My bike shopping experience

Fuh Q · 13-08-2014 6:54pm #1

I went to the local bike shops in Navan today with the intention of buying a bike and it was not a very pleasant experience.
The first shop on the Fair Green had no interested when I said I was looking for a starter bike, he was more interested in the kids in the shop and told me "thats what I have, go to Halfords and buy a cheap one and Ill fix it every week for you, I have to go Ive a leaving cert student here".
I left there feeling very annoyed. I was a customer with cash to spend.
I then went to the shop on Flower Hill, the guy there was fairly helpful but I still got the feeling that I was'nt the right sort of customer for him, he had a bike that would do me at €330, I went to get the cash and when I came back and went to pay it came up on the system at €399. He apologized and offered the bike to me at €359. I said no and left.
At this stage I was getting agitated, got the feeling that they were only interested in customers who were all ready experienced cyclists and were spending much more than me.
Halfords was a different story, very helpful and spent a lot of time with me to make sure all was well. I bought a Carrera Crossfire1 for €276. They built it for me and adjusted it within an hour.
I complained about another bike we bought there last year and the manager asked me to bring it in for him to have a look, the mechanic said it needed new bearings and a gear service and he would do it free of charge.
Guess Halfords was the best option after all.
I then bought some extras that I was going to buy online as a return gesture and I will return for more due to the excellent customer service I received.

Borderfox · 13-08-2014 9:28pm

Concise and to the point, Halfords for the win. Vote with the feet

Big Eejit · 13-08-2014 9:54pm

Sounds like an advertorial!

ah yeah · 13-08-2014 10:11pm

The guy on the fair green, I've had a few bad experiences with him.stay well clear

murray.eoghan · 13-08-2014 10:18pm

i have to go against the OP and say i have had bad experiences with Halfords, bought two bikes they broke within the week. Probably just an unlucky draw but never bought a bike from them again

WillyFXP · 14-08-2014 12:17am

Cant talk for any other Halfrauds store, but the Galway one is bloody awful.

Shy Ted · 14-08-2014 6:57am

murray.eoghan wrote: »

i have to go against the OP and say i have had bad experiences with Halfords, bought two bikes they broke within the week. Probably just an unlucky draw but never bought a bike from them again

I had a similar experience recently. Bought a bike for myself & one for the OH. Derailleurs weren't aligned and the chains were coming off. The handle bars became loose on my bike during the first ride, and I was able to turn it 90degrees with no effort. Front wheel became loose on my OH's bike. Safe to say I won't be returning for the complimentary 6 week service.

yop · 14-08-2014 8:55am

Castlebar Halford and the one in Naas I can't complain about, having bought bikes of them but always found them helpful and some decent bargains.
Found the bike shops around town not great, too many times I have left the bike in for repair and for it not to be done correctly, I would always try to spend money with them as they are the LBS but its grating when the work is substandard.
When I bought my first bike I also found it impossible to drive a bargain, ended up going 30k away and got a great deal and a free service on the bike.

ZiabR · 14-08-2014 8:58am

I personally don't have anything against Halfords. If you are at ALL mechanically minded, once you buy a bike, give it a check over yourself and you will be fine. I know plenty of people who have bought starter bikes from Halfords and have had no issues. I take care of my own bike maintenance and would not send it back to Halfords for the 6 week check.

The bikes they offer are not all bad. The issue with Halfords is that 90% of the staff are not into bikes etc and while they are nice to deal with, don't have a clue about the bikes they are selling.

ugsparky · 14-08-2014 9:50am

From personal experience - agree with the comments about the lbs at the Fair Green - but it's more about his personality and business acumen - apparently he is quite a good bike mechanic.

I've dealt with the guy on Flower Hill and found him to be excellent. He is a well known cyclist and also looked upon by many as an excellent bike mechanic. However you may have just met him on a day when things weren't too good - it happens all of us. That's no excuse for poor customer relations - but I wouldn't tar him with the same brush as the Fair Green guy.

As for Halfords - they do sell some excellent bikes - you pay for what you get - depends on store to store about the quality of bike mechanic and after sales service. If you are able to service a bike and have the correct tools then there probably isn't an issue in using them.

I'd always try to support the lbs - difficult though at times when you can order things on-line at up to 50% less than the lbs cost.

