Cycleways

cunnins4

This is a rant.

Is it just me, or has Cycleways really gone to the dogs recently? I used to find them pretty helpful and fairly sound, but these days they just seem to be about selling you everything and anything?

I work selling mens suits in Debenhams in town and part of my job is, as the boss puts it, "sell, sell, sell". Fair enough, i'm a salesman (part time anyway, thank god). Every other bike shop in town seems to be exactly that, a bike shop with mechanics in there working on bikes too. But Cycleways is more like a bunch of salesman pitching Specialized this and Specialized that. They don't seem to have any interest in giving you what you need but what's most expensive.

I don't want to hash out everything that's annoyed me of late, but there's a few that're annoying me.
Following on from my thread about a carry case I went in to get ask for a cardboard box from them, but was told no he can't give me one. Fair enough. Ahh, but he was more than willing to pull out a 300quid hard case. Cheers. Cyclogical didn't have any, but didn't try pushing a case on me but said to try another place. The local bike shop guy hasn't bought any bikes in this week so he was no good.

Anyway, back to the point. A while ago i needed to replace the tubing around my gear cable. Cycleways didn't have the length i needed, but a much longer one. I just said "no problem, i'll just cut it-a hacksaw will do it yeah?"...."oh you'll need something like this" and points out a €30 cutting thing. "no thanks, i'll try out the hacksaw first". Of course the hacksaw worked.

I was in buying triathlon shorts a while ago and the guy came up to me and i asked him for my size, which they had. Happy days.
"so you do triathlons?.........What wetsuit do you have?"
"nothing special, just a windsurfing 3mm one"
"oh, you need one like this for triathlon" Then shows me a €300 wetsuit.
"No thanks, i'll stick with my current one"...
"what bike do you have? is it carbon?"
"no" you know what's coming
"carbon's faster"
"no thanks"
"do you have race wheels?"
"no, thank you". Fcuking assehole. I don't even push suits in work like they do in there.

A friend was with me for the whole wetsuit/bike bit and I'd said to him on the way in "wait til you see how much this guy tries to sell me in here and all i want is a pair of shorts". He was amazed at what happened when we got in there.

The list goes on and on. I know some of the guys in there are dead sound, but as time goes on I hate going in there more and more. I spend a fair bit on bike stuff through the year and Cycleways has always been my shop of choice, but of late I really can't stand it. I tried to buy a tube a while back and your man tried selling me a CO2 pump! urgghhhh!

On the other hand cyclogical have gone up a lot in my opinion of late. Cycleways is just handier for me to get to, but i'm gonna be going to cyclogical a lot more from now on.

Sorry for this stupid rant. Just had to let it out.

milod

Don't get me started on cycleways...

They royally f**ked up my repair job a while back - they took three attempts to sort out a new chainset/bottom bracket on a Specialized bike - problems with parts they said (aren't they a specialized main dealer etc?!).

All in all, I was without my main bike for 5 weeks!! and they twice misfitted the parts.

Morgan

That's really funny. I've never received the "hard sell" like that. Maybe you look wealthier than I do?

tunney

Ahhh ****tyWays.............. I got a new drivetrain fitted to my TT bike in there last year. Normally I'd do it myself but since I'd a big race coming up I thought I'd pay for someone one to do it properly. Three times I had to return to the shop because they made a balls of it. In the end I lost the rag, asked them for tools and fixed it in front of them.

Personal favourite was when I went in looking for a replacement bar end shifter as I'd snapped one - "Bar end shifter? Never heard of them, don't exist........ how about one of these instead?"

I love the Cervelo P3SL "on sale" for €4500

Itsfixed

I received appalling service from Cycleways about five years ago when I asked them to build me up a road bike from a new frame someone gave me. it still makes me mad when I think about it and since then I've limited my visits to the place except to get stuff that I want that I know they stock.

