View Full Version : Brixton Cycles
Mr Retro
15-09-2003, 12:27
I was in there with Ms R on saturday to get a bike for her to go to work on. The service, advice and helpfullness of the staff were simply stunning.
No trying to push more expensive stuff on you. Encouraging her to take full advantage of the years guarantee. So refreshing.
Anna Key
15-09-2003, 12:30
But I thought they were a workers' co-op. Are you implying that capitalism and the profit motive aren't required to run a highly successful business?
Really. Some people. You'll be going to a Tony Benn public meeting next.
Mrs Magpie
15-09-2003, 12:31
They are great, aren't they? I love the fact that they help kids sort out their bikes for nothing.
IntoStella
15-09-2003, 12:33
One can only hope that their excellent customer service makes them so successful that they need to open a subsdiary outlet to meet demand. I hear there's a retail space in Coldharbour lane... ;) ;)
Anna Key
15-09-2003, 12:34
Originally posted by IntoStella
I hear there's a retail space in Coldharbour lane... ;) ;)
Where? :D
Mr Retro
15-09-2003, 12:36
Also seeing as cycling is going to save £80 a month we were saying we could pay £300 for the bike and still have it paid off in 4 months.
The assistant in there talked us out of it saying there was no need to spend that much for a first bike and we ended up with one for £200.
The service we got in there put me in a good mood for the w/e!
IntoStella
15-09-2003, 12:42
Originally posted by Anna Key
Where? :D Curiously enough, they wouldn't even have to put a new sign up ;)
Mr Retro
15-09-2003, 12:42
They are arguably in a better location now though.
There were loads of people in there getting bits and bobs for skate boards and also t-shirts and runners. If there is such a thing as a passing trade for a bike shop then they have it.
IntoStella
15-09-2003, 12:45
Originally posted by Mr Retro
and still have it paid off in 4 months. I honestly misread that asand still have it off in 4 months :eek:
Mr R -- I am obviously kidding and anyway, I said subsidiary outlet. :p
Mr Retro
15-09-2003, 12:48
That would be about right though .... 3 times a year ..... I was brought up in catholic Ireland you know!
:o :D
Tricky Mickey
15-09-2003, 16:04
Originally posted by Mrs Magpie
They are great, aren't they? I love the fact that they help kids sort out their bikes for nothing.
I love the sign for kids and boarders that says: "No Manners, No Spanners"
Brixton cycles rules.
tm x
Mrs Magpie
15-09-2003, 16:09
....and the rent they pay for their premises pays for a community worker on the Stockwell Park Estate......
Mr Retro
15-09-2003, 16:17
Originally posted by Mrs Magpie
....and the rent they pay for their premises pays for a community worker on the Stockwell Park Estate......
Thats great.
They also have very good quality t-shirts and sweaters at low low prices. They have those runners that skaters wear too "Vans" for £40. I don't know how much they are in other shops but it would be a fuck of a lot more than £40.
must just be me then... I'm not really a fan, having found their service to be of the 'if your face fits' style ever since they first opened. Last time I was in there I was completely ignored in favour of their ongoing social life conversation, then absentmindedly grunted at and sold the wrong thing. But then I wasn't spendiong two hundred quid. I haven't had a bike serviced there in quite a few years, so it's probably a bit unfair to draw conclusions, but in those days they didn't know much about bikes either.
IMO Halfords generally gives better service, which is sad. I probably prefer Stuarts or Edwards, but they're a bit out of the way.
William of Walworth
15-09-2003, 18:12
That's a shame, newbie.
I've not been there before at all (somewhat to my own amazement) but when I went in on Saturday just gone to get my axle-fucked front wheel rebuilt, they were as nice, polite, friendly, attentive and helpful as they could be, given that the hub turned out to be beyond repair anyway, after the main mechanic looked at it. They were really apologetic!
Stig has now decided to suspend the wheel from the ceiling as an artwork :)
Willing to bet that at least some of their staff browse these forums
Yup - Stuarts your man - no frills, no fashion accessories, just basic bike bits.
