Cycleways / Bike Shops Experiences

Faker74

Hi Guys,

About to buy my first "proper" bike and was gonna buy one of the Specialized Sirrus range, went into Cycleways and was told they didn't have a suitable one in stock but could have in around two weeks for me.

I decided to think about it rather than place the order then and there. Subsequently was chatting to a friend about this who told me his company had stopped dealing with Cycleways on the Cycle to Work scheme as they were constantly telling people bikes would be in in a couple of weeks but it would drag on for months at a time.

Obviously this is all third and fourth hand information so was wondering if any of you had similar experiences with them?

kona

Depends on suppliers and distributors, cycleways (or any small bikeshop) wont carry many bikes in storage, too risky and expensive, they order as they need them.
What company was this that stopped dealing with them? Sounds like a typical story youd expect to hear from a friend of a friend.

C3PO

kona wrote: »

Depends on suppliers and distributors, cycleways (or any small bikeshop) wont carry many bikes in storage, too risky and expensive, they order as they need them.

Cycleways are hardly a small shop - they are the retail arm of the Irish Specialized importer!

Caroline_ie

If you know which one you want, you could contact worldwide cycles in Clonmel, they also sells Spesh and they ship.

Wheelworx in Lucan are very good with their stock, they have lots in store. Might be a good idea to go have a look, even though I am pretty sure they don;t carry Specialized right now.

happytramp

Everyone will have their own preferences but for my money Cycleways is one of the better shops in Dublin. Friendly staff, good range (not just bbb) and most stuff is a few quid cheaper than, say, City Cycles or Cyclogical. They have also been very good at ringing me to let me know how they're getting on tracking down a hard to get part or whatever.

Raam

When I ordered my Specialized from Cycleways (2006) it took at least a month before it came in. I think the problem is Specialized themselves, but that's just my guess.

youcancallmeal

I've bought two bikes in the last 5 years. Both times I tried to buy a Specialized Sirrus in cycleways and both times was told it would be months before they had the model/size I wanted. Ended up going elsewhere and got different bikes. I have found though that cycleways are great for other stuff likes parts and accessories. Usually their prices are on par with chainreaction too.

fasty

I got a Sirrus from Cycleways in 2009 and I had to wait a week.

As far as bike shops go, they're okay... Most of the lads I've dealt with over the years are fine, although one of their bike mechanics seemed a bit grumpy when I asked a question about tyres. He was standing around doing **** all and there was no one else on the floor downstairs so I don't get the problem.

kona

RPL1 wrote: »

Cycleways are hardly a small shop - they are the retail arm of the Irish Specialized importer!

There are no Irish specialized distributors. Any bike shop in Ireland can order specialized if they really want to, they just have to source them fro the UK market, of which is allocated feck all of the total supply.

http://www.specialized.com/gb/en/bc/SBCGlobalPages.jsp?pageName=intlSubs

And I'd consider their shop to be quite small.

Faker74

So from the sound of things seems more like a Specialized issue than a CycleWays one? Makes me wonder why the guys in the store were so eager to steer me in that direction if this was going to be an issue.

Anyway, any thoughts on what a good alternative to the Sirrus would be? I want a light weight hybrid suitable for commuting and occassionsal weekend cycle. Not a fan of drop handle bars, needs to be easily maintained as i am a complete novice, and not something that'll cost the earth!

youcancallmeal

Check out the Trek 7.xFX range or the Giant Rapid range. Trek will probably be the easiest to get as there are a good few stockists around Dublin. Cycle Superstore in Tallaght are good for the Giant range.

Tenzor07

Try the Cyclesuper store in Tallaght for this: http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=32&idproduct=38481

Was up there at the weekend and they seem to have a large amount of stock

C3PO

kona wrote: »

There are no Irish specialized distributors. Any bike shop in Ireland can order specialized if they really want to, they just have to source them fro the UK market, of which is allocated feck all of the total supply.

http://www.specialized.com/gb/en/bc/SBCGlobalPages.jsp?pageName=intlSubs

And I'd consider their shop to be quite small.