Their staff turnover must be quite high as it seems to be different people every time i go in, but suffice to say I never get a decent vibe when I go in there. I don't look scruffy or student-like and I'm 35 years old, but I don't get this hard sell that the OP talks about, but at the same time, they always seem to assume I know nothing about bikes or the components that I ask about.

Its hard to avoid a shop that ostensibly sells quality stuff and which is in a handy location, but jaysis, I hate going in there. Thank god for Cyclelogical and Cyclesuperstore.

Ghost Rider

I have had mixed experiences there. One time they misdiagnosed a problem and the bike had to be returned twice. Another time, however, they flawlessly built another bike from the frame up. It took them a few weeks, granted, but that was because it was an old frame and some non-standard parts had to tracked down.

I've never found the sales staff pushy, but maybe that's because I deliberately wear rags and split shoes whenever I go there so they don't recognise me for the multi-millionaire I am.

trinewbie

Cycleways = Worst bike shop in Ireland.Crap service, overpriced, pushy sales ass<S>holes</S>tants

Oh man its about time this rant came onto boards...its being doing the rounds on various MTB club sites for ages.

I have had terrible experinces with them - Last year it took them 3 weeks to service my juicy carbon brakes, it was a standard bleed and new pads. 3 f@:k!ing weeks!

And the cheek , when I rang to see if the bike was ready -

Cycleways - " Sorry mate, I think your gonna need a new rear hose"
Me - "What"
Cycleways -" Yeah there is wear and tear and it could spring a leak"
Me - "Really?" (sarcasm)
Cycleways - " We can do a special on a goodridge replacement"
Me - " That hose thats on it is a 2month old hose you gobsh!te, wher is me feckin bike?!!!"

Of course the hose was fine and is still going grand 12 months laters.
Rant over....

skidpatches

http://crankely.wordpress.com/2007/08/01/why-do-bike-shops-give-crap-advice/

trinewbie

http://www.epicmtb.com/smf/index.php?topic=2982.15

cunnins4

skidpatches wrote:

http://crankely.wordpress.com/2007/08/01/why-do-bike-shops-give-crap-advice/

trinewbie wrote:

http://www.epicmtb.com/smf/index.php?topic=2982.15

I typed my rant last night when I got home from work tired and píssed off. I thought I was gonna get burned for giving out about the shop. At least I'm not the only one!

On a brighter note, I've never been to cyclesuperstore but I'm heading there today. Judging by the pictures on their site I'll be like a pig in shíte!

mockerydawg

I hate that place too, they never listen to what you ask.
A mate was buying a santa cruz frame from them a few years ago. It took 7 weeks to come in and he had paid half the price as a deposit. They ordered it in the wrong size and wrong colour, but still wanted the other half of the money. And they would not give the deposit back to him, even tho it was their mistake and he still had the receipt in their hand writing for what he had actually ordered.
In then end he gave up and forefitted the deposit and went straight to the UK dealers instead and had the frame he wanted week later, but was down by E500.

blorg

Personally I've never had a problem with Cycleways, and never had the "hard sell" when buying stuff. I have been ignored in Cycleogical (who hasnt ;-)

EDIT: I've also bought bikes from both shops and been very happy with them though.

cunnins4

blorg wrote:

I have been ignored in Cycleogical (who hasnt ;-)

I don't mind being ignored, in fact I prefer it-leaves me to have a good look around. If I need help I ask and I haven't had a bad encounter in Cycleogical in the last couple of years. Mind you, a few years ago I had a bad one and swore I'd never go back. Things change I guess!;)

trinewbie

cunnins -
Re: cyclesuperstore - I wouldnt be expecting a great level of service from them either, they tend to leave you to your own and have been ignored a couple of times...some people might argue that allowing a cutomer to browse on their own is a good thing - Fair enough, but the last time I was in Cyclesuperstore I was browsing for around 30 mins, had a few questions about new wheels and couldnt find anyone to help me

I know your into triathlons aswell - you wont get better than wheelworx in Clondalkin www.wheelworxbikes.com for cylcloing/tri stuff.. They are pure class.

