London Fields Cycles

I’ve bought two bicycles here, one for myself and one for my daughter. Both times we had excellent and enthusiastic service, good advice and left with bikes that suited us. They are not the cheapest, but not particularly expensive, and seemed to me to have a good range of bikes and accessories. Bearing in mind how difficult it is to stop a bike being stolen in London, I expect to return here at some point in the not too distant future to replace anything stolen.

I moved into the area recently and was happy to see an independent bicycle shop in the neighbourhood. Usually you get good service from enthusiasts at these shops and this applies to LFC too. I was having a problem with gear changes on my Brompton, which I only recently bought second hand. They were able to take it in at 8am one morning and have it ready at the same time the next day. The gears were sorted out and the incorrect cabling from previous maintenance had been fixed.
One warning: don’t jump the early morning queue. You won’t be popular with Hackney’s cycling community if you do.

I am sat here, writing this review, wearing a very snazzy gold helmet. Yup, I know you’re all jealous, it okay. You’ll be even more green with envy when you see me on my sexy pink smarties bike with a little white bag on the back. Bring, bring! Here I come!
Okay so after deciding that I need to stop talking about and just flippin’ do it already, I have bought a bike. From on the t’interwebs, and I’ll be picking it up Saturday morning. It’s all very exciting. After much research and a great long talk thread about cycles I chose London Fields Cycles to chat about my bicycle needs. I could tell that Robin, the wonderful man who served me knew what kind of lady I was when he brought out the selection on bells and passed me one in the shape of a coffee cup. We chatted locks and helmets, lights and reflective strips. All of which got me very excited.
But what was so wonderful about this? Don’t all bike shops show you their products? Well, yes, but they are scary. It’s like they are all pro racers and you’re wasting their time. Not with Robin, he has a nice long chat with you, even insists you come back so he can show you how to fit the lights and such. This is what I call customer service. I was so happy to spend my money here. I can’t wait to show him my bike when I have it. I think Robin and me are becoming great friends. He even told me about some free Hackney Council cycle classes that you can take to give you tips.
If my London cycling career is anything like the purchasing one, this is going to be fun.

I love my new bicycle. It’s so fast and it’s exactly what I needed. Problem was, I didn’t know what type of bike I needed, all I knew was what I wanted to do on my bike. The staff here talked to me at length about what I wanted and even tried to talk me out of buying a new bike and just making alterations to my existing bike! (At that point they hadn’t actually seen how awful my old bike was).
In the end I got to test ride several bicycles and chose my favourite. They advised me on security and other features and really know what they are talking about. And when they don’t they ask someone else.
I really like the staff here, they are so helpful and give loads of advice on maintenance and keeping your bike safe. Even when you don’t buy anything.

London Fields Cycles is surprisingly unelitist for a Hackney bike shop. The staff won’t snear at you if your bike has useful stuff like gears or mud guards.
Still, this place ain’t exactly cheap and cheerful. But remember that while the stock maybe pricey compared to on-​line retailers, that the price involves:
(1) The convenience of getting shit now.
(2) The ease of returning shit when you find out what you’ve just bought is doohickey connector A compliant, whereas your bike only accepts revision B Shamino thingumies.
(3) Useful staff on-​hand who can help you avoid point 2.
The workshop is pretty cheap, labour-​wise, and they’ll often fix up small jobs the same day. Magic.
Oh, and that girl behind the counter who never smiles? That’s not her scowling. That’s her trying to prevent her insane amount of Brompton knowledge from bursting out of her head.

Have bought a few items here. Lights and tools. Prices are reasonable to expensive. But the quality is great.
The staff are more than helpful and will go out of there way for you.

I spent a very enjoyable ten minutes browsing around this shop the other morning while I waited for a friend to come and meet me for coffee. I was drawn in by the striking window decoration and was pleased to find the shop spacious and nicely laid out, no easy feat when you stock so many bikes. There seemed to be quite a few quirky looking options that I’d love to come back and look at for longer, I quite fancy the idea of a folding bike now that winter is coming and they had a few nice ones in.
I tried my best to need something for my bike while I was in the shop but ended up being sensible and not spending £45 on a glamorous pannier that looked just like a nice shoulder bag, not buying posh new cycling gloves and not buying a flash new helmet. As soon as I need any of these items I’m straight back, though.

