Cycleways

tunney

I used not to be a fan of cycleways. I found the sales staff unhelpful and uninformed and a little rude. And I found the mechanics, to put it bluntly, crap.

Given I now work in town I've popped in a few times to get bits and bobs and i've noticed the sales staff are friendlier and more informed.

However its in the mechanics department that there have, in my opinion, been huge changes. Friendly, uberhelpful, knowledgable lads there. Especially the baldy lad with the little bit of a goatie.

When I stripped the bolts on my Durace SRMs, he got me spares.
When I needed a very particular freehub that no one (and I mean no one) could get me, or really tried he tracked one down and got it for me.
When I was looking for specialist tools all the other retailers (online and otherwise) either didn't have a clue or weren't arsed. (that being said I had to get them from america in the end)
And on and on.

Always helpful and always goes above and beyond in my experiences.

(nice to not be ranting)

austinbyrne21

+1 on the sales staff, very friendly. Haven't had to deal with the mechanics though so good to know they know they're stuff!

on_the_nickel

tunney wrote: »

However its in the mechanics department that there have, in my opinion, been huge changes. Friendly, uberhelpful, knowledgable lads there. Especially the baldy lad with the little bit of a goatie.

When I stripped the bolts on my Durace SRMs, he got me spares.
When I needed a very particular freehub that no one (and I mean no one) could get me, or really tried he tracked one down and got it for me.
When I was looking for specialist tools all the other retailers (online and otherwise) either didn't have a clue or weren't arsed. (that being said I had to get them from america in the end)
And on and on.

Always helpful and always goes above and beyond in my experiences.

Don't be shy, go on, ask him out, you never know!

Jawgap

.....and they have a great pump loan service:)

I've always found them to be very good, very helpful and very friendly - little pit pricey perhaps, but they do try to offer value.

Anyone ever gone on any of their Wednesday evening spins - the staff organise them.

funkyjebus

tunney wrote: »

I used not to be a fan of cycleways. I found the sales staff unhelpful and uninformed and a little rude. And I found the mechanics, to put it bluntly, crap.

Given I now work in town I've popped in a few times to get bits and bobs and i've noticed the sales staff are friendlier and more informed.

However its in the mechanics department that there have, in my opinion, been huge changes. Friendly, uberhelpful, knowledgable lads there. Especially the baldy lad with the little bit of a goatie.

When I stripped the bolts on my Durace SRMs, he got me spares.
When I needed a very particular freehub that no one (and I mean no one) could get me, or really tried he tracked one down and got it for me.
When I was looking for specialist tools all the other retailers (online and otherwise) either didn't have a clue or weren't arsed. (that being said I had to get them from america in the end)
And on and on.

Always helpful and always goes above and beyond in my experiences.

(nice to not be ranting)

that same bold guy was really helpful to my on getting in a crank. got in two dsys, this was a few months back. also ordered in cyclogical at the same time, im still waiting for them to get it in. i really hope they call me in a year to say they have it!! bald guy showed me in thee shop how to fit new one too and on another day showed me how to change my tube.

Dirk Gently

Havent gone in in a long time because of their sales staff tbh. They didn't want to know unless you were buying something very expensive and always tried to offload specialized gear on me I didnt want. There was one eastern european guy who was always helpful and friendly but on the whole found the rest very arrogant and more interested in selling the most expensive items rather than the most practical one.

Glad to hear things have changed for the better.

Tenzor07

Cycleways have to be the premier bike shop in the ROI, plenty of Staff, good range of bikes, well laid out shop..

Have bought a Specialized Mountain and road bike from them recently and could not be happier with them... You get a free service after 1 month, but the bikes are so well setup that i dont see that being needed for another few months...

tunney

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Cycleways have to be the premier bike shop in the ROI, plenty of Staff, good range of bikes, well laid out shop..

Have bought a Specialized Mountain and road bike from them recently and could not be happier with them... You get a free service after 1 month, but the bikes are so well setup that i dont see that being needed for another few months...

The "free" service after a month is industry standard and isn't really a service but rather a tightening of cables and bolts that stretch with initial use. Do not postpone it.

kemase

I lost a screw off a shoe cleat on the way into town recently, popped into Cycleways and one of the mechs in gave me a spare, no charge and no fuss.

nerraw1111

I found their service to be less than crap. Brought my bike into be serviced, told them the gears were slipping, disc brakes rubbing etc.

