Good Cycle Shops In Cape Town

[DJR]

+1 for Mark the Crown mechanic. (Pun absolutely intended)

[petatodd]

Must give Cycle Lab Cape Town a shout out here. Popped in this morning to book my bike in for the brakes to be looked at. Mac on the sales side said do I have 10 minutes to spare as they could look at it immediately and see what they could do. Walked out 15 minutes later with everything fixed. Top class freindly service and now I don't have to travel in from Southern Suburbs to collect it later.

Mac is great, always goes a little further than he needs to

[CanAmSteve]

I'm a CT summer resident and frequently here throughout the rest of the year, but I live in the UK and hail from Canada. I also spend plenty of time in the US, and cycled in France and Spain this year as well. So I'm exposed to a wide variety of cycling shops, etc.

 

Knowing how keen CT cyclists are (God knows enough of them have tried to sacrifice themselves in front of me over the years) I expected a lot from CT cycle shops when I finally started looking in earnest for a road bike to ride casually here. I eventually bought a used bike, so most of my shopping has been updates and accessories. The best store I have been in for selection is CWC, but it was overall a disappointment.

 

For example, I was looking for a tyre selection. There was nothing in 700C in 25mm, 28mm or 32mm. There are very good reasons why a 25mm might be a better choice than a 23mm (no to go into here) but for such a huge store, there was a measly, tiny selection of tyres. I can only assume there is some way better place in CT that sells all the tyres and CWC doesn't even bother stocking anything beyond a basic offering (with the highest profit margin?)

 

I picked up some tools - oddly, there are ten Campy cassette crackers in stock and zero Shimano/Sram. Which do you think sells more? (Note there was no empty slot for the missing ones)

 

It's difficult to find and compare stuff in the store because a lot is set up in branded sections, so you have to look in several places to compare similar products. Very frustrating for the consumer. I was looking for some SPD MTB pedals but had already seen a Ryder version (copy of Shimano) at another shop. CWC carries a ton of Ryder stuff but not the pedals - just the Shimanos at double the price. I'm sure you can see some are not hard-core and/or rich and might appreciate a good value option.

 

Anyway, nice large shop, staff were helpful if not particularly knowledgeable (about what I was shopping for - so it could be just that I'm unusual). Disappointing overall as the initial impression is "Wow, look at all the space" and the truth is there is not that much variety on offer.

 

 

 

Hi Riyadh, Kanga and all other Hubers.

 

Thank you for bringing this under my attention. We can only grow if we get feedback from you as a cyclist. That is why we have a "customer care " department and my daughter, Melanie is looking after that very carefully. Unfortunately we are depended on sales people and everybody is not always as good as the other one.

 

If I can only the complain as soon as possible and the name of the salesman then I can and will take action. We try our best to give great service and need your help to tell us where we are going wrong or when you do not get the service that you are looking for. Please feel free to contact us and tell us what is going on.

 

I am looking forward to see you guys in our shop again .

[Caerus]

What is the best shop in Cape Town for cycling clothing, need to look for jackets.Don't mind driving around.

[Jonkie]

What is the best shop in Cape Town for cycling clothing, need to look for jackets.Don't mind driving around.

Have you checked out Evobike's Visio jacket jet. Also shopped around and after looking at and fitting numerous jackets decided on it.

[Surv0MTB]

Check out Anatomic Sportswear, Northgate Park, just off the N1 at the Koeberg Interchange.

 

Every bit of gear you would possibly ever need and better prices than any bike shop.

 

I only take my bike to Crown these day, Mark is a legend, best prices and best quality bike service.

[LeTurbo]

Olaf at Crosstown Cycles, a tiny little hole-in-the-wall in Kenilworth. Good Germanic service (think technical rather than aesthetic, and a good brusque manner).

 

Nils at Woodstock Cycleworks as one of the most honest people I've ever met. (Plus, how many other cycle shops have been in Coldplay videos?)

[Firemeister]

Most of the bike shops in the Northern suburbs are good. I've tried them all.