I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure that if you want to officially sell Specialized bikes in Ireland then you have to source them from the Irish importer (can't think of the company name offhand!) who also own Cycleways!

spyderski

kona wrote: »

There are no Irish specialized distributors. Any bike shop in Ireland can order specialized if they really want to, they just have to source them fro the UK market, of which is allocated feck all of the total supply.

http://www.specialized.com/gb/en/bc/SBCGlobalPages.jsp?pageName=intlSubs

And I'd consider their shop to be quite small.

All incorrect, please check your facts. Cycleways (or a connected company owned by Phil Cassidy) ARE the distributor for Specialized in Ireland. If they can't get them, no-one can. And you can't buy one from the UK, as authorised retailers there are not (officially) allowed to ship Specialized bikes outside their home territory.

penexpers

Cycleways, like all shops I guess, can be a bit hit and miss. The guy I dealt with when I was getting my Brompton was brilliant but I have had less than satisfactory experiences there before.

Tackleberry

Base distribution is one of Dave Cassidy's companys and has the sole rights for Specialized in Ireland, the Republic anyway - as a bike shop, you get it from him or you don't get it at all.

<snip>

doozerie

Tackleberry wrote: »

Base distribution is one of Dave Cassidy's companys and has the sole rights for Specialized in Ireland, the Republic anyway - as a bike shop, you get it from him or you don't get it at all.

I presume you mean Phil Cassidy? His brother is Dave Cassidy (who owns Cyclelogical). It is truly a small world.

kona

spyderski wrote: »

All incorrect, please check your facts. Cycleways (or a connected company owned by Phil Cassidy) ARE the distributor for Specialized in Ireland. If they can't get them, no-one can. And you can't buy one from the UK, as authorised retailers there are not (officially) allowed to ship Specialized bikes outside their home territory.

bull****.

for a start halfrauds can order them into ireland, as can any other bike shop. There are PLENTY of distributors based in the UK that serve the irish market. Are you sayin that specializeds own info is wrong?

If Mr cassidy cant order a bike into his own shop hes not much of a distributor.

Lumen

kona wrote: »

bull****.

for a start halfrauds can order them into ireland, as can any other bike shop. There are PLENTY of distributors based in the UK that serve the irish market. Are you sayin that specializeds own info is wrong?

If Mr cassidy cant order a bike into his own shop hes not much of a distributor.

There are three seperate cases here:

1. UK retail -> Irish punter. No.
2. UK retail -> Irish bike shop. Probably.
3. UK distributor -> Irish bike shop. No idea.

eoghan84

I found one of the staff in Cycleways to be very rude when I was asking about getting a jersey to the point that I decided not to get anything there seen as we have CRC! I guess though I was only buying a jersey and maybe he didn't have much time for such a little purchase.

doozerie

Lumen wrote:

There are three seperate cases here:

1. UK retail -> Irish punter. No.

That was my understanding too, and the fact that sites like Evan Cycles (and Bike24, I think) won't even ship the likes of Specialized inner tubes to here seemed to support it, but I discovered recently that there is at least one retailer in the North who will sell to here. I'm not sure where deliveries from North to South fit into the usual restrictions so perhaps it is a special case in which case any shop in the North may be able to ship to here.

Raging_Hull

I bought a Cannondale in Cycleways on the Bike to Work scheme this time last year. The staff I was dealing with were brilliant. Spent loads of time with me and set up a number of different bikes for me to try sizes.

I had a few problems with the front derailleur and their after-sales was great too. The bike I wanted was in stock, but they did tell me that if I wanted any other model (e.g the Ultegra version) it would be months...

Tenzor07

+1 on Cycleways after sales service, had two instances where I had issues with my bike.

1, was when the freehub went as i was out for a spin up the mountains on a saturday, brought it into the shop that day and it was fixed *

2, brake disc was rubbing and i brought it in on a sunday and it was fixed straight away. *

Never found any of the staff to be anything less than quite helpful at all times i have been there.



(*try doing that with a bike purchased over the internet!)

