Dublin 15 Bike Shop

Rouleur180

Hi there,

We are doing some market research on the possibility of opening a new bike shop in the Dublin 15 area.

We are interested to hear your thoughts on whether or not you think there would be a demand for a good all round bike shop offering mainly mid-range bikes road / hybrid / mtb / kids and full bike service in this area?

All & any views or comments are welcome. Tell us what you would like to see in a new bike shop!

We also have a poll - please let us know your thoughts.

DJsail

It would save the M50 ride to Tallaght for a start, great idea and wish you luck but considering your only real competition is Halfords in Blanch, I doubt you'll need it!:D

to avoid the backlash from other boardies, I only considering competition in that area and do not mean the many fine establishments of Dublin who suppy and reapir all your fine machines!

jinka

Always pissed off there is none over there. Think of the european market in Blanch.. A lot of bikers over there.. Need a hand?

Acoustic

depends how much you pay for rent/mortgage and location etc

Rouleur180

Indeed, I don't want to encourage knocking any of the existing shops in the city, I use them myself! - There does however seem to be a distinct lack of a decent shop for real cyclists in this area, which covers a huge population, many of whom ride - or maybe would take it up with a good local shop on their doorstep.

kenon

There is a well hidden bike shop in Castleknock. Used them once, they seemed kind of dear and it was quite small.

There used to be a bike shop is Mulhuddart, very small and now its gone.

Halfords, JJB sports and Castleknock cycles are the only bike shops I know of in Dublin 15. There is probably more though.

petergfiffin

Was only looking for one myself a couple of weeks ago and given the size of D15 was amazed there's none.

Would just say if you were thinking of setting one you wouldn't want to waste too much time as people will be thinking of Santa v v soon!!

wotdef

There is a bike shop in Mulhuddart, its called Bikes and Babes, would generally only cater for the lower to low/mid end. We need a proper shop out here that WILL compete with the others. Good luck with it and I hope it does take off.

Lumen

Coolmine Industrial Estate would be perfect, as it's walking distance from my house.

Thanks.

fletch

kenon wrote: »

There is a well hidden bike shop in Castleknock. Used them once, they seemed kind of dear and it was quite small.

Is that the one in behind all the shops...I bought a bike in there years and years ago...don't know if it's still open. I for one would welcome a quality bike store in Blanch....save me driving to Lucan every time I need to pick stuff up.

Caroline_ie

whereabout is castlenock cycles?

fletch

Caroline_ie wrote: »

whereabout is castlenock cycles?

The only one I know is here and I'm not sure if it's still open.

Edit - Think it's closed alright.

flickerx

53 degrees north in the blanch retail park (next to the centre) sell road bikes (specializeds and treks IIRC) and loads of gear.

at least, they did when i was in there last about 18 months ago.

Stark

They still do Specialized bikes. I haven't seen any Treks in there. It's a small enough operation by the looks of it. The stuff they sell is provided by Cycleways. I don't think they've a workshop on site for doing servicing, I believe you have to visit Cycleways in the city centre for that.

Bulmers

was only looking for one myself a few weeks ago too..no bike shops in D15, was suprised, have to go to a guy on boards to get my bike fixed.

I think Castleknock cycles is gone, used to use him in my days cycling to college, went looking for him but gone a good while by all accounts. Nearest decent bike shop is Stagg cycles in Lucan village, or apparently there is a good bike shop in Finglas, other than that all you have is Halfords.

I think it would be a good idea and suprised no one has thought of it, one of the biggest populated satelitte towns in Dublin so odds are would work out, was in Halfords last wk and there seeemed to be alot of people looking to get bikes fixed / serviced etc...

Carroller

wotdef wrote: »

There is a bike shop in Mulhuddart, its called Bikes and Babes, would generally only cater for the lower to low/mid end.

I thought it was bikes and babies or bikes and buggies. I dont know anyway was a stupid shop and its closed now.

Was basically hidden from all other shops in the area.

Lumen

Carroller wrote: »

I thought it was bikes and babies or bikes and buggies. I dont know anyway was a stupid shop and its closed now.

It was an odd place alright, didn't realise it had closed.

During the attempted purchase of a trailer I had to explain to a member of staff what a chainstay was.

wotdef

Yep. I think they would have been better suited to selling horse boxes.:D

BostonB

Theres

Halfords (not really a bike shop)
Bikes and Babes - Mulhuddart
City Cycles Manor Street/Cabra
Humphies in Finglas
Staggs in Finglas

tbh your not far from town, or the M50 so all the shops in town are within reach.

There was one near the 12th lock and another in castleknock. But they are long gone.

ROK ON

@OP.
I think that at the very least a bike store that specialised on repair and sale of consumables would be a good idea (for me at least). I like Staggs, but is a bit of a Trek. I am not sure that you should Focus on the bike sales, as by all accounts there is very little money in it.
However there are a few things in your favour: (1) probably the single largest cachement area in the country, (2) provision of basic amenities in the area is poor (very few butchers, fruit and veg shops, atm machines for example). (3) I encounter a huge amount of cyclists traversing through D15 most days when I am there.

Best of luck. Bare in mind that there are towns (Killarney, Clonmel come to mind) that have a smaller population than D15 yet have more than one bike shop.
Maybe speak to a couple of shop owners to find out how they get on.