.. Probably the best customer experience from any bike shop I have ever been to. really good value aswell...

uberwolf

mockerydawg wrote:

I hate that place too, they never listen to what you ask.
A mate was buying a santa cruz frame from them a few years ago. It took 7 weeks to come in and he had paid half the price as a deposit. They ordered it in the wrong size and wrong colour, but still wanted the other half of the money. And they would not give the deposit back to him, even tho it was their mistake and he still had the receipt in their hand writing for what he had actually ordered.
In then end he gave up and forefitted the dep
osit and went straight to the UK dealers instead and had the frame he wanted week later, but was down by E500.

with respect, your mate is a chump. Their position was completely against the law.

Up side, if it was within the last 6 years, it may be something the small claims court can look at.

Post in consumer issues forum and get and opinion.

mockerydawg

He got a lot of hassle off them and just left it be. I know if that was me it would have been different but he just didn't have the time/effort left. Anyhow the frame was still in the shop for about 3 years. It happened about 7ish years ago.

Hermy

Delighted to see this thread but my problem is with Cyclogical rather than Cycleways. Cycleways gained about €5000 of my business from Cyclogical because of a certain ignorant pup (Can I say that?). Cycleways did let me down once but when I threatened to take my business to Chainreactioncycles.com they became incredibly helpful and I could order parts on demand with rapid turn around. However the assistant I dealt with is no longer with them and this is a real shame as not only was he a nice guy but he really knew the technical stuff. I built two bikes from scratch and without his advice I would have ended up buying a whole pile of incompatible parts.

p.s. I haven't done much cycle related shopping in over a year due to an injury so I don't know what the current situation is in either shop.

311

I got the impression ,that since they changed the shop around a couple of years ago.
They now seem to be more interested in tourists and selling cheap bikes.

Any decent stuff they have is way overpriced imo.

Oh yeah ,I bought a cannondale there about 8 years ago. after about 4 months I realised it was secondhand and probably involved in some sort of crash. I found loads of touch up marks on the frame .

Also a mechanic in there ,let slip about the condition of a certain part of the bike ,telling me it needed to be replaced because it was old. 2 weeks after I bought the bike :rolleyes:

Money Shot

I used to love cycleways - spent a fortune in there over the last fifteen years and sent loads of people in their direction. Not anymore.
Haven't bought a thing from them in two years now. They must know my face by now, but don't apparently and keep trying to sell me stuff I don't want or know I don't need, and always assume I know absolutely nothing at all about bikes. They don't have any decent sales - ever. As soon as the sales is made - they drop you like a hot snot. I now do all my business, and it's a lot of business, on Chainreactions or evans or similar internet companies in England.

P.S I hate cyclogical too. Any shop that can't take a repair in for at least a month is just a complete shambles imo. I've been turned away the only two times I approached them with a repair - no space etc., can't do it. If I had the tools it would take me twenty minutes. What use is a bike shop in town that doesn't do repairs ?

E@gle.

i was only ever in cycleways once and had no problems, i was looking to buy a ultegra groupset in there they had it for €450 which was good at the time, i found staff very helpful,only problem was that they were going to charge me €60 per hour for groupset fitting and it would take 2 hours they said so it would cost me €120 altogether.

cunnins4

Money Shot wrote:

I used to love cycleways - spent a fortune in there over the last fifteen years and sent loads of people in their direction. Not anymore.
Haven't bought a thing from them in two years now. They must know my face by now, but don't apparently and keep trying to sell me stuff I don't want or know I don't need, and always assume I know absolutely nothing at all about bikes. They don't have any decent sales - ever. As soon as the sales is made - they drop you like a hot snot. I now do all my business, and it's a lot of business, on Chainreactions or evans or similar internet companies in England.