Kintarō Hattori

I bought my Cube Acid from the place just beside the Luas tracks by Capel Street. I found them really friendly and helpful. They were recommended to me by a colleague who was dealing with Cycleways and who were giving him the run around. I can't see a reason at the moment for me to use anyone else, they'll hopefully be getting my business for a good long time to come.

kona

Lumen wrote: »

There are three seperate cases here:

1. UK retail -> Irish punter. No.
2. UK retail -> Irish bike shop. Probably.
3. UK distributor -> Irish bike shop. No idea.

From my POV Im dealing with 3, as cycleways is a shop and not a punter. Still specialized dont even list a Irish supplier, and they dont list britain as supplying the Irish market, However you can order (if your a retailer) from a english distributor.
Just the Same way that cyclogical were Kona Dealers yet other Irish shops stocked them, If I remember right Paligap are the British suppliers of them.

Comes back to when the manufacturer decides to produce X amount of a model, then give Y amount to the UK market, Y is usually considerably less than youd expect.

I dont mean to be coming across as Im right your wrong, maybe a company owned by cycleways owner do supply some shops, but they are certainly not authorised and are certainly not the only way to get specialized.
Also I dont see how making it out that cycleways cant get anybikes into the shop in a month is helping anybody, especially when most of the Bad stories here are from "a friend" or " A friend of a friend" , a bike shop isnt going to give you the run around for the craic especially when your dropping the guts of a grand or perhaps more, from repeated personal experience, its the suppliers who for some reason never have stock, and its usually basic stuff, add in beauracracy and its a disaster getting parts into this country in a week. Just a small example I had a bike come in during november,that I ordered the previous febuary. Needless to say I looked like the dick to the customer and had told him I didnt know where it was, and I didnt, and supplier didnt either. But the supplier in question is notorious for this.
So IMO its quite possibly not cycleways fault at all.

pauric1

i wouldnt go near cycleways or their sister shop runways again. i went into runways with my wife cos we both needed new runners. two staff members there, a foreign lad who just shrugged his shoulders and said "dunno" to most of my questions and a local who was obviously a running snob and extremely rude and unhelpful. stay the f*** away from them.

i've been in to wheelworx in lucan a few times now and find them really helpful and chatty even if i'm only in to browse. they have a huge selection of bikes on the floor aswell.

P

kona

pauric1 wrote: »

i wouldnt go near cycleways or their sister shop runways again. i went into runways with my wife cos we both needed new runners. two staff members there, a foreign lad who just shrugged his shoulders and said "dunno" to most of my questions and a local who was obviously a running snob and extremely rude and unhelpful. stay the f*** away from them.

i've been in to wheelworx in lucan a few times now and find them really helpful and chatty even if i'm only in to browse. they have a huge selection of bikes on the floor aswell.

P

Id say the total opposite, was the lad in runways running for sportsworld? I found that guy to be extremely helpful, he measured up one of my mates, did a small gait analysis, reccomended a pair of runner that were 2/3 off, happydays, best experience ive had in a running shop and I wasnt even buying them. Then he started talking about what runs he does and came across really well, as In he had a genuine interest in the sport and what hes selling.

Whats a running snob? Told you your nike air schmax were for the pub? (

They are!

)

penexpers

kona wrote: »

From my POV Im dealing with 3, as cycleways is a shop and not a punter. Still specialized dont even list a Irish supplier, and they dont list britain as supplying the Irish market, However you can order (if your a retailer) from a english distributor.
Just the Same way that cyclogical were Kona Dealers yet other Irish shops stocked them, If I remember right Paligap are the British suppliers of them.

http://www.base.ie/14.html

Base Active Distribution Ltd. are the Irish distributors for the following high quality cycling and sports products, Specialized Bikes and Accessories, Cannondale high quality bicycles, cycling clothing and accessories, Enervit food supplements for sports and an active life, and much more.

I would be willing to bet a pretty penny that if you (as a bike shop in Ireland) called the English distributor, they would point you to Base.

C3PO

kona wrote: »

I dont mean to be coming across as Im right your wrong, maybe a company owned by cycleways owner do supply some shops, but they are certainly not authorised and are certainly not the only way to get specialized.

