 My friend ordered stuff from Wiggle about 2 weeks ago and is still waiting.
I don't like online retaillers myself, why not just drive to the nearest tidy bikeshop? A good one can usually be found within about 20-30 miles.
It seems that all the bike shops near me (Swansea/Neath/Port Talbot) are crap for tyres, Halfords are the best when it comes to tyres somehow.
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 The good - Chain reaction Cranks came the next day, and with £20 off the list price and free postage!
The bad - Julies cycles - 3 weeks for a chain to be despatched!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Ugly - Halfords - the guys in there are too busy pullies stoppies on Saracens to bother to serve you and when they finally
do they (in my experience) have no idea what they are on about.
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I've heard you say that about Halfords a million times. THAT WAS ONLY ONE STORE!
But sadly it's like that in a lot of bike shops.
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 Avoid Dave Hinde Racing. They have a sell and hide policy. No customer service whatsoever.
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 The good;
Mail order
- Chain Reaction; fast, friendly and cheap
- Merlin. almost as good as Chain Reaction.
(Fairly) Local shops
- Psychlosport (Harrogate). Superb small shop, friendly service, nothing too much trouble, surprisingly big stock, will order in almost anything and sort out any problems v. quickly.
- Stif (Leeds). Good workshop, 15 mins walk from work, 95% of staff know their stuff, friendly (to regulars), good warranty back-up, reasonable prices.
- Terrain (nr Keighley). Huge stocks of slightly non-mainstream items (Hardcote rings, bizzare tyres and inner tubes etc.), fairly competitive prices, fast mail order but you do have to pay postage.
The bad;
- Chevin (Otley). Expensive and less than helpful.
- J.E. James (Sheffield). Arrogant, expensive and clueless. Or am I being generous?
- Settle Cycles (mail-order). Amazing disappearing orders.
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 J.E. James. Oh my god.
"No, i can't let you pay for that hugely overpriced item just now... i'm on the phone to my mum/mate/brother/dog"
"This (product deleted) has been shown to break instantly due to major design flaws, but i still reccomend it"
"No, I won't take that 600 quid from you sir... i'm off to have my lunch now"
monkeys.
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 I got some good repairs done at Bike Factory Shop, Prestwich Manchester.
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 Buckley-Saxon Cycles in Castle Hedingham, Essex.
My old employer, Shimano Service Centre, top place, top people, great tea shop next door but a little bit too roadie. Which is fine, if you like that kind of thing.
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1 not to be told bike shop forgot to cash my cheque for £360 worth of gear, complete incompetantce but good,
JE James, will youu price match this Kona Chute frame as Marc Anthony have one cheaper, lad says yer sure if i can find the add, lad then continues to look through "Ride" bmx mag looking for the add, muppett, anyway i got £100 knocked off frame
MY LOCAL BIKE SHOP, the fucking kings among men, will build me a while on very very short notice, will order me ANYTHING, will then knock vast amounts of for discount, i rarely shop elsewhere,
Chainreaction, good, fast, free postage,
Same with wades,
WOOLLY FUCKIN HAT SHOP, muppets, takes em days to dispatch stuff
Leisure Lakes and Stiff, frankly i aint paying for expertise or buggery when i already know how to fit and service stuff without paying RRP for kit
Dan
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 The good:
Chain Reaction mail order. How are they so fast?
Evans mail order (I may be a lone voice here, I know): they put a lot of effort in to sort out some faulty stuff I had. Perhaps it just depends on who you get to deal with.
Bicycleworks in Edinburgh/Peebles: great service and they'll order stuff in pretty fast for you.
Wheelcraft, Clachan of Campsie: amazing place, has to be seen to be believed :). Tiny but deceptively well-stocked and can get you pretty much anything you want if they don't have it. Superb wheelbuilds too.
The bad:
Edinburgh Bicycle Coop: nice range of clothes, but pretty bobbins when it comes to customer service - they don't seem to care whether you buy stuff or not, frankly, and ordering anything in is a 6-8 week nightmare. They never know when out-of-stock stuff is going to come back in either, despite having a computerized ordering system. Sort of the bike equivalent of Dixons.
