Author Topic: My LBS has just closed down  (Read 19588 times)

Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #75 on: 18 December, 2018, 10:37:38 pm »
Liverpool now has a branch of Cycle Republic, on Bold Street in the city centre.  https://www.cyclerepublic.com/liverpool-store


I've not popped in yet, but they seem to have a lot of Bromptons on display.   A short walk from a branch of Evans as well, hopefully there is enough business for both .  It won't do the local independents any good  I suppose  :(
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Cudzoziemiec

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Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #76 on: 19 December, 2018, 08:50:47 am »
I've forgotten now, was it Cycle Republic (Halfords) or Sports Direct that bought Evans? I think the latter but not sure.
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cygnet

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Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #77 on: 19 December, 2018, 10:08:35 am »
Mike Ashley (Sports Direct) bought Evans. Cycle Republic is Halfords
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Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #78 on: 19 December, 2018, 12:11:39 pm »
Just out of interest I googled what were my L(ish)BS's back in the early 80's, John Atkins of Coventry (although even then the epomymous owner had already retired). Seems it's still going, but has moved from Far Gosford Street in Coventry to Leamington Spa.  And another I frequented, Mike's Bikes (Mike Vaughan Cycles), is still trading from the same location in Kenilworth.
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quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #79 on: 23 December, 2018, 10:27:06 am »


One of the few Amsterdam LBS that targets non-utility cycling has closed down in the last couple of months. It's hardly a surprise, I rarely saw other customers in there, and their range was pretty ropey. I last went in there a few months back to look at Helmets, and wasn't especially pleased with the experience.

Another LBS seems to have had a bit of a refurb, moving the workshop out to make more space for bikes. They've increased their women's clothing range by approximately 50% (they had 3 women's jerseys, rather than 2...). I went in yesterday to get some over shoes, they didn't have a very good selection, but I did spend €50 on some socks instead.

Finally my preferred LBS* for having mechanic work done recently announced it's secured the unit next door, and is going to open a cycling cafe as well.

J

* for values of local, it's a 30km round trip...
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robgul

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Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #80 on: 23 December, 2018, 01:53:04 pm »
Just out of interest I googled what were my L(ish)BS's back in the early 80's, John Atkins of Coventry (although even then the epomymous owner had already retired). Seems it's still going, but has moved from Far Gosford Street in Coventry to Leamington Spa.  And another I frequented, Mike's Bikes (Mike Vaughan Cycles), is still trading from the same location in Kenilworth.

Not quite correct on the Atkins info - my recollection is that there were 2 shops running for quite a while, although they had the same name they were separately owned.  The one is Cov bencame a Raleigh branded outlet.   The Leamington shop is still going and seems fairly lively with lots of Bromptons etc - Coventry has gone  - along with Lee Cooper the frame bulder/painter that used to be at the back of the building ... IIRC Cooper made frames for Robin Thorn (a.k.a. SJSC) for a while.

Mike Vaughan is still there although "young Mike" is now "old Mike" as I believe his father has retired :-)   

Rob


Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #81 on: 25 December, 2018, 09:23:58 pm »
Just out of interest I googled what were my L(ish)BS's back in the early 80's, John Atkins of Coventry (although even then the epomymous owner had already retired). Seems it's still going, but has moved from Far Gosford Street in Coventry to Leamington Spa.  And another I frequented, Mike's Bikes (Mike Vaughan Cycles), is still trading from the same location in Kenilworth.

Not quite correct on the Atkins info - my recollection is that there were 2 shops running for quite a while, although they had the same name they were separately owned.  The one is Cov bencame a Raleigh branded outlet.   The Leamington shop is still going and seems fairly lively with lots of Bromptons etc - Coventry has gone  - along with Lee Cooper the frame bulder/painter that used to be at the back of the building ... IIRC Cooper made frames for Robin Thorn (a.k.a. SJSC) for a while.

Mike Vaughan is still there although "young Mike" is now "old Mike" as I believe his father has retired :-)   

Rob

Sadly old Mike Vaughan died just before Xmas, got my first road bike from there as well a specialised Allen Elite

robgul

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Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #82 on: 26 December, 2018, 10:05:33 am »
Just out of interest I googled what were my L(ish)BS's back in the early 80's, John Atkins of Coventry (although even then the epomymous owner had already retired). Seems it's still going, but has moved from Far Gosford Street in Coventry to Leamington Spa.  And another I frequented, Mike's Bikes (Mike Vaughan Cycles), is still trading from the same location in Kenilworth.

Not quite correct on the Atkins info - my recollection is that there were 2 shops running for quite a while, although they had the same name they were separately owned.  The one is Cov bencame a Raleigh branded outlet.   The Leamington shop is still going and seems fairly lively with lots of Bromptons etc - Coventry has gone  - along with Lee Cooper the frame bulder/painter that used to be at the back of the building ... IIRC Cooper made frames for Robin Thorn (a.k.a. SJSC) for a while.

Mike Vaughan is still there although "young Mike" is now "old Mike" as I believe his father has retired :-)   

Rob

Sadly old Mike Vaughan died just before Xmas, got my first road bike from there as well a specialised Allen Elite

Ah - didn't know that - he sold me the bike when i got back into cycling about 20 years ago (after a break of about 25 years!) - a Specialized Expedition hybrid.

