Winfried

Hello

I'll be in London for a few days next week before heading up North, and would like to take the opportunity to visit some good bike stores in the city to check things out, including stores that sell Bromptons, as I might buy one in the fall.

Also, I know my way around a bit after spending a week there in 2011, but if you know of great bike rides in and around the city, I'm interested

Thank you.

chasm54

bikefix in Lamb's Conduit Street is an interesting shop. Small, but specialises in the unusual, including folders, dismountables, belt drives etc. etc. Worth a visit. And just around the corner in Grays Inn Road is condor cycles. Very high end but absolutely beautiful bikes including their own marque.

And as a bonus, the Lamb at the north end of Lamb's Conduit Street is one of the most charming pubs in London. Decent beer, too.

Winfried

Thanks for the links. An article on the London Cyclist site mentions others:

www.londoncyclist.co.uk/whats-your-london-bike-shop-flavour/

contango 

London is a big place, was there any particular part of London you're interested in.

If you're in the area it would be rude not to ride around Richmond Park, there are usually a few cyclists doing laps or criss-crossing or just passing through. You don't have to go far to play in the Surrey Hills and take in some of the routes used by the Olympic route. Parts of the Olympic Time Trial can be fun to ride as well, although annoyingly nobody closes the road for me when I want to ride it.

Winfried

Thanks for the tip. I did ride in Richmond Park the last time I was in London. I'll check the other places you mentioned.

andy753

Evans Cycles is always a good bet as they usually have plenty of stock and their people are usually knowledgeable - what's more, they have shops all over London so you won't have to travel too far!

contango 

Evans can be a bit hit-and-miss. Some of their staff are passionate about bikes and know as much as you could possibly expect them to know. Others appear disinterested and seem to be there just to collect a salary.

A few years back I tried to buy two mountain bikes from Evans. They had them reserved for me but I read a few reviews about them lacking interest once they had your money. I called my local branch, just to identify a good time to go and collect them and pay the balance but they appeared utterly uninterested and never gave me the promised return call. I ended up getting a better price from the local guy, got my deposit back from Evans, and since then I think the only time I've bought anything from Evans was when I needed a set of brake pads and needed them Right Now, and Evans was the first bike shop I passed.

contango 

Look for Dorking on the map - the area around there has lots of hills to play with.

If you start at Shere (near Gomshall) you can ride something like this route:

https://tinyurl.com/kbo9srp

It's about 40 miles, takes in a few good climbs. Be aware the A24 and A25 can be busy with fast traffic. Also be aware the roads in the Surrey Hills aren't always in the best condition so watch out for potholes and gravel patches, especially on fast descents.

MrLucky

Well there's the specialized concept store in ruislip, nice bunch of guys they helped fix my bike for free!

Winfried

Thanks for the tips. I ended up going to a few stores.

I especially liked the "Look mum no hands" bike café on Old Street. Someone should open something like that over here :-)