[Closed] Buying a bike from Evans

Why?

I've had 3 from them over the years from the Nottingham store, been great to deal with

Mike Ashley so that’s a no from me.

Bad idea, no customer service currently, at all.

I purchased a few bikes the last few months from Evans. The last bike being delivered 2 weeks ago. All shipped in under 10 days. No issues. This was to Scotland.

We got one of the bargain Stumpjumper Experts at the end of last year. Arrived on time to Sheffield Store. Got ready by one of the girls who races on the Enduro circuit. Got no need for them to do any servicing on it. Would do it again.

Mike Ashley so that’s a no from me.

That's a shame, could put a very helpful and popular forum member out of a job if we all did that

Quite a few staff happier under the new ownership it seems, rather to my surprise.

I’ve found them to be fine. Pre lockdown I looked at a Trek and a Spesh hardtail for the Mrs in the local store and they had stock and helpful advice.

i guess it’s the same with any retailer, you will get some stores that are better than others in terms of service.

That’s a shame, could put a very helpful and popular forum member out of a job if we all did that

The irony being that it’s how Ashley runs his businesses and treats his workers that are behind my decision. Each to their own though.

I'm with you MoreCash. Even if Evans went bust, the odius Mr Ashley wouldn't suffer unduly, but the workers would bear the brunt.

I've always been happy with their service.

I bought a road bike off them years ago and I refused to accept it when it was delivered to my house as it looked like it had been driven over. Delivery guy was pissed off and insisted I took it. Evans were a pain to deal with about getting another bike, so much so I ended up cancelling my order and buying a PlanetbX bike which was great.

And a few times I've used their Edinburgh store I've found the staff to be a bit condescending (maybe they're used to mainly dealing with people new to cycling). I enquired about some 26" tyres one time (probably about a couple of years back) and the guy laughed and said "who's still riding 26er's?" Er me? That's why I'm asking about them. I found their staff in a London branch (near Bishops gate) equally as snippy.

I'm not a huge fan of theirs although I'm lucky that Edinburgh has a lot of decent bike shops about.

Now Mike Ashley is involved aren't they just another On-one?

Even if Evans went bust, the odius Mr Ashley wouldn’t suffer unduly, but the workers would bear the brunt.

Are you saying that Ashley wouldn't change how he operates if folk boycotted his businesses?
Thankfully there are still loads of decent alternatives to Evans.

Don't forget that mr Ashley gave all the staff a pay rise.one in London gave me some small spare parts from their workshop for free.i bought them cakes. Maybe I am in a stw minority but I like sports direct too.the staff always look quite happy

Just remembered that I bought my son's Hoy bike last year from their Easter house shop which I think is their flagship store in Scotland and the service there was pretty good. The sales guy was pretty clueless though and had to look their own website to read about the bike I wanted to buy despite there being one in the store. Although I've always found the RRP of bike shops to be a little high (I understand how the shops pricing works and am happy to pay full price of they have what I want and the staff are good like they are in Edinburgh bike coop) the prices in Evans seemed reasonable compared to the Tri UK shop downstairs from Evans (never heard of Tri UK but apparently they're part of the same group of Evans).

My son's Hoy has been excellent and he even got a 3rd place at one of his club races whilst riding it.

All shops back open, service level seems to be back to near normal after the initial mad rush where bikes were sometimes taking 3 weeks to be delivered.

The irony being that it’s how Ashley runs his businesses and treats his workers that are behind my decision. Each to their own though.

You might be suprised to the contrary. I was - I work for Evans, have done for a number of years.

The team at my local Evans are great - would you boycott all Virgin products? Michael O'Leary's Ryanair? Anything from Arcadia?
Its the workers that suffer when we vote with our feet never the multimillionairs who own the stores. The gripe they have atm is with landlords, not the staff.

Buy the bike, buy the pump, the helmet (that you can go and test fit before you save a fiver elsewhere) and go out and ride knowing that if there is a problem, the frontline staff will do their best to help.

Well we bought the bike anyway. Sorry jameso it wasn't a Pinnacle :). Although it might've been a better option had it been in stock.

Would you boycott all Virgin products? Michael O’Leary’s Ryanair? Anything from Arcadia?

Pretty much, yes - it's not that difficult to find more ethical alternatives.

Quite a few staff happier under the new ownership it seems, rather to my surprise.

I'm more interested in the Evans staffs reaction to how they are treated than the - justified - concerns about other parts of his empire.

