Soho Bikes

http://sohobikes.co.uk/

I want to get my Mather serviced and I think it was @Howard that recommended Mario there... but a month after an initial email enquiry still hasn't been answered, and several attempts to phone them have each resulted in me being hung up on before I can say anything... I'm frustrated before I've even managed to book a service.

Is there a contact channel that works?
Should I just give up and get the thing serviced elsewhere?
Does their inability to be contacted reflect on the quality of the service you receive?
Aside from Howard, does anyone think they're worth pursuing?

Is there a contact channel that works?

tried instagram?

tried instagram?

I am only kidding .. @Dammit also uses them and so does @IR

I haven't been in there in ages, but I know Seb (of ridiculously tall body/skyscraper bikes) fame, off this very forum was working there... At the time at least.
Although I've only ever bought a tube or something from there, so I'm probably being no use here. :)

They may be the best service in London (but just the worst at communicating).

Am going to try their instagram or Twitter.

I say it's a bad omen. What if you need to call them up to ask a question about the build or something?

Yeah, 'tis a shame. I was hoping to find a place that was comfortable servicing the Hope M4 hydraulic brakes, rather than just take it into a generalist place like I did last time only to regret it.

Shall I call them for you?

I've never had trouble contacting them. Weird.

I've never had trouble contacting them.

How do you contact them which works?

Phone? Email? Do they have an email other than the hello@sohobikes.co.uk one?

0207 439 9577

It's a bike shop - email is rarely their thing in my experience. They do send nicely formatted email receipts tho :)

That's the number I get hung up on.

I'll try again... maybe I'm making some weird error like always calling them close to my lunch hour when they're probably most busy or something.

Any chance we can move this thread somewhere special - i.e. Non googleable? Thread title seems a bit... belligerent.

Or just a re-title 'can anyone contact them' etc.

Hardly belligerent.

They've been recommended, I try recommendations... if they're worth the effort of continuing to try and contact them because they really know their stuff, etc... then obviously I'll be more patient and persistent. Otherwise I'll just give up and take the bike elsewhere.

Asking whether it's worth that patience and persistence is hardly belligerent. Much better than just giving up and going elsewhere surely?

I think the thread title is unfair at best, belligerent at worst. You are asking the rather pointed question 'are they actually any good?' because they didn't return your email or pick up the phone.

Given the traffic and googlefu this place gets, you might get a pissed off Rob Warner on your case if he spots it :)

I don't have a problem with the thread contents. Just the title.

As much as you turned me onto them you're now turning me off of them. Are they really a deadly combination of being both hard to get hold of and really easy to piss off?

All I want is someone who knows their way around Hope brakes to do a good service, am willing to pay for it.

I used them recently. They were great. I called them up.
Big Seb worked at cloud9 the last time I saw him, but now is in NZ?

Good luck with your brakes. @t_w was great for these too, but he's a bit out of town now.

Well... managed to get in touch... and the phone cut off immediately :)

But after that they called me back and it was fine.

The bike is going in on Monday for a full deluxe service thing, brake bleed and all that stuff, and the Rohloff to be oil-changed and for the whole thing to come back as close to new as possible.

Getting hold of them was frustrating, but once we chatted it was cool... they're friendly and know what they're on about.

You looking for a fight henners??? :)
He definitely worked at soho bikes too. He was working there two years ago anyway! :)
First thing I said to him was "I thought you were in New Zealand?"

I had a headset fitted recently...popped in one day, booked it in for the next. Dropped the frame off in the morning and received a text about 20 mins later saying the work was done. Went in a few hours later to collect and they charged me less than the price quoted the day before which was already reasonable. Very happy all round.

And they serve the best coffee in Soho.

David.

Just call up and ask "do you know who I am?"

I find that works for me.

Until David has worn the national champs jersey I doubt they'll give a shit.

Maybe send hippy instead?

Never had any issues getting through to them (phone, email AND Instagram!) and they've always done a great job when I've taken bikes in.

Amazed to hear they'd hang up on you. Bear in mind they've only got a tiny workshop and they're a favourite for a lot of London mountain bikers.

Absolutely lovely bunch in there. Couldn't do enough to help me out, even though there was no more than a couple of quids worth of spokes in it for them.