P.S I hate cyclogical too. Any shop that can't take a repair in for at least a month is just a complete shambles imo. I've been turned away the only two times I approached them with a repair - no space etc., can't do it. If I had the tools it would take me twenty minutes. What use is a bike shop in town that doesn't do repairs ?

I'm trying to slowly build up my knowledge so I can fix most things. I've an okay set up tools-wise, again building it up slowly. They aint cheap though!

mikemac

Been there twice.
Bought clipless pedals and shoes. Sure, the assistant was showing me €200 shoes and expensive pedals but I simply stated my budget and got sorted and got lots of advice.

The only other time I was there I was buying a pedal wrench for €15. Left me waiting at the till while the assistant was chatting with his courier mates and then let them skip ahead of me. I didn't complain, just dropped the wrench into an empty box and walked out.

milod

I've made my case against Cycleways repair shop already on this forum, but I found the senior/older guy in sales quite helpful... Having said that, I now shop for most parts when I'm in France.

To be fair to Cyclelogical, even though they can be a bit up their own arses, they're at least honest. They told me directly that they only repair the bikes they've sold and directed me once to Square Wheel, and most recently to P&K on Patrick Street (who by the way did great job on my front derailleur and were dead cheap)

trinewbie

robbers.

Bricriu

Re Cycleways and Cycleogical, I needed a new rear wheel for my Dawes hybrid a while ago and went to Cycleogical. I was told by a cocky assistant that I wouldn't get a replacement 'anywhere' as my wheel had a 7-cog gear unit and all wheels now had 8-cogs (I hate that assuredness and absolutism and when I encounter it I am always suspicious that I'm going to be done). He offered 'to make a wheel up for me for' (wait for it!) Euro120! I told him I'd think about it. I went to Square Wheel and he said no problem but that he'd have to order one in and that it would cost around Euro50. The ordering took a while (weeks) so I tried Cycleways, and their workshop provided me with a new wheel (Shimano), and fitted the 7-cog from my original wheel onto the new one -- for Euro50. When I fitted the new wheel onto my bike there was a problem with the cog hitting the bolt for the mudguard arm, but the Cycleways workshop rectified that immediately by changing the spacers on the wheel axle.

I know that the shop is very expensive but I was happy with the above service from their workshop and thought Cycleogical were dishonest.

Tayto2000

In cyclogical it absolutely depends who you're dealing with. I don't bother talking to anyone except the big fella, all the others seem a mix of ignorant or arrogant and are not interested unless you're buying some kit that matches what they do on their days off...

The wheel experience does sound dodgy, I've had wheels made up and been very happy, but they do always try the hard sell, there was a fair attempt made to sell me Hope bulbs on wheels for a utility street runner not too long ago... It was basically a dishonest answer though, getting parts is never impossible, it's just a question of how much trouble you want to go to...

rp

Tayto2000 wrote:

In cyclogical it absolutely depends who you're dealing with. I don't bother talking to anyone except the big fella,

Yeah IKWYM, but Cliff is sound. I tried to buy a bike for herself in Cycleways, but the assistant didn't seem to either understand english or know anything about bikes, or at least the term 'hub gear' wasn't known to him. But you wait, they'll be falling over themselves to serve us once they realise the economy has gone down the tubes...

unionman

Wow, I had no idea so many people were p**sed off by Cycleways. I've been a regular customer for nearly three years, and have had no problems at all. In fairness, there are one or two of the guys I stear clear of, as they do have an appaling attitude towards customers, but the vast majority seem sound.

I've never had the hard sell from any of them. I've always gone in with a wish list and a budget, and they tend to respond well to both. I went in to get SPD pedals and cleats one time, not knowing a whole lot about either, but keen to try them out. Guy couldn't have been more helpful, and I was buying from the bottom end of the range, as this was new stuff to me. Even gave me a discount because he assumed I had bought the bike there (I hadn't the heart to tell him I got it online from Edinburgh coop;))

Was in there two weeks ago to shop for winter tyres for the road bike, and was guided to a cheaper set than I was looking for that have proved to be excellent.