But, I've generally heard nothing but good about Brixton cycles even though I found it a bit super-trendy in its early days.
Btw, on this scale, what's the difference between a workers coop and a partnership?
constitution means limited liability. Partnership has unlimted liability.
I think
"IMO Halfords generally gives better service, which is sad."
Can't go along with that myslef. Maybe it was a bad day or something. Like most people on this thread, I think they're great. Friendly, helpful and they help you fix little things for free sometimes.
:)
I'm a huge fan of Brixton cycles. They sold me my present bike, which is by definition the best bicycle in the world. And I've found them really helpful ever since. I even nominated them for a London Cycling Campaign award for the way they moved shop!
But I'd still like to back all the people who are supporting Stuart Cycles on Acre Lane. He's a small cycle shop who isn't really interested in doing a lot of sales, but is great for repairs. A friendly one-man business, of a sort that should be supported.
I got one of the first bikes I bought after moving to Lambeth from Stuarts - an old Lambert (predecessor of Viscount cycles) of which I have many happy memories.
He's a good guy, friendly and very helpful - and knows his stuff about bikes.
aurora green
16-09-2003, 13:05
I think your experience of Brixton Cycles was a rare one Newbie.
They've been so helpful to me over the years, particularly with my know nothing mechanical approach to cycling.
They've been patient, informative and helpful,
and most sympathetic the many times I've had to go in for a new saddle or front wheel etc after being robbed, and I've never spent £200 quid there either.
Brixton cycles rocks.
Ive heard that they are doing well in Stockwell-partly due to the Skateboard sales and possibly a more prominent position than in CHL.The skatepark is still under threat though.
If you want to buy a bike they wont sell you something you dont need to make a large profit.Ive always found them good on getting repairs done quickly.If you want something done the same day try to go early when they open as the first hour is first come first served with no booking in of repairs.
I agree about Stuart cycles in Acre Lane-hes been around for years(before Brixton cycles) and has a lot of experience.
I still miss them not being in CHL.I now they chat a lot sometimes but thats not because your face does not fit and they are ignoring them.Thats just them.I also think thay have got more experienced over the years.
The small bikeshop can still survive(as long as inner city rents dont go up to high).They tend to cater for specialist markets-Condor do high quality race bikes and have one of Londons best wheelbulders(hes getting on now),the one in Lambs Conduit st does recumbents and other wacky bikes for example and Brixton cycles do one off Surly framed bikes and can order stuff as well.
The Woolwoth type bike shops like Halfords(which i dont rate) or Evans still have not completely cornered the market.Evans have been expanding all over the place.Evans down the Cut is good for clothes but their after sales service is not so hot.They also have good sales at the end of the season
What has died a death is framebuilders-nearly all frames are now built out of aluminium in the far east.They can be of a good standard now but the traditional quality steel hand built frame has a lot to say for it but is only found on expensive bikes now.
Brixton Cycles are a workers coop.Their are different types.Basically it means their is no boss lording it over you.
I think you were unlucky newbie. I also think you were extremely lucky to get good service from halfords.
Nobody as posted a link to BCs site so allow me
http://www.brixtoncycles.co.uk/
Glad Gramsci has mentioned Evans - it means I get to say again, Evans (and Halfords 'bikehut') must be stopped. I too have been tempted to buy from Evans end of season sales, their deals on cannondale and trek etc are very good, Brixton Cycles just cannot compete with them as they buy in such bulk. Don't believe the hype, keep your indy bike shop alive and buy from them! When it comes to it, they will give you a better deal on accesories when you buy a new bike anyway than some faceless chain (couln't resist the pun:))
But I also think its a shame BC seem to have fallen foul of the dreaded Trek/Specialized/Cannondale franchise disease - soon they will be fuck all else to buy than bloody Trek, I fucking hate Trek and all yank bikes for that matter. When I was a kid pretty much all you could buy down the local bike shop was Raleigh and maybe Viscount - now its Trek and Specialized, the bikes aren't even made in Europe and the money goes back to pay for Bush's bombs. I wouldn't be seen dead on either.
