The wave of new London bike shops

From the Lambeth Cyclists mailing list:

get. the fuck. in!

right on my doorstep.

[here here ,these guys are very helpful,i bought a globe from them a while back

Very friendly guys in there, the owner Rich used to be at BC (Balfe is the 'B' in 'BC')...

Neither brand spanking new - but I just thought I'd drop some massive appreciation for PUSH on Newington Green, who are bonafide lovely fellas and Velorution off Great Portland Street. Had great customer service in both places today whilst trying to sort out my troublesome new bicycle frame. Puts the brief 10 minutes i spent in Cycle Surgery Pentonville Road to shame (where, one of the staff was referring to 'face fucking' a female employee at another bike shop at the time I walked in. Real classy.)

Velorution

racist.

racist.

Yes - i only just found out about this. Is management still the same? Seems like an insane thing to say on the website of your shop.

weird wernit? i still can't figure out wtf they were thinking... was it some ill advised attempt at irony or were they just that bigotted and stupid? i can't really believe that it died down as quickly as it did without anyone firebombing the place. strange times indeed.

anyway, on to cheerier things...like LE WEEKEND!

Puts the brief 10 minutes i spent in Cycle Surgery Pentonville Road to shame (where, one of the staff was referring to 'face fucking' a female employee at another bike shop at the time I walked in. Real classy.)

Name and shame.

I rode past a new shop on Cambridge Heath Rd today (between the railway bridge and Cephas St), has anyone been in there yet?

New one just opened on Lavender Hill (unless I've not noticed it after 5 months of riding the road 5x per week. Get A Grip! Just west of Cedars Road by maybe 2-3 blocks.

Corner of Wandsworth Rd and Garfield Rd. Yep, 1 block west on the south side. Before opening ^^.

Rather pretty Schwinn bike in the side window now..

^ oh dear... oh deary deary dear.

they didnt think that logo through...

Oh mega lozzles.

I'm 99.9% sure they know the reference. It's a little place. Lots of interesting commuter / cruiser / folders inside + locks etc.

I rode past a new shop on Cambridge Heath Rd today (between the railway bridge and Cephas St), has anyone been in there yet?

That'll be the new Bikeworks shop:

http://www.bikeworks.org.uk/contact-us-map.php

A long-established business. It's good that they have a shop now, too.

Yeah I saw the name this morning and looked them up earlier, I'll have to have a look around the shop soon.

http://www.paulscustomcycles.co.uk/

As per this thread:

http://www.lfgss.com/thread67267.html

And another one with its own thread, VeloSport in Putney:

http://www.lfgss.com/thread69004.html

http://velosport.co.uk/

I just wanted to rep the London Bicycle Workshop on Theobald's road (who must be less than 2 years old so they sort of fit in this thread). The mechanics in there are very good, knowledgable and sort of hilariously gruff and enourmously helpful at the same time. They've sorted out some strange problems and been honest about price. They also don't have a six-week wait for a tune-up unlike another bike shop near Gary's Inn Road...

http://www.londonbicycleworkshop.com/site/home.html

Yeah used them, can vouch for their BB installation skillz and wheel truing skillz.

Kind of want them to sell more eclectic stuff though, not just the usual locks and mudguards.

I just wanted to rep the London Bicycle Workshop on Theobald's road (who must be less than 2 years old so they sort of fit in this thread). The mechanics in there are very good, knowledgable and sort of hilariously gruff and enourmously helpful at the same time. They've sorted out some strange problems and been honest about price. They also don't have a six-week wait for a tune-up unlike another bike shop near Gary's Inn Road...

http://www.londonbicycleworkshop.com/site/home.html

I thought they were a bit 'spenny when I went in there and didn't seem overly keen to accommodate. It was 6pm so maybe they just wanted out of there

Yeah their gear is pretty straight up stuff and not bargainous - but like Crispin I'm vouching for their mechanical skillz...

I just wanted to rep the London Bicycle Workshop on Theobald's road (who must be less than 2 years old so they sort of fit in this thread). The mechanics in there are very good, knowledgable and sort of hilariously gruff and enourmously helpful at the same time. They've sorted out some strange problems and been honest about price. They also don't have a six-week wait for a tune-up unlike another bike shop near Gary's Inn Road...

http://www.londonbicycleworkshop.com/site/home.html

+1, Great workshop. They know what they're talking about, and are keen to help. Service prices are competitive too.

from the lambeth cyclists mailing list:

On kennington road, west side 200 metres north of the park in parade of shops that includes south pacific.

Opening on friday.

Balfe's bikes
0207 820 0028
8-6 m-f
10-5 saturday
10% lcc discount on spares and accessories.

Run by richard balfe with mechanic brian venderbosch
will specialise in repairs with a local visiting service.

Email hello@balfesbikes.co.uk

General Bike Service for £19 at Belfe's Bikes (68% off)
http://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/south-london/balfes-bikes/2573602

I popped in here for a seat post last autumn. Lovely guys and good service.

Danny Foffa rang whilst I was in there, asking if they would stock his bikes. I lol'ed.

I mainly started this thread to promote small, independent bike shops. However, the news that the last car showroom in the City is being turned into a branch of Cycle Surgery certainly deserves attention:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--DE9arLlKKM/T0dDNpjOP5I/AAAAAAAAAn0/bBvZT-LOYvc/s640/Last+City+of+London+car+showroom+shuts.+Becomes+bike+shop.jpg

Photo by Ralph Smyth, from here:

http://cyclelondoncity.blogspot.com/2012/02/long-live-people-going-about-their.html

Like most people, I think this is really positive and symbolic. :)