Best bike shop in London, Independent and always helpful. I have bought 3 Specialized bikes here in the last 8 years (they used to be across the road) and they have been superb. Great Service available too.
All the brands they sell are credible and well made, and they have great IT if you need old receipt etc which happened to me when I had my bike stolen, they were able to give me a receipt from 3 years earlier, very quickly.

London fields cycles is an eternal contradiction, where bike shops are concerned in my experience. One minute it’s the handy lifesaver that’s open when no other shops are (have you ever gone to their 8am pitstop session to get your bike fixed? It’s a good thing.), the next it’s responsible for raising my blood pressure (it’s going to take you how many months before you can look at my crappy dérailleur?). Being able to deal with people’s issues quickly and at a low cost is paramount to customers in a city where your bike will only likely last a year or two after getting nicked.
Overall, I’m going to say it gets a pass mark from me. But it was a hard decision to make! Here’s why:
Good range of helmets: it’s not the biggest but they’ve definitely narrowed it down to the most popular. Go if you want something practical, sturdy and reliable made by Bell or Specialised. Probably not much good if you’re a style fascist wanting one of those helmets that look like normal hats, or anything by Swrve.
Helpful to people who need to borrow their tools: there are still a few bike shops that get precious over their tools. A really bad move in my opinion as you’ll only severely irritate people who have broken down and are stranded as a result. Luckily, these people are very obliging, as long as you get your hands covered in bike grease outside. Buying your own tools from these guys though is a very pricey activity. Case in point: I got stung for £6 for an inner tube, when they’re usually £4. I thought there had been cuts on inflation?! I’d check with other stores if saving is more important than convenience.

I came here during the summer when my old bike had had enough and needed a bit of a service. Actually, that’s a bit of an understatement, the back wheel had buckled and the whole thing needed to be replaced. The staff were helpful and friendly, but super busy so I left my damaged set of wheels for them to look at when they had time. I came back the next day to be told it would cost me a good £100 to fix, pretty much the cost of a new bike. Fabulous.
The shop is filled with mostly new, and expensive, bikes, as well as the usual stock of locks, bells and wicker baskets. Its location in one of the most bike friendly areas of London means that they do a roaring trade and if you want a chance of getting your bike in to be fixed or serviced, you need to get there early. And I mean early.
I decided to take my bike back with me home to Devon, where the wheel was poked and prodded and eventually fixed for a much more acceptable £10. And service with a smile too.

London Fields Cycles is a reputable and reliable bike shop. The store is huge and has just about everything bike related, from stickers to top of the range, beautiful bicycles. Located on Mare St. in Hackney Central, it is very popular due to the thriving bicycle culture in the area.
The shop stocks a lot of high quality products, and with high quality comes high prices. I went in to find a lock for my bicycle, and was a bit shocked at the prices. The lady behind the counter told me that the cheapest D-​Lock I could buy, which could not be broken, was 70 pounds. To me that sounded a little expensive, but I guess that’s the price you have to pay for the safety of your beloved bicycle.
Weekends can be particularly busy, but don’t let that deter you. The staff are really nice, and they allowed me to borrow a spanner and tighten up my wheel out on the street. It’s that kind of service that I really appreciate, even if I wasn’t going to buy anything, they offered to help me out.

I came here once with my broken bike and spoke to one of the staff about the possibility of getting it fixed. He looked at me with dismay and told me that I would have to come back at 8am the next morning to drop it off. The price he quoted me sounded extortionate so I never went back.
On my out the door for the first and last time I noticed they had some pretty nifty looking bikes at hefty prices.
Overpriced, unfriendly staff. Don’t bother.

I tend to be put off many larger bike shops in London because of the attitude of the staff towards my battered, beloved and admittedly grubby Belgian racer. London Fields Cycles is not the worst of the culprits for laughing at my vintage machine, but I have had a couple of smirks and comments directed at it, putting me off the place somewhat.
Apart from those occasions, I found this central, large and modern shop to be top-​notch in terms of service, advice from staff and choice. There are fixed gear racers and Dutch cruisers, city bikes and trailers, as well as a huge choice of lights, locks, gloves and other accessories.
Prices are quite high, but so are the levels of service and, hence, the queues from the time that it opens. I have heard that the wait for maintenance can be long but can’t confirm this.

Great in terms of service, every time I went here with bike trouble, there was someone on hand to give me advice. They ask for you not to take bikes into the shop, but are very nice about coming out to see what’s up. Useful to keep in mind that most of the bike stuff they sell here is pricey compared to other bike shops though. It’s a pretty big shop with a good range of bikes, wheels, and accessories.