Once again ... I'm pretty sure that these statements are simply incorrect! Base are the authorised Specialized Irish Distributor and no bike shops in Ireland can get Specialized bikes "officially" except through them! The possible exceptions to this could be big retail operations such as Halfords who have a presence in the UK market also!

kona

If you follow the specialized link on the page you listed, go to Britain and Ireland, then go to find a dealer, cycleways are not even listed in Dublin, however richies bike shop in swords are.
Now obviously cycleways do sell specialized! Just odd that they are no listed anywhere on specialized site and neither is base14

kona

RPL1 wrote: »

Once again ... I'm pretty sure that these statements are simply incorrect! Base are the authorised Specialized Irish Distributor and no bike shops in Ireland can get Specialized bikes "officially" except through them! The possible exceptions to this could be big retail operations such as Halfords who have a presence in the UK market also!

Then why are they not listed on the specialized site? perhaps I am wrong, but I know for a fact you can source specialized in ireland from a distributor other than base14, albeit a english one.

penexpers

kona wrote: »

Then why are they not listed on the specialized site? perhaps I am wrong, but I know for a fact you can source specialized in ireland from a distributor other than base14, albeit a english one.

How do you know for a fact?

penexpers

kona wrote: »

If you follow the specialized link on the page you listed, go to Britain and Ireland, then go to find a dealer, cycleways are not even listed in Dublin, however richies bike shop in swords are.
Now obviously cycleways do sell specialized! Just odd that they are no listed anywhere on specialized site and neither is base14

If I type in "Dublin" on that site, it thinks I am talking about somewhere called Dublin in Northern Ireland. It also thinks that Cloughjordan is in Dublin city centre. It's quite obvious the dealer locator is very broken.

Lumen

"Official" is a very loose term. Which specific contracts are you referring to?

C3PO

Lumen wrote: »

"Official" is a very loose term. Which specific contracts are you referring to?

When I said "official" I meant through an authorised Specialized distributor. It is always open to a retail outlet to source bikes through the "grey" market or alternatively to buy bikes from other retail outlets and then sell them on!

durrus

Everyone in the bike business in Ireland knows that Cycleways, or rather their wholesale arm Base, are the distributors for Specialized in Ireland. I'm not aware - as a shop owner - of any other way of sourcing Specialized officially and with brand support other than through this channel. Buying one through the 'grey market' of using a retail shop in the UK could be done I suppose but why would you? God knows there's enough bike brands to go around.

kona

Well, the link I posted in my first post lists the Authorised specialized dealers, according to specialized. Ireland has no listed Authorised dealer according to specialized, and I doubt its a website issue as Cycleways have sold specialized years.
Ive no Idea how Base 14 or cycleways operate, but Im sure it would be a concern that for whatever reason they are not listed on specializeds site, as this Im sure is a fist step to finding a specialized bike!

We all know that cycleways is one of the biggest specialized dealers in the country.

Also, If its listing a shop in swords as a specialized dealer when i type in Dublin then Im satisfied its working.

I'd love to know what the story is anyhow with all this.

penexpers

kona wrote: »

Well, the link I posted in my first post lists the Authorised specialized dealers, according to specialized. Ireland has no listed Authorised dealer according to specialized, and I doubt its a website issue as Cycleways have sold specialized years.
Ive no Idea how Base 14 or cycleways operate, but Im sure it would be a concern that for whatever reason they are not listed on specializeds site, as this Im sure is a fist step to finding a specialized bike!

We all know that cycleways is one of the biggest specialized dealers in the country.

Also, If its listing a shop in swords as a specialized dealer when i type in Dublin then Im satisfied its working.

I'd love to know what the story is anyhow with all this.

Search for Dublin, change radius to 250km and look what appears in the list...

spyderski

Kona, Perhaps you should ring Specialized UK tomorrow, as you seem unable to accept that:

1. Cycleways are an approved Spesh retailer.
2. Base are the EXCLUSIVE Spesh distributor for the Republic of Ireland.

Don't mean to be blunt, but this is backed up by several posters here (including a bike shop owner), anyone who knows anything about bike retail in Ireland, and, it seems, the admittedly dysfunctional Specialized UK website. BTW The website problem is a common one in a lot of industries as we have no postcodes here, and much of the web software is postcode-driven.

kona

spyderski wrote: »

Kona, Perhaps you should ring Specialized UK tomorrow, as you seem unable to accept that:..

