not been tightened properly.

Needless to say last time i go there.