Best place to buy bikes in Galway?

Latatian

Where's the best place to buy bikes in Galway?

Second hand and cheap preferred, but I want to hear about other places too (repairs etc). Who's worth dealing with and why?

the keen edge

Why not try donedeal.ie, or adverts.ie?.

If you dont need it immediately its worth keeping an eye on these sites, bargins come up time to time.
I picked up a year old bike on donedeal recently. The RRP was €420, I got it for €220.

You wont beat buying privately when it comes to price.

Vote 4 Pedro

I don't know if it's the "best" place to buy buy I have always bought at Karney's Cycles in Terryland and never had anything but good service.

http://www.kearneycycles.com/

cats.life

walsh cycles is the best ,its the one thats at the back entrance of roches stores, richard walsh . i used to go to them when i had a flat tyre, broken light, or no mud flaps years ago. now i have started going back to him cos we bought all our 4 bikes of him and he has done us a few deals, he has answers for all the questions that you ask, what i mean is if i asked any other (not saying who hemhem) cycle place would this bike do an adult ( my 14yr bought a bike with his comfermation money) we were told that hubbie would be ok to go on it. what a lye. the back wheel was getting warp,d evey so often, we thought the lads were bumping into each other, we brought it back , they fixed it, it happend again, i watched the lads one day to see if they were doing any stunts but they were not., got fed up so we went to walsh,s cycles ,he said that back wheel was not ment for that sort of bike, small wheel for mountain bike. also the saddle was ment for a racer. walsh changed the saddle for free, 50 for spang new wheell, put new back breaks for half price. we will always go back to walsh cos he knows his stuff . so go and have a chat to him ,he is the one near headford cinema.

muppetkiller

Nigels or Walsh's for me
http://www.nigelscycles.com/

Karona

Westside cycles.

I got my bike off them for 75 euros, and you get a free service 6 weeks after you buy it. They also throw in a free lock.

flugel

Dealt with Kearneys a lot, in the past. Find the owner rude, gave me the impression I was in his way, haven't gone back.

Walsh's get my business now, guy is dead sound and very helpful. Left bike in before to get new tyre, they had fixed the gears for me which were dodgy, great customer service

daithimacgroin

chainreactioncycles.com

biko

flugel wrote: »

Dealt with Kearneys a lot, in the past. Find the owner rude, gave me the impression I was in his way, haven't gone back.

Then it's not the "best place" OP asked for.
Got a bike myself in Kearneys a couple weeks back. No hassle whatsoever.

Vote 4 Pedro

flugel wrote: »

Dealt with Kearneys a lot, in the past. Find the owner rude, gave me the impression I was in his way, haven't gone back.

I know what you mean about Kearney's but it's just how he comes across,
He's sound enough really once you get dealing with him, always remembers you and I got a good deal from him anyway.

constantg

slightly off-topic (apologies mod) but what's the best bike lock for a bike??? And where in galway could I get one?

Also anyone ever try the 'remove the front wheel' trick? does it work, or is it just a pain in the hole?

dinneenp

Try the place down by NUIG/Galway Cathedral. It's a rental place but they sell them too I think. you know where the entrance for the Galway Arts Festival Big Tent was, it's down there.

thegrayson

You will get a decent second hand bike at a reasonable price from guy on Prospect Hill. Westside Cycles have a good selection but have walked out the door more than once due to the lack of service.

beardybrewer

I would second checking out westsidecycles if looking for used.

If going new, be aware the 2012 bikes are coming out so you should expect to see sale prices on all 2011 models. I would check out www.cyclesuperstore.ie as they will beat local prices hands down. There's also a place in Moycullen (http://mbikeworks.ie/mbw/index.html) which has brands like Kona. Also chainreaction have indicated they will work with the bike to work scheme.

As far as a bike lock, do not bother with a cable lock. Look for a Sold Secure Gold or Silver rating. I think this is a great deal, shipping is free: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kryptonite-York-3000-Lock-Bracket/dp/B000NORUN8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317638965&sr=8-1

Doctor_Socks

dinneenp wrote: »

Try the place down by NUIG/Galway Cathedral. It's a rental place but they sell them too I think. you know where the entrance for the Galway Arts Festival Big Tent was, it's down there.

That bike shop is closed down now, moved to europa bikes on dominic st I think.

In my opinion Walshs cycles is the best place in Galway for anything bike related, really nice lad and has always been a pleasure to deal with whenever something happens to my bike.

muppetkiller

constantg wrote: »

slightly off-topic (apologies mod) but what's the best bike lock for a bike??? And where in galway could I get one?

To find the best lock simply go up to NUIG and look at all the locks attached to the Barriers and Bicycle racks without bikes and purchase a different one

moonflower

constantg wrote: »

slightly off-topic (apologies mod) but what's the best bike lock for a bike??? And where in galway could I get one?

Also anyone ever try the 'remove the front wheel' trick? does it work, or is it just a pain in the hole?

Don't get a cable lock, use a U lock or a U lock with a cable lock too if you're leaving your bike overnight or somewhere a bit dodgy. I got a kryptonite U lock with a cable from Amazon. It's handy because you can use the cable bit to secure the front wheel.

Latatian

Would a cheaper u-lock do when combined with a chain with padlock (locks I already have)? Or is a brand like kryptonite really the way to go?

Will be attached to cheap bike, of course, preferably parked next to newer-looking bike with one cable lock. I just want to know how many weeks I'll be on rice and beans to protect the bike.

biko

I have one of these


and one of these


so can lock both wheels and frame to an object.

Of course if a skilled thief with the right tools wants it they can steal it, but at least it keeps the riff-raff away.

martyboy48

muppetkiller wrote: »

To find the best lock simply go up to NUIG and look at all the locks attached to the Barriers and Bicycle racks without bikes and purchase a different one

Maybe not, I have a decent lock left locked to barrier of my workplace, I leave it there so I don't have to carry it up/down to work

Latatian wrote: »

Would a cheaper u-lock do when combined with a chain with padlock (locks I already have)? Or is a brand like kryptonite really the way to go?

Will be attached to cheap bike, of course, preferably parked next to newer-looking bike with one cable lock. I just want to know how many weeks I'll be on rice and beans to protect the bike.

If it's a cheap bike, I wouldn't be buying such a good lock (50 sterling was it:eek:). Multiple locks would be grand. A lot depends on where you're locking up and for how long.
Personally, I wouldn't be inclined to buy expensive locks unless my bike was expensive or had expensive parts fitted....

L'Enfer du Nord

I'd say the place on Prospect Hill and Westside cycles have the widest selection of 2nd hand. I've found the staff helpful in both, Westside fixed a fairly complex problem with my back wheel recently and I was very impressed.

Nigel's and Kearney are good too but I think they mostly sell new bikes. Have been in Walshe's much but have had good service when I've been there. Not a huge fan of Eurocycles/ The place on Dominic street.