Do you work in a bike shop?

spyderski wrote: »

1. Cycleways are an approved Spesh retailer..

Never said they were not, In fact Im pretty sure I stated they were.

spyderski wrote: »

2. Base are the EXCLUSIVE Spesh distributor for the Republic of Ireland.

..

Halfrauds can get them, and they dont get them through base 14, now they probably do get them through specialized UK, However, they have stores here, so base 14 are hardly EXCLUSIVE spesh distributors to Irish riders and stores.

spyderski wrote: »

Don't mean to be blunt, but this is backed up by several posters here (including a bike shop owner), anyone who knows anything about bike retail in Ireland, and, it seems, the admittedly dysfunctional Specialized UK website...

DOnt mean to be blunt but the amount of people here who work in the bike industry here Id imagine is very few, I know a hell of alot more than you about it, Ive 6 years of experience in it.
Also, I couldnt care what several posters say, there is plenty of bull**** sprouted on this forum about bike shops thats totally incorrect. I know for a fact that you can get a specialized bike in Ireland that hasnt come from Base 14. Several posters from boards.ie aint gunna make the fact go away.

spyderski wrote: »

BTW The website problem is a common one in a lot of industries as we have no postcodes here, and much of the web software is postcode-driven.

BTW the spesh site states enter adress , not enter postcode.

The website im referring to, after pointed out that if you change the range cycleways comes up, is the one I linked to first that lists the Authorised dealers for each country. Ireland isnt listed, now maybe Base 14 have a contract with Spesh UK.

Now back to the topic in hand, now that in some standing Base 14 is a distributor of specialized, and has strong links to cycleways, the supply problem isnt a cycleways issue, it would be a Specialized issue, so maybe People should tell their friend of a friend this before they spew more **** about a bikeshop.

C3PO

For Gods sake Kona .... you're in a hole ..... stop digging!

kona

RPL1 wrote: »

For Gods sake Kona .... you're in a hole ..... stop digging!

Why? I might get the **** outa this country faster .:p

Ant

kona wrote: »

Halfrauds can get them, and they dont get them through base 14

The name of the company is actually Base Active Distribution Ltd., not base 14 (I presume you're getting the 14 from the URL of their About page).

Keep up the digging!

spyderski

kona wrote: »

Do you work in a bike shop?

No. <snip>

kona

<snip>

RobFowl

Tedious bickering beckons :rolleyes:

Chips Lovell

OK everyone. Let's calm down. We can have this conversation without getting nasty.

BostonB

I've always found Cycleways, pretty friendly particularly the older guy with the glasses. Mechanics were a little grumpy, or maybe just not chatty. Never bought much in there though. Their website is dire though.

Roundabound

I came upon this thread and decided i had to join to say my piece. I have known a few of the guys(and girl) in Cycleways for a few years now and have always gone in there to buy my bits and bobs. Now yes i know them and may get better treatment because i know them but when you observe those guys with regular customers you find people who care about the bikes and the people riding them. I do have to say though in a respectful way people do have their on and off days.....afterall we are all only human at the end of the day. It does also come down to how you talk to them is the way you will get talked back to. The staff in there tend to go above and beyond to ensure customer satisfaction.
Cycleways is also part of Runways and Base Active all owned by the same owner. Base distibutes Specialized to Cycleways and bike shops around the country. They(Base) are the distributors of Specialized in Ireland and in theory nobody else should be bringing them in to the country unless through Base but oh well a few corners are cut by the minority.
Well i hope this might bring clarity to some. If not then its my opinion on a great bike shop. Cheers

Plastik

I've been on a bike for a little more than a year and the first place I usually go a check as a LBS is Cycleways. Bought a Spec Allez from them last January and the wait was no longer than 2-3 weeks, basically the length of time it took for the C2W process to tick over through work.

Have separately used them for buying assorted bits of kit and for getting a bike fitting done with Ash from Runways, who was nothing but a gent and very generous with his time.

Sacred_git

recently got my bike serviced in there, think the dude was polish, bang on chap and done a super job! as was the mexican dude although his always happy as Larry!