Caroline_ie

BostonB wrote: »

Theres

Halfords (not really a bike shop)
Bikes and Babes - Mulhuddart
City Cycles Manor Street/Cabra
Humphies in Finglas
Staggs in Finglas

That's why I end up ordering online - many times I had to rush out of work to get to a shop in town before it closes. And my boss doesn't understand why the 'bike shop' ... whereas my collegues with car troubles always get the time off to go to the garage... but that's a different thread debate.

Rouleur180

Thanks for the continued debate & opinions guys.

I'm glad to see that in the most the vibes are all positive. We are currently assessing units & locations vs rents / accessability / parking and so on. Although a shop open for Christmas might be tempting - sales wise, I am very conscious not to rush it and make mistakes and customers unhappy to turn a quick buck - this venture will be a long term project to cater for the needs of all cycling beginners / enthusiasts / racers / commuters in the D15 area.

BostonB

Judging by the queues in Halfords and other shops theres obviously a big demand for family bicycle shop. Not just for the usual xmas/summer/birthday kids bike, and all the related servicing and repairs. (6 weeks backlog in Halfords recently). But theres also a growing market of people into MTB and traditional road bikes for racing and exercise. I've noticed more commuters around D.15 since I started back on the bike last year.

I'd have no idea if theres any money in it though.

jimm

ROK ON wrote: »

but is a bit of a Trek. I am not sure that you should Focus on the bike sales

LOOK, that Felt like one Giant advert.

kincsem

Why is there a lack of bicycle shops in the area? Perhaps it is because they were not profitable. Ask around and you might find out. Perhaps an old business closed when the owner retired.

Work out how much it is going to cost each week to stay in business and how many hours you can charge out and at what rate.

It might be best if you could get a premises cheaply for a short period as a test. Or you might get some unused space in an existing business. There are many shops closed / vacant.

daymobrew

BostonB wrote: »

There was one near the 12th lock and another in castleknock. But they are long gone.

You are showing your age if you remember the one near 12th Lock
I bumped into the owner of that shop just a few weeks ago. He was (and still is) a short, hunched over guy.

Coolmine Industrial Estate is a good location. Although it doesn't get much passing traffic, you will have ample parking and the rents are definitely going to be cheaper than shopping centres.

Lumen

kincsem wrote: »

Why is there a lack of bicycle shops in the area? Perhaps it is because they were not profitable. Ask around and you might find out. Perhaps an old business closed when the owner retired.

Perhaps to do with the fact that "it were all fields" ten years ago, and bike shops operate on geological timescales.

Turbulent Bill

daymobrew wrote: »

Coolmine Industrial Estate is a good location. Although it doesn't get much passing traffic, you will have ample parking and the rents are definitely going to be cheaper than shopping centres.

+1, just thinking that estate would be a great place to set up. It's close enough to Blanch village and the shopping centre for people to stop by for browsing and repairs, and I'd imagine they have cheap available units. Maybe something like a mini CSS with a decent range and space to see the stock?

Vélo

daymobrew wrote: »

You are showing your age if you remember the one near 12th Lock
I bumped into the owner of that shop just a few weeks ago. He was (and still is) a short, hunched over guy.

Coolmine Industrial Estate is a good location. Although it doesn't get much passing traffic, you will have ample parking and the rents are definitely going to be cheaper than shopping centres.

Wow there's a shop I completely forgot about. I had a Raleigh Rapide racer years ago and brought it there to get fixed. He told me to bring it back to McDonald Cycles where I bought it as it might be covered under the warranty. Fair play to him, I got a brand new frame even though I broke the bike by dropping it (even though it was only the gear lever that broke). The other bicycle shop in Castleknock was behind branagans butchers, where Mogensens (I think that's how you spelt it) used to be.


OP -

I think D15 is crying out for a bike shop. If I wasn't involved in a family business it's something I might have looked at myself. If cycling takes off like other european cities, it could turn out to be a shrewd move. Whether it takes off like other cities I don't know but there will be a an increase in cyclists (IMO) and you don't exactly have much local competition as it stands.

I presume there'd be at least a 20% discount for all registered Boards users:)

BostonB

daymobrew wrote: »

You are showing your age if you remember the one near 12th Lock
I bumped into the owner of that shop just a few weeks ago. He was (and still is) a short, hunched over guy.

Coolmine Industrial Estate is a good location. Although it doesn't get much passing traffic, you will have ample parking and the rents are definitely going to be cheaper than shopping centres.

LOL, indeed. Pre M50 and most of the houses estates now in the area lol.

The only problem with Coolmine or indeed anywhere near the shopping center, is that you can't get to them at peak traffic. Especially on a busy weekends.

sexpot

Personally I would love a bike shop in Dublin 15, especially one that sold second hands as well. I normally have to go to City cycles in Blackhall Place or Cycleways since its near college, but it would be handy having one nearby.

But from the indirect experience (knew the owners) of seeing a music shop open (I know, totally different area) in Coolmine industrial estate, after there being a lot of initial interest, then crash and burn, I'd be a bit cautious.

That Mulhuddart shop is a joke though, it's barely a bike shop. I always hate going in to Halfords as well, so something that did quality stuff locally would be great.

Good luck in whatever you do though