Servicing in the workshop has always been reliable, no complaints at all.

I will say this though; I switched to fixed gear last year, and whenever I have the bike with me, they have all been even friendlier.

Have only been in to Cycleogical once, and they completely ignored me.

So I'll be sticking with Cycleways for now. They've earned the money I spent there so far.

niceonetom

this is so irish. i bet we're all sweetness and light while we're in there, being patronised or ignored. then we have a good aul complain once we've left the shop (having paid way over the odds for for something we don't really need). anonymous complaints online at that.

i too have had problems with cycleways, what do ye lads think of sending a link to this thread to their email? purley in the interests of customer feedback? after all, i think that the management would like to know just how much business they are losing to other retailers (especially to online types like us).

Hermy

I'm not as Irish as you might think.
My final visit to Cyclogical went like this:
I approached the counter to ask about something. The guy on duty was engrossed in a book and only grunted in my direction making no eye contact. I asked him whatever it was I came into the shop to enquire about and received the same ill-mannered and disinterested response. I then asked him if he could perhaps be a little less rude whereupon he asked or should I say told me to leave the shop. I then asked to see the manager and he said the manager was busy. I said that I would wait and then the managers voice was heard from the workshop repeating that he was busy. "That's o.k. Cliff", I said, "whenever you're ready". At this point Cliff came to the counter and was a bit embarrassed to say the least upon recognising me for the regular customer that I was. He did his best to make amends but I had had enough of the other staff members ignorance - this wasn't the first time I had been treated this way - and it's been about five years since I last set foot inside that shop. A pity really as I always enjoyed dealing with Cliff. He always displayed great enthusiasm for my various queries and gave the impression that the sale was secondary to the service. In the meantime I took my business elsewhere - predominantly Cycleways - and a lot of business it was too as I was just beginning the process of building an MTB and road bike from scratch.
Nothing would compel me to do business with any company that would countenance that level of ignorance from one of its staff members!

niceonetom

Hermy wrote:

I'm not as Irish as you might think.
My final visit to Cyclogical went like this:
I approached the counter to ask about something. The guy on duty was engrossed in a book and only grunted in my direction making no eye contact. I asked him whatever it was I came into the shop to enquire about and received the same ill-mannered and disinterested response. I then asked him if he could perhaps be a little less rude whereupon he asked or should I say told me to leave the shop. I then asked to see the manager and he said the manager was busy. I said that I would wait and then the managers voice was heard from the workshop repeating that he was busy. "That's o.k. Cliff", I said, "whenever you're ready". At this point Cliff came to the counter and was a bit embarrassed to say the least upon recognising me for the regular customer that I was. He did his best to make amends but I had had enough of the other staff members ignorance - this wasn't the first time I had been treated this way - and it's been about five years since I last set foot inside that shop. A pity really as I always enjoyed dealing with Cliff. He always displayed great enthusiasm for my various queries and gave the impression that the sale was secondary to the service. In the meantime I took my business elsewhere - predominantly Cycleways - and a lot of business it was too as I was just beginning the process of building an MTB and road bike from scratch.
Nothing would compel me to do business with any company that would countenance that level of ignorance from one of its staff members!

i just meant that putting up with bad service happens to be a national characteristic (presumably developed in tandem with our inability to provide good service).

you complained to the management, you stood your ground, made your point and let them know why you were taking your business elsewhere. as others in this thread have written the usual "irish" response in to leave in quiet indignation, without making a scene... then bitch and moan about it later to others, who may sympathise, but can do SFA about it. most employers have no idea how surly their staff are to customers, because we don't bloody tell them. musn't grumble etc. this is doubly true in restaurants.

so, with this in mind, i make the suggestion that perhaps Cyelways and Cyclogical be emailed this thread.

who knows, perhaps those cooler-than-thou shopboys have something to contribute to the conversation ?

