Good bike store recommendation, Dublin 9 area

davenewt

Hi all.

My employer has finally picked up the ball on the bike-to-work scheme, but we need to apply next week (!) and pick a supplier from this list on bikes4work.ie.

I thought I'd at least look into it over the next few days now the opportunity's here...

Thought I'd ask you experienced peeps if you have any recommendations on good stockists, preferably in/around Dublin 9. If there's an Irish supplier not on the above list, there's a possibility to get them to join the bikes4work thing so I won't rule them out if they're not on that list... has to be an Irish supplier though, far as I know...

Am considering a road bike as I used to have a mercian racer in my teenage days.... if I get a mountain bike I might just regret it. I could never go slow, but around town I guess I'll have to, if I want to live much longer, so am I kidding myself?

I'd need to get the right size frame etc, given I'm pretty tall (6'6)... so a store that knows their stuff and isn't just going to see €€€ when I walk in the door is what I'm after.

Cheers for any tips/recommendations - for stockists, and types of bike to consider around the €500-600 mark...

D.

captain P

I bought mine in Duffs in the Omni shopping centre, Santry. I find them great, excellent to deal with.

Little sport in Fairview are pretty good too.

funkyjebus

city cycles in d7 if thats any help, they do felt corretec and raleigh and a few more. really nice chaps always v helpful to me and i didnt even buy my bike there!

HappyHarry

davenewt wrote: »

Cheers for any tips/recommendations - for stockists, and types of bike to consider around the €500-600 mark...
D.

What distance is your commute and do you intend doing longer spins (50km+) at the weekends?

I don't think you'll get much in the way of a decent road racing bike for that price new. I'd say you want to be in the €750 - €850 range at least, but perhaps you can find some end of line '10 models discounted at the moment.

If you can travel it's worth visiting CycleSuperStore in Tallaght, and CycleWorx near Liffey Valley. They both have a large stock so you can try a few for fit. It's a big purchase so be prepared to travel a little if you can.

davenewt

HappyHarry wrote: »

What distance is your commute and do you intend doing longer spins (50km+) at the weekends?

I don't think you'll get much in the way of a decent road racing bike for that price new. I'd say you want to be in the €750 - €850 range at least, but perhaps you can find some end of line '10 models discounted at the moment.

If you can travel it's worth visiting CycleSuperStore in Tallaght, and CycleWorx near Liffey Valley. They both have a large stock so you can try a few for fit. It's a big purchase so be prepared to travel a little if you can.

Thanks for the recommendations. I'll try to get to a few different places alright!

Commute would be around 3 miles, not far at all. Would anticipate using the bike more for longer spins at weekends, probably an hour or two max - at least to begin with!

How would you guys rate something like the Giant Defy 4 (€595 from Duff) vs the Defy 3 (775)? Would the cheaper option be easily upgradeable later if required?

Or in a similar bracket, what about this 'Boardman' from Halfords for €624?

Not a lot of the specs mean anything to me, I'm afraid!

Thanks again

D.

HappyHarry

davenewt wrote: »

How would you guys rate something like the Giant Defy 4 (€595 from Duff) vs the Defy 3 (775)? Would the cheaper option be easily upgradeable later if required?

Upgrading parts after is a really expensive way to do it. The Groupset (Gears, derailleurs, levers etc) are a really large part of the expense of the bike. See here for the Shimano road groupsets in descending order. 2200 and Sora are entry level 8 & 9 speed. Many people complain about the way the shifters are designed, and will recommend you go for the Tiagra groupset. Try them out for yourself and decide if the extra cost is worth it.

davenewt wrote: »

Or in a similar bracket, what about this 'Boardman' from Halfords for €624?

It's a similar price bracket, but not a similar bike. This is a hybrid with flat bars. They tend to be a bit cheaper for a similar spec and are fine for commuting, but not really what you want for 2 hours spins on the weekend.

A final word of advice on using a nice bike as a commuter.... you'll need a bike that can take mudguards, decent lights, and decent locks (one is not enough). Expect to spend 100-150 on those. You'll need a track pump and some good clothes too. If you don't have a secure place to lock it in work, I'd suggest buying a €70 secondhand junker for the commute, lots of bike getting nicked these days. I assume you have somewhere secure at home to keep it.

davenewt

Good info - many thanks!

The point about getting a cheap bike for commuting is one I'd been thinking about too. I find myself getting carried away wanting a really nice bike for longer spins... and I sure wouldn't be comfortable leaving it unattended during the day.

Wonder if a sub-€100 bike would be considered an 'accessory' under the b2w scheme

Thanks again. Hope to check out some bikes tmrw.

HappyHarry

davenewt wrote: »

I find myself getting carried away wanting a really nice bike for longer spins...

You sound hooked. maybe you should look at a carbon frame bike with a 105 Groupset, and nice light wheels

Seriously though, if you are looking for a solid entry level bike that you won't be wanting to change in a year when you're doing 4 hr spins, consider something similar to the Defy 2 in terms of spec. Cube, BH, Trek, Lapierre are all good brands and should have something similar.

Not sure about the other brands but Giant seem to be gradually reducing the spec of certain level bikes each year. So if you can get a 2010 model in your size not only are you probably getting it discounted as it's last years model but it may be a better spec than the 2011 model.

Depending on how much you are saving with BTW scheme, you may be better off buying secondhand and paying yourself. There are some great bikes around going fairly cheap because the owners are upgrading on the BTW scheme. Most shops aren't exactly giving great deals to people using the scheme.

davenewt

Resurrecting my oldest subscribed thread but just to say... some 20 months later, I finally have a bike voucher in my hands and am about to go shopping! :pac: :pac: :pac:

triggermortis

davenewt wrote: »

Resurrecting my oldest subscribed thread but just to say... some 20 months later, I finally have a bike voucher in my hands and am about to go shopping! :pac: :pac: :pac:

and in all that time, have you decided what you're going to buy?

Beasty

triggermortis wrote: »

and in all that time, have you decided what you're going to buy?

Whatever it was, it's probably discontinued now:pac:

davenewt

Beasty wrote: »

Whatever it was, it's probably discontinued now:pac:

Haha, you're right!* :pac:

*The 2011 model is no longer available. Oh well

mikemac1

Little Sport in Fairview, D3 are excellent

Not far from your location

davenewt

Thanks, will have to make a point of checking them out for accessories, as the bike is already on order from the lads at Eco Cycles around the corner from me

Crow92

In halfords atm you could get the boardman road comp @779 down from 999.

Triple butted aluminium frame.
Carbon forks
Mavic cxp 22 wheels
Sram apex groupset.
Just over 9kg.

Not bad for the price.
http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_777859_langId_-1_categoryId_212536#tab1