ATB Sales (Marin/Manitou importer): try getting a spare for your forks, hmm 6-week wait to get it sent from the US. Rubbish, I can order stuff from the US for work and if it isn't here in 4 days we're ringing up to see why it's delayed.
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 If you ever need frame work done, go see Helmut at Sonic Cycles (bikefix) in London. He's a great character, kinda like the chief in 'Das Boot' (the skeletal engineer bloke who was forever patching up the leaks). he did the track ends on my Clockwork. worth paying a visit to go into his workshop and let him show you his lugs! i feel he's a dying breed of 'in the blood' bikers. I believe he can knock you up a good frame.
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 Must admit that I've always found Edinburgh Bike Shop very efficient, both visiting the shop and mail order. I was quite surprised the last time I went as it was their sale and the shop was mobbed, but the girl who served me still spent ages helping me find a comfy pair of shoes.
Being based in west of Scotland, I tend to use Alpine Bikes a lot... I always find them very helpful, even when I have the feeling I'm being a bit of a pain in the ass.
BTW Halfords in Glasgow is every bit as bad as reports from other parts of the country...went in there last Saturday (in desperation) as I needed a replacement LX rapidfire.....oh man, it was like talking to the living dead - a spotty adolescent who tried to convince me that a set of road bike shifters would do just as well. I had to fight the desire to shove his face through the glass display cabinet as a service to the biking community in Glasgow.
I've used Merlin a couple of times and always found them pretty efficient, but the Mail Order efficiency award has to go to Ground Effect...how the hell can they get stuff to you from New Zealand faster than UK based suppliers?
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how could i forget Ground Effect. longest wait, 8 days and that was over a bank holiday weekend!. top stuff and first class service.
in the old days i used to go to Lang & Hunter, an outdoor specialist and their kit and advice was better than any bike shop. It's still good for odd things, like socks and first aid kits.
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 The good....
Ground Effect, Chainreaction & Merlin for mail order, however Wiggle are pretty helpful - shame about their prices & delivery charge.
Sensible Bike Co in Petersfield are v friendly & helpful, Sydney St bikes in Brighton - you can't move for stuff/bikes but they seem to stock everything & were happy to swap my Tioga 2.3 when it wouldn't fit in the frame when I got it home. Sideways Cycles in Alsager, customer service is fantastic.
The bad....Halfords & Evans. Bit of a generalisation but they do seem to suffer from the "if I don't know the answer I'll bullsh*t & try & sell you something else" syndrome.
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I've had that in Evans. I like to think I know my stuff reasonably well, and don't like being bullshitted.
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 agreed thats why I try to avoid places like these...I DONT NEED a spotty adolescent telling we what he thinks is good for my damn bike!!!hence the reason why its a custom build.....
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 good:
Back On Track (Malvern) Honest shop, can get virtually anything.
Wards Cycles (Worcester) Talk to Sid (jon) and you'll be fine.
Medway Cycle Centre (Chatham) pretty good and well stocked
Denton Cycles (Newcastle) top blokes, excelent advice.
Alpine Bikes (Glasgow) most helpful. do discount
Wheelcraft (Clachan of Campsie) aladdins cave.
Chain Reaction (mail Order) quick and cheap.
wiggle (mail order) not too bad
Evans (mail order) but that's 'cos I know someone who works for them...
Bad:
dales cycles (glasgow) well staff could do with a bit of a prod..
Hardisty Cycles (newcastle) screwed my headshock, then suggested I pay for another service!
I guess I do shop about a bit, but any shops I don't like I don't go to. fortunately, I service my own, cheers
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 i service my own too. its cheaper and gives me satisfaction !!
Dans ma
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I'll tell you why theres "spotty youths" at halfords (I'm not spotty by the way) it's cos the pays shit as our the hours and holidays so as soon as the people there get experiacned they leave for anouther bike shop or a totaly differnt carear as there so pissed of with the cycle industry in general
ernie
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 thanks for your continual input. me and the other other staff at halfords in peterbough strive to improve are customer service week on week i have printed off your comments and will pass them round to the other staff full and part time
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