Ghost Rider

As a nation we display all the positive and negative aspects of diplomacy. Those of us who are terrible at complaining to people's faces are probably also quite considerate about people's feelings. They're two sides of the same infuriating-yet-likeable coin.

So I agree largely with what you say and I must say I'm not hugely surprised that (by the looks of it) you haven't yet sent that e-mail yourself! (I sympathise. I too would find it difficult to ring someone's doorbell and personally hand them a large parcel filled with sh*te. )

niceonetom wrote:

i just meant that putting up with bad service happens to be a national characteristic (presumably developed in tandem with our inability to provide good service).

you complained to the management, you stood your ground, made your point and let them know why you were taking your business elsewhere. as others in this thread have written the usual "irish" response in to leave in quiet indignation, without making a scene... then bitch and moan about it later to others, who may sympathise, but can do SFA about it. most employers have no idea how surly their staff are to customers, because we don't bloody tell them. musn't grumble etc. this is doubly true in restaurants.

so, with this in mind, i make the suggestion that perhaps Cyelways and Cyclogical be emailed this thread.

who knows, perhaps those cooler-than-thou shopboys have something to contribute to the conversation ?

niceonetom

i think our reticence owes more to cowardice and northern-european reserve than to diplomacy or concern for the sensitivities of others... but this is about bikeshops not our national psyche.

we are a polite people though, so i thought i'd suggest the email and see if anyone objected. no one has so i've emailed it to cycleways. anyone got an email address for cyclogical, ?

i would find it hard to hand them "a large parcel filled with sh*te", what i've done is more akin to putting the parcel on the doorstep, ringing the doorbell, and running away giggling, and that i have no problem with.

Ghost Rider

You see, you just keep bringing up the national character. There it is again: the deep-seated inclination to play dingy-doorbell whenever the opportunity arises.

niceonetom wrote:

what i've done is more akin to putting the parcel on the doorstep, ringing the doorbell, and running away giggling, and that i have no problem with.

unionman

Good idea sending them this link. It is after all completely unfettered customer feedback. It would be great to get a response from them too. I don't think it counts as a 'parcel of s**te' though. Low cost market research is a fair description.

Hermy

niceonetom wrote:

i just meant that putting up with bad service happens to be a national characteristic (presumably developed in tandem with our inability to provide good service).

I take your point Tom. I am absolutely brilliant at slamming the door after the horse has well and truly bolted but I am trying to be more assertive in the face of bad customer service. However when you are dealing with people who don't give a monkeys about your shopping experience it sometimes feels like a wasted effort.

311

Could someone answer me a simple question

I was charged 95 euro for a pump in cycleways about 5 years ago.
It was a black malamut ,wooden handled pump and I felt abused to be honest when I got home.:(

Was I ripped off ?

niceonetom

http://www.cyclesetsports.com/boutique_en_article_318.html

look familiar?

311

Thats the exact same one except it's silver and mine is black.
I can't believe how much I was charged.

I was a little suspicious when I saw the assistant behind the counter ,ask the guy I was dealing with how much and when he said 95 ,the assistant looked taken aback slightly.

I wouldn't mind ,but the guy I was dealing with was XXXX ,I think he is the owners son.



edit: removing names

niceonetom

unionman wrote:

Good idea sending them this link. It is after all completely unfettered customer feedback. It would be great to get a response from them too. I don't think it counts as a 'parcel of s**te' though. Low cost market research is a fair description.

just to tie this thread off, cycleways didn't reply to the email i sent them linking to this thread. i didn't really think they would though, and i seriously doubt that the email was ever seen by anyone high enough up the ladder to give a monkeys.

it's a pity. some "unfettered customer feedback" might be just what they need to save them from the online retailers, who are sooo much cheaper. :rolleyes:

peel&stick

I got caught out without lights on my bike today, so I called into Cycleways to pick up a pair, I needed to get new ones anyway.