And yeah, almost every aluminium MTB and road frame is made in a handful of factories in Taiwan. Certainly in the roadie fraternity there is a backlash against aluminium right now as everyone seems to have suddenly realised that yes, its stiff as f@@k and light but boy, is it uncomfortable on a uk road as there is almost no flex. Gimme Columbus SL, Reynolds 531 and 653 anyday.
But yeah, rant over, BC's are ultimately a good shop:)
lang rabbie
16-09-2003, 17:13
I really hope that they are now being equally welcoming to all members of the community.
Newbie, how long is it since your bad experience?
I've just worked out that it must be some five years ago that I had a very similar experience at the old shop, and I was actually looking to buy a new bike! (my third of the year after a spate of thefts). I got a distinct impression that the disdain was because I wasn't dressed in a "street" enough way.
I'm afraid all my business has gone to Action Bikes at Streatham ever since, but I'm willing to give them a try if I can be convinced that all the team show common courtesy to customers
lang rabbie
16-09-2003, 17:23
Originally posted by mains
Gimme Columbus SL, Reynolds 531 and 653 anyday.
[/B]
Too true - My brother still uses the 531 tourer frame built for my father in 1961.
But make sure you cover up the decals - thieves took down a friend's garden fence to spirit away my secondhand 653 that I thought was safely locked to it!
a couple of months since I tried to buy a small part, a decade or more since a full service.
They're a bit different from the cycling shops where they ignore you if your shoes have soles and not funny buckle things, but the sense of not fitting in is similar.
I've never heard of Evans.
perky nana
17-09-2003, 18:13
I used to use Brixton Cycles until I moved to Vauxhall adn thought them mostly good but sometimes a bit intimidating in the way bike shops can be. It's the cool 'expert enthusiasts' element (ever been to one of those specialist audio shops?) where I end up feeling thick. I can only just fix a flat tyre. Now that they're in Stockwell I've started using them again a bit more.
However, like a few others here I really appreciate Stuart's: very helpful and almost always able to do work within a day or two. (I used to find BC frustrating as it could be days before they could see your bike - a sign of success but still frustrating).
But I have recently completely gone off my local bike shop, South Bank Cycles. I'll never darken their door again. In the past two visits: work not finished when they say it will be (though they kindly offered a 'courtesy' bike), parts not ordered in time, having to return to get repairs fixed and they recently sold me a 'comfort' seat that has nearly wrecked me for life! It was an inappropriate recommendation made by someone who didn't comprehend that the seat wouldn't work on a 40 minute journey each day (and I was too much of a bike dumbdumb to realise). For all the 'attitude' this is unlikely to happen at BC, or Evans or Stuart's (though he doesn't have much in the way of accessories). SBS used to be independent about five years ago when I moved near by, but is now part of a small chain of shops. Last time i was told that the wheels on my bike are now 'obsolete' and I should think of replacing them sometimes soon (they are an old-fashioned, non-metric size, the bikes 20 years old). Fittingly (if you'll excuse the pun), Stuart's always has one on hand. I guess the letters falling off the shopfront (a la Reggie Perrin) say it all.
Stuarts and BC for me from now on.
I was there the day before yesterday to buy a bicycle pump . I was given expert advice by a 12 year old boy, who was then told by the assistant that he was perfectly able to sell pumps himself :) Not at all pretentious or exclusive, t(he)y were helpful and friendly. My ex has left 2 pumps in the flat which are so user unfriendly I haven't a clue how to use them and despite my current JSA situation I was forced to buy a new one. Cheers BC, without you I would have flat tyres...
Evans(for Newbie)--They are everywhere now.They started in the Cut in Waterloo and have over the past year being doing a Starbucks across central London.And I mean that as thay seem to be placing shops were their are already established small bike shops-a typical Starbucks tactic.
Brixton cycles do "Surly" frames which are steel-they are still USA imports.I agree with Lang Rabbie the longevity and comfort of high quality steel frames means their is a market coming back for them.
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