Fuh Q · 14-08-2014 5:30pm

As said above, I had to come home and give the bike a once over, tighten a few bits up and adjust to suit myself.
Im happy with the bike, I did 8.2 kms on it and it was a pleasure. The chain came off during a gear change but I expect that with a new bike that will need adjustments.
I have bought bikes from Halfords before, all cheap ones and they didnt last long. But the Carrera seems to be decent enough for the price I paid.

murray.eoghan · 14-08-2014 6:37pm

logik wrote: »

I personally don't have anything against Halfords. If you are at ALL mechanically minded, once you buy a bike, give it a check over yourself and you will be fine. I know plenty of people who have bought starter bikes from Halfords and have had no issues. I take care of my own bike maintenance and would not send it back to Halfords for the 6 week check.

The bikes they offer are not all bad. The issue with Halfords is that 90% of the staff are not into bikes etc and while they are nice to deal with, don't have a clue about the bikes they are selling.

i agree with the fact some don't know how to build a bike but the bikes i bought cracked on the frames it was not at the fault of the employees

rizzodun · 14-08-2014 10:29pm

We must be spoiled for choice in Sligo, I've had great service from both Gary's Cycles (my bike last year) and Flanagan's (my wife's bike this year) and Halfords have a top notch bike mechanic who's well known to be great and a bike nut which helps as he has a genuine interest in his job.

I did buy a bike from one of the above LBS a few years ago and it didn't last, but it had everything to do with the components I got with the cheap price I paid and nothing to do with the quality of service from the shop to be fair.

G1032 · 14-08-2014 10:36pm

yop wrote: »

Castlebar Halford and the one in Naas I can't complain about, having bought bikes of them but always found them helpful and some decent bargains.
Found the bike shops around town not great, too many times I have left the bike in for repair and for it not to be done correctly, I would always try to spend money with them as they are the LBS but its grating when the work is substandard.
When I bought my first bike I also found it impossible to drive a bargain, ended up going 30k away and got a great deal and a free service on the bike.

Ballinrobe??

diomed · 15-08-2014 12:56am

ugsparky wrote: »

From personal experience - agree with the comments about the lbs at the Fair Green - but it's more about his personality and business acumen - apparently he is quite a good bike mechanic.

My experience is it about the bike shop employee's personality and interest in the customer. I would prefer someone who is helpful and not greatly experienced to someone who is experienced but unhelpful. In one big shop on different visits I met both types. The helpful one made a ~€400 sale, the unhelpful one made a €0 sale.

ZiabR · 15-08-2014 8:27am

murray.eoghan wrote: »

i agree with the fact some don't know how to build a bike but the bikes i bought cracked on the frames it was not at the fault of the employees

Wow, what bikes did you buy from them? That is a serious manufacturing fault alright.

murray.eoghan · 15-08-2014 4:50pm

it was a few years back it was a cheap brand bentini i think. I only buy giant bikes from now on

BoardsMember · 15-08-2014 6:44pm

I had a really helpful guy in Halfords when I was there. Also dropped into Fitz cycles in Stillorgan the other day and the guy spent ages with me taking me through various options in great detail.

Appleboy120391 · 20-08-2014 1:46pm

Has anyone tried the one there in Milltown, Harry's? Was in there the other day, Bikes are a little on the expensive side(all look unreal but way out of my price range) but the lad in there knew his stuff, very handy and actually wanted to know what I was looking for as opposed to the lads there in Halfords who blanked me and one lad was on his phone.

dragratchet · 20-08-2014 1:51pm

Appleboy120391 wrote: »

Has anyone tried the one there in Milltown, Harry's? Was in there the other day, Bikes are a little on the expensive side(all look unreal but way out of my price range) but the lad in there knew his stuff, very handy and actually wanted to know what I was looking for as opposed to the lads there in Halfords who blanked me and one lad was on his phone.

yeah i got my current bike in harrys..apart from a mix up in ordering me one in the wrong colourway they've been great. always happy to deal with any problems and go out of their way to make sure the bike is running smoothly. id defo continue to bring them my business based on what ive seen so far.

Appleboy120391 · 20-08-2014 2:03pm

googd to know, If I could afford it I would go there again. But I'm only out of college so Not for now. Have you bought online with them? what is delivery like?, I am here in Kilkenny.

fits · 20-08-2014 3:11pm

Ha we had a good one last weekend. Asked to take bike for a longer spin and told no coz he didn't want to dirty the wheels. It was dry out...

magicbastarder · 20-08-2014 3:13pm

my wife recently got a bike, and our experience in dublin stores was generally positive, except in one shop where we were left standing, ignored by idle shop staff for several minutes despite obviously being interested in checking out bikes, and in another shop, where the assistant told me that she needed a woman's geometry frame because women have 'thin little shoulders'; she was standing beside him at the time and overtopped him by a couple of inches.

youtube! · 20-08-2014 3:50pm

I thought it was just me who found that chap on the fair green a little off-hand! as for the place on the hill, I went in there last year to buy a bike for the little one and 2 people in the shop ignored me for 10 minutes...I walked out Halfords got my 300 euro.

dragratchet · 20-08-2014 5:44pm

Appleboy120391 wrote: »

googd to know, If I could afford it I would go there again. But I'm only out of college so Not for now. Have you bought online with them? what is delivery like?, I am here in Kilkenny.

dunno chief.. i live about 1km away from the shop so i just pop in. there's some absolute bling in that shop alright but also some fairly affordable road-bikes too.

codie · 20-08-2014 5:54pm

WillyFXP wrote: »

Cant talk for any other Halfrauds store, but the Galway one is bloody awful.