I picked up a pair of Cat Eye lights for €45.00 and I was very happy until I checked the price online. The cost on Amazon is €28.00 including express delivery.

What a joke. I'll be doing my research before buying from them in the future.

P&S.

tunney

peel&stick wrote: »

I got caught out without lights on my bike today, so I called into Cycleways to pick up a pair, I needed to get new ones anyway.

I picked up a pair of Cat Eye lights for €45.00 and I was very happy until I checked the price online. The cost on Amazon is €28.00 including express delivery.

What a joke. I'll be doing my research before buying from them in the future.

P&S.

Called into Cycleways yesterday to get a Ultegra cassette and chain. €48 online (and from another bricks'n'mortar irish bike shop, just to far to get to at lunch) €69.99 in Cycleways!!!! WTF??

Civilian_Target

peel&stick wrote: »

I got caught out without lights on my bike today, so I called into Cycleways to pick up a pair, I needed to get new ones anyway.

I picked up a pair of Cat Eye lights for €45.00 and I was very happy until I checked the price online. The cost on Amazon is €28.00 including express delivery.

What a joke. I'll be doing my research before buying from them in the future.

P&S.

This is normal. Expect to pay a 50% premium for buying things like this from a bicycle shop on the high street. They have to provide the support to sell them, and if you're unhappy, your much more likely to take it back to Cycleways then send it back to Amazon.

To be fair, I always thought Cycleways were expensive but did a good job. By my local bike shop here in France is equally expensive, and does a much better job, and offer very frank advice.

littleknown

to be honest i think people are being pretty harsh. i agree that shop is absolute muck but really what can you expect? it is the most visible and well known city centre bike shop and i imagine has hundreds of people in and out every day, i imagine its pretty difficult to get good staff especially for a long period so they end up employing lads who dont have much of a clue about life or bikes. unfortunately it has defiinitely lost its appeal . before it was a small shop that knew what it was doing but because of this it grew into nothing more than a tescos for bike parts so you have to see it at its face value, its expensive? yes the rent must be too and of course internet shops are cheaper. service wise? im sure there are loads of jobs done well but the bad always stand out.

apart from that its probably one of the better bikeshops in the city centre. ( there isnt much competition )
cycleogical for me is decent enough but only if your buying, dont understand their repair policy ( only repair if you bought the bike there_ ? that may change with the economy though!)

i dont know how these shops compete with the internet though as things are often a third or half price.

personally always prefered commuting solutions in rathmines. True its not very well stocked ( with anything ) but i always found the staff sound and they do on the spot repairs which is what you want. i think this boils down to the fact that the owner works in the shop himself so theres a bit more love in it.who knows it too may mutate into a cyclesuperways:)

TinyExplosions

While the rent question may be valid, I still don't like how much more expensive they are than other bricks and mortar stores in Dublin... example: Fulcrum Racing 3 Wheelset, 595 Cycleways, 395 CSS -50% more expensive! :eek:

ROK ON

Bought a bike recently in Worldwide Cycles in Clonmel. Christ on a bike, these guys know how to operate a shop. Very easy and friendly to deal with. I felt as if my custom was valued. Friendly and informative. They also fitted up the bike with my computer and wheels, that I brought in (they made nothing on these, except goodwill). All in all spent 2hrs with me on a Saturday morning. In every business, some people just know how to make a customer feel valued and want to come back, some dont.

A lot of the Dublin shops are victims of their own success. As they get bigger, the owners have to hire staff. Staff are not the owners & dont have a stake in the business. It is a (lowpaid) job. Doesn't excuse it, but it seems to be a fact.

Smaller owner operated shops tend to have more customer appeal, as it matters more. That said Cycleways is very expensive versus other bike shops around Dublin.