Picked up a week later and the mechanic asked 'so what was wrong it?' That was the first clue that they haven't bothered fixing it.

I told the same story and he told me that I was wrong, the gears were fine.

Two minutes later on O'Connell street, gears were slipping and brakes rubbing.

Borneo Fnctn

I brought my bike in to the workshop for a quick derailleur adjustment and the same bald fellow actually did the job there and then free of charge. I didn't even have an appointment.

ryan_sherlock

Mel and I are supported by Cycleways to a good extent so we are biased, but I have to mention about their mechanics...

As anyone who knows me, I am very anal about my equipment, I make sure I always race with the best stuff, setup perfectly. It had been a long time since I trusted any mechanics other than myself (and Robin Seymour) after getting burned many times by various bike shops as I got into cycling. The guys in Cycleways have changed that - all three of them (well, the regulars), I fully trust for building wheels, services etc... They even rebuilt my RED shifter that was borked in the RAS. They built up a powertap MTB Disc wheel for me onto a light Stans rim 18 months ago for my training bike - all the off-road kms I have done on it and it is still as true as the day I got it from them.

As I have constantly heard during the TdF coverge - chapeau

empirix

have been in quite a few times, some of the guys are clowns in there, that american dude is just plain strange, however i found the mechanics quite helpful(i was looking for a special tool thats quite hard to get) anyway, the mexican dude(i think) is uber friendly/helpful and knows his stuff, about mountain biking anyway, i always try and locate him whenever i go in now, better off doing your own work anyway!

Ryaner

I've had some very mixed results with them. Bought a bit of gear there and things been good however last time I needed my wheel rebuilt, they had it for 6 weeks until I collected it, still not built. Off to Mr Skeff and done the next day.

Side Show Bob

Especially the baldy lad with the little bit of a goatie.

nice to not be ranting)[/QUOTE]

That guy's name is Michael, he is the best cycle mechanic that I have ever come across, and no hassle just does the job,

The only one that I will let near my bike under any circumstances, he is worth whatever Cycleways charge, which is usually over the top anyway

kumate_champ07

been there a few times to get spokes, they seem like they got things running smoothly. Ive been to a good few bike shops around the city, generally the staff have been great, one guy on Clanbrassil st gave me chainring bolts (single speed) for free! they were second hand but still like new.

mloc123

In there today and picked up a tri-suit, €69 which makes it €20 cheaper than wiggle, it was not a sale item.

rcaz

I'm only getting started in this proper cycling business, went in there to get a decent pump and the guy at the counter (can't remember how I'd describe him...) was dead sound and helpful. Gave me a good rundown of how to set my tyre pressures correctly, which I figured would be eye-rolling territory for a lot of cyclists.

I was impressed, most of my bike shop experiences have been short on soundness.

funkyjebus

El Pr0n wrote: »

I'm only getting started in this proper cycling business, went in there to get a decent pump and the guy at the counter (can't remember how I'd describe him...) was dead sound and helpful. Gave me a good rundown of how to set my tyre pressures correctly, which I figured would be eye-rolling territory for a lot of cyclists.

I was impressed, most of my bike shop experiences have been short on soundness.

ah soundness, the prefferred unit of measure for all cycling shops.

Lumen

mloc123 wrote: »

In there today and picked up a tri-suit

Ah, come on now. It's not really fair posting that stuff on a public forum, you could put them out of business.

As a balancing perspective, they do also sell cycling gear.

penexpers

I've had mixed experiences in there before, particularly when trying to get stuff ordered in. Some of them sometimes forget who the customer is. Have no experience with the mechanics though.

mloc123

Lumen wrote: »

Ah, come on now. It's not really fair posting that stuff on a public forum, you could put them out of business.

As a balancing perspective, they do also sell cycling gear.

Indeed, they even have the tri gear upstairs now... no longer hidden in the basement

Arcadia1

Popped in there a year ago or perhaps a bit longer, was in the process of building up a Spesh Works Roubaix-the eastern European guy(I'm assuming he wasn't the Mexican)was supremely helpful,measured me free of charge, even though I wasn't promising to buy anything there.
And I didn't.
Because Cycleways is, IMO, POISONOUSLY EXPENSIVE.
It was cheaper for me to buy the frame from Sigma in the UK, who were also extremely helpful and supportive.