Bike Hut

Okay, it’s part of the Halfords empire, so I shouldn’t have expected much, but at least it’s a dedicated cycle shop, with staff who know their way around a bike instead of just lackeys at a till. On the flip side, it means they’re more interested in replacing a bent mech hanger than actually selling you anything. The shambolic service is endearing at first — «oh, it’s ok, they just love fixing bikes, I don’t mind…» — but frankly these guys couldn’t organise, well, the sale of a bike in a bike shop. Literally.
This shop is tiny. I mean miniscule, which means they carry very little stock… if you want to buy anything they have to order it in. And they can’t tell from the system how long it will take. I placed a deposit on a bike being told it would be ready in 10 days. 2 weeks later, I have to call them up to be told there’s no stock for 3 months. Why the #%!* couldn’t you tell me that before?
In theory you can order any bike from the Halfords line through them (including the rubbish ones), but they concentrate on the higher end of the range (Boardman etc). Given the lack of floor space/​stock, they still don’t have many of them.
The only thing this place is good for is getting a cheap bike service, or borrowing a pump when you get a flat. And for that, it’s ace — great location for the city workers. Just don’t go in there on your lunch hour or just after work, because everyone else has had the same idea.