 

For my personally i prefer the smaller shops where you can get personal interaction with firstly the mechanic, and then the guys walking the floor. Craig and the guys at Cycle Lab in Tygervalley have always been friendly and helpful and the mechanics know my bike inside out, which is key to me. You can source your equipment and parts anywhere or even online but personal interaction, especially if the guys know your bike's history and your name, outweighs it all.

Edited June 1, 2013 by Firemeister

[X-Man]

Depends what you're looking for...

Sales?

Workshop?

Or just to browse??

[Charsky]

Geco cycles

[Caerus]

Looking for clothing, winter gear.

[ccc2]

Looking for clothing, winter gear.

i will recommend Rapid Sports in Pepper Str, CTown CBD. phillip does a fair amount of skiing(snow) so he has a fair selection of undervests, gloves,beanies and cold / wet weather gear at value for money prices.

[Ward]

I am begining to have my doubts about CMC...

 

 

Why?

 

 

 

 

I've had a few bad experiences there lately... Leon and Jaco are really good okes... I've just been let down one to many times.

 

 

 

Does Jaco still work there because i know his has his own Downhill and MTB shop in Contermanskloof

[Caerus]

So after 3 Saturdays, about 500km of driving, and having been to most of the bike shops in Cape Town, I have finally come right in my search for winter cycling clothing.

Bought a lot of kit, and will post pics of what I got.

 

Out of all the shops I visited I would have to say that Bridge Cycles by far has the best range of clothing. Epic & Bridge cycles had the best customer service by far.

 

The one common denominator I found was that most shops are not stocking a wide range cause people are coming in and trying on and then buying online.

[Capricorn]

The one common denominator I found was that most shops are not stocking a wide range cause people are coming in and trying on and then buying online.

 

Who said that, the shop owners? While i know ppl do do what the LBS' accuse them of, i have to call BS: the lack of stock has been there way before almost anyone knew about say, CRC, or any of the other major online retailers. Firstly the pricing of local clothing is to put it mildly, undesirable, and then to top it off, the range was virtually non-existent. You goto an online shop, and suddenly the world is your oyster.

 

Up the range, down the margin, and maybe ppl will buy what they fit. Hardware has gone that route, in that there is pretty much price parity with online shops, CRC in particular, when it comes cycling hardware. Now while you can't try before you buy when it comes to hardware, the price parity situation only serves to highlight what i perceive to be the real problem with ppl not buying locally.

 

So while the high prices of cycling clothing is largely not the fault of local retailers (because of ridiculously fat customs charges on imported textiles), the lack of variety is mostly cetainly Not the fault of ppl fitting but not buying.

They didnt' buy because the price wasn't right! A minor, but crucial detail your common denominator fails to mention. Nothing against you, but that argument by LBS' riles me up no end. Flamesuit on.

Edited June 2, 2013 by Capricorn

[Caerus]

Who said that, the shop owners? While i know ppl do do it, i have to call BS: the lack of stock has been there way before almost anyone knew about CRC. Firstly the pricing was well, undesirable, and then to top it off, the range was non-existent. You goto an online shop, and suddenly the world is your oyster. Up the range, down the margin, and maybe ppl will buy what they fit. Hardware has gone that route, in that there is pretty much price parity with online shops, CRC in particular, when it comes cycling hardware.

 

Clothing however, is a whole different story if only because of the fact majority of the really nice stuff, is not made here, and so it gets nailed with that silly-high textiles customs charge. Even with that silly customs charge, oft times, you can import something for cheaper than buying it locally, and even it does cost a kidney or two, it's perceived as worthwhile because of the 'exclusivity' aspect provided by the lack of local stocking.

 

So while the high prices of cycling clothing is largely not the fault of local retailers, the lack of variety is mostly cetainly Not the fault of ppl fitting but not buying. They didnt' buy because the price wasn't right! A minor, but crucial detail your common denominator fails to mention.

 

Nothing against you, but that argument riles me up no end.

3 shops said it to me.,maybe I'm generalizing a bit, but the lack of stock is astounding. Edited June 2, 2013 by SkinnySweatyMan