Rob

Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #83 on: 12 January, 2019, 03:43:40 pm »
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jan/12/millenials-cycle-shop-closures


Article in the Guardian about the declining number of bike shops.
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Kim

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Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #84 on: 12 January, 2019, 07:54:21 pm »
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jan/12/millenials-cycle-shop-closures


Article in the Guardian about the declining number of bike shops.

Interesting use of "put a spoke in the wheels" there to mean the opposite of what the metaphor suggests.

Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #85 on: 12 January, 2019, 09:40:02 pm »
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jan/12/millenials-cycle-shop-closures


Article in the Guardian about the declining number of bike shops.

So we have Corden saying that ? I wonder has he ever cycled 

telstarbox

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Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #86 on: 13 January, 2019, 05:32:44 pm »
Living not far from that shop I know several LBS which are busy at least on the surface, so not sure how much you can extrapolate. Cycling continues to grow in London which would suggest more bike shops not less?
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Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #87 on: 13 January, 2019, 09:12:50 pm »
Some lazy millennial-blaming going on in that piece, no?

Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #88 on: 13 January, 2019, 09:13:58 pm »
Some lazy millennial-blaming going on in that piece, no?

The issue for LBS is purely down to cost and connivence and there are few things that can be done against that 

Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #89 on: 13 January, 2019, 09:18:15 pm »
Headlines aren't written by article authors - usually they're added by someone else for clickbait reasons.

I note there's very little about millennials in the article itself.

Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #90 on: 13 January, 2019, 09:29:04 pm »
I was referring mainly to this bit:
Quote
Those figures have hardly changed since 2003, according to Cycling UK, largely because the younger generation think cycling “is too scary”.
Which I'd like to see properly sourced to a Cycling UK report or the like, because that sounds like a pretty dubious claim; surely rents, business rates, and online shopping are the bigger problem by orders of magnitude?

Kim

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Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #91 on: 13 January, 2019, 09:36:31 pm »
I suspect there may well be a decline in cycling amongst younger people[1], but if total numbers are steady-state, that's probably not what's affecting bike shops.


[1] By now we must be well into the second generation of people whose parents forbade them from cycling anywhere interesting/useful.  I notice an alarming trend for smalls to have plastic electric contraptions where traditionally they'd have had bikes with stabilisers.  Not that it really matters if they're only allowed to use them after being driven to the park, but I suspect they'll graduate to micro-scooters or 'hoverboards' rather than bicycles.  I'd love to see some stats.

quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #92 on: 13 January, 2019, 09:39:52 pm »

Consider also tho that the generations that have come of age in the last 18 years or so are much more unlikely to have a drivers license, and even less likely to own a car. Insurance makes it just too expensive. This makes cycling quite appealing for shorter trips. If there is the infrastructure to make it feel safe.

It's a big if. And of course, it's very urban centric...

J
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Cudzoziemiec

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Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #93 on: 13 January, 2019, 10:34:02 pm »
I think utility cycling in the UK has been very urban-centric since at least the 90s. I'm not sure how much that affects LBSs, as they're also urban-centric.
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mattc

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Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #94 on: 14 January, 2019, 09:05:47 am »
I was referring mainly to this bit:
Quote
Those figures have hardly changed since 2003, according to Cycling UK, largely because the younger generation think cycling “is too scary”.
Which I'd like to see properly sourced to a Cycling UK report or the like, because that sounds like a pretty dubious claim; surely rents, business rates, and online shopping are the bigger problem by orders of magnitude?

Yeah; I'd like to know if bike shops are suffering much more than any other high street shop that sells "things".

IFF it's the case that "lazy millenials" aren't cycling enough to support bike shops (a very big IFF), then as Kim says, cycling is something most people learn as children, and parents are the single biggest factor there.
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Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #95 on: 14 January, 2019, 11:31:27 am »
Worth noting that my daughter's school year (yr 5) had Bikeability training before Christmas. Of the 45 kids in the year, 14 participated in bikeability (needed parents to fill in the form correctly, bring bike + helmet to school). I don't know the reasons for (what I perceive to be) the low uptake, but maybe it indicates the parents attitude toward cycling?  And this is in Oxford, where cycling is a significant mode of transport.
On the other hand, most LBS seem to be doing fine with student trade (though UBYK seems to have gone under in suspicious circumstances last year if you read the Singletrack forum).

Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #96 on: 25 January, 2019, 06:04:15 pm »
This thread should be changed to my lbs shut down and I'm not at all surprised. I have maybe 5 cycle shops within 15 minutes of my work but have lost the two nearest and most helpful. Due to kids being at a party popped into one of the surviving ones on way home as wasn't in usual rush to get home. Loosely looking for cheap lights for kids bikes and a set of tyres to stick on a spare set of wheels... Anyway walked in and at least three if not more staff as it's a family place. No one even acknowledged me. Looked at tyres and asked where lights were. Told where they were then nothing. Had a quick look and walked out.

SoreTween

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Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #97 on: 24 February, 2019, 09:12:35 am »
Severn Valley Cycles is closing shop, moving to Wales and going workshop only. Bum.
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Phil W

Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #98 on: 24 February, 2019, 10:46:32 am »

Consider also tho that the generations that have come of age in the last 18 years or so are much more unlikely to have a drivers license, and even less likely to own a car. Insurance makes it just too expensive. This makes cycling quite appealing for shorter trips. If there is the infrastructure to make it feel safe.

It's a big if. And of course, it's very urban centric...

J

A high percentage of them still hold a driving licence though.  They are far from the non driving age range.