The Tralee one is awful too bar one member of staff that has some idea what he is talking about.Other than him the rest of the staff are clueless and a pretty ignorant supervisor too.

shutup · 30-08-2014 7:11pm

Ive never even been in navan so dont know anything about the shops in question, but I always find it harsh when I see boards complaints as we only get one view.
I find the attitude of the shop owner/employee can be dictated from the customer. Maybe he was rude to the OP, if so, dont go back and give Halfords all your business, but maybe the OP was wasting his time and he wanted to get back to other customers.
When I worked in a golf shop we got customers who just wanted to tell me how much they knew about golf, we had customers who just wanted to tell me how cheap they could get equipment elsewhere. I was probably pretty dismissive to them because I knew they had no interest in what I had to say.
Halfords serves a purpose but I really hope a LBS does not lose a potential customer who happened to read a boards thread.

iwillhtfu · 30-08-2014 7:29pm

shutup wrote: »

Ive never even been in navan so dont know anything about the shops in question, but I always find it harsh when I see boards complaints as we only get one view.
I find the attitude of the shop owner/employee can be dictated from the customer. Maybe he was rude to the OP, if so, dont go back and give Halfords all your business, but maybe the OP was wasting his time and he wanted to get back to other customers.
When I worked in a golf shop we got customers who just wanted to tell me how much they knew about golf, we had customers who just wanted to tell me how cheap they could get equipment elsewhere. I was probably pretty dismissive to them because I knew they had no interest in what I had to say.
Halfords serves a purpose but I really hope a LBS does not lose a potential customer who happened to read a boards thread.

From the sounds of it they lost a customer who created a thread about poor service.

As you say yourself sales people can be dismissive ignorant at times as can customers but a sales person requires the business an ignorant customer can go elsewhere.

Best bet is to leave a customer happy and the all knowing ones slightly more educated.

Iranoutofideas · 30-08-2014 9:15pm

Have been looking around some of the bike shops in Limerick recently for kit. Not very impressed by the options, got the impression in some that they wouldn't know one end of the bike from the other. Selection of helmets on offer atrocious.

In fairness I didn't go to all the bike shops. Anyone recommend a particular store in Limerick for bike gear?

boege · 31-08-2014 11:01pm

Iranoutofideas wrote: »

Have been looking around some of the bike shops in Limerick recently for kit. Not very impressed by the options, got the impression in some that they wouldn't know one end of the bike from the other. Selection of helmets on offer atrocious.

In fairness I didn't go to all the bike shops. Anyone recommend a particular store in Limerick for bike gear?

There's only three bike shops in Limerick. Siopa Rothar, Bike Shop (Joe's) and Tri-Bikes. I've shopped in all. Joe's is something of an Alladin's cave and you have to go in when they are quiet and talk to Joe himself as he has a mental filing system that only he knows but can surprise you when he starts pulling boxes open.

Tri-bikes in Raheen is the best laid out shop by a mile and they have a good selection of bike gear plus a changing room. A bit pricy but the gear is all laid out to see.

I recollect one shop telling me they don't stock too much bike wear as they find most people buy it online.

Iranoutofideas · 31-08-2014 11:19pm

boege wrote: »

There's only three bike shops in Limerick. Siopa Rothar, Bike Shop (Joe's) and Tri-Bikes. I've shopped in all. Joe's is something of an Alladin's cave and you have to go in when they are quiet and talk to Joe himself as he has a mental filing system that only he knows but can surprise you when he starts pulling boxes open.

Tri-bikes in Raheen is the best laid out shop by a mile and they have a good selection of bike gear plus a changing room. A bit pricy but the gear is all laid out to see.

I recollect one shop telling me they don't stock too much bike wear as they find most people buy it online.

Haven't been to Tri-Bikes, I'll check it out. Joe is...well, Joe

There is a new bike shop in Delta Retail Park - Raw Cycles. They also have a huge indoor bmx/skate park. Have some decent kit in there

My bike shopping experience

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