DirkVoodoo

WorldWideCycles are pretty amazing, and you are spot on: they know how to run a business. Its amazing how many of these bike shops are still in business with the snob-like attitude they present. Lets be honest, even a lot of us on here who are interested in cycling don't know the ins and outs of bike building or componentry. If you buy a bike it shouldn't be a prerequisite that you subscribe to procycling and have a wall mounted collection of park tools. Some people like bikes, know the basics but don't ask to be treated like a moron or be taken advantage of when they enter the LBS.

Joe Daly's is the only shop I have gone into where they treat you like a valued customer. I honestly felt ashamed and like I had wronged someone's sister after my encounters in cycleogical. There is no room for negotiation, no feeling of being "valued" for your custom (I got a free, barely functional water bottle with my Ridley, wahey!) and the first service I got was pretty poor.

Like Quigs Snr said, if WWC set up in Dublin they would absolutely clean-up and I have said that if I buy a new bike down the road it will either be from them, JD or the interweb. I will never, ever go back to cycleogical.

And yes, its a shame they don't read these threads. Maybe if we publicise boards on visits to shops (there are enough of us), they may take notice of some feedback.

If I need to buy anything these days its Wiggle or CRC, no sales people to deal with.

TinyExplosions

+1 on Joe Daly -they treat you right in there

petethedrummer

peel&stick wrote: »

What a joke. I'll be doing my research before buying from them in the future.

Thats a fairly revolutionary idea there, you're blowing my mind.

In defence of them I bought a tyre in a bike shop in swords that was €25 my mate bought the same one for €20 in cycleways. And they are fairly friendly lads to deal with.

kincsem

trinewbie wrote: »

Re: cyclesuperstore - I wouldnt be expecting a great level of service from them either, they tend to leave you to your own and have been ignored a couple of times...some people might argue that allowing a cutomer to browse on their own is a good thing - Fair enough, but the last time I was in Cyclesuperstore I was browsing for around 30 mins, had a few questions about new wheels and couldnt find anyone to help me

+1

I was in Cyclesuperstore last week to buy mudguards and clothing. I couldn't see where the mudguards were so asked a Polish staff guy I'd met before and he kindly pointed them out (he was very helpful on another visit). Another staff person stopped as I was looking at what was on offer and made sure I got the right mudguards.

But looking for clothing upstairs the employee there kept chatting to one customer and left me and another customer unattended for a long time. Surely he should excuse himself to the customer he was attending, have a quick word with the other customers, and then go back to the original customer. Juggle a bit. (The clothing racks were captioned but that was not enough).

When paying at the counter the guy who helped me with the mudguards asked did I get what I wanted upstairs. I replied that I had not been served and would buy elsewhere. And I did. They got the small sale but missed out on a much bigger sale.

Dolani

Perhaps I'm either naive or misguided. I've been reading this thread (newcomer to Boards, as I am). Decided I'd take up cycling in May 2006 and went to see abount a machine. Had been looking in Cycleways and dismissed them as too expensive for someone like me and my needs. Found myself in Cycleogical and was dealt with by Alan (won't give his surname - ask in the shop). Showed interest in my wants and, through questioning, established my needs. I bought, on his recommendation, a grey Ridgeback Day 05. They put drop bars on it, a triple so I could climb hiils on my long distance rides (more thought-about than real) and fittings for the rear panniers. I haven't looked back since - except to check traffic. Carried me on the Wicklow 200, Galway to Dublin, 100kms+ rides in Hungary and, hopefully Mizen to Malin next year and many spins around the Kildare area. The point is that, everytime I go in, they have a welcome for me. They don't know my name, I'm sure, but I feel treated like one of the family. I don't buy something everytime I go in but I feel so well treated that if the same item is available a couple of euro cheaper elsewhere (within reason) I buy from Cliff or one of the lads. They always knock a euro or two off the marked price. I might be getting wrong information from them, but when you know nothing, any interaction is good - and the boys in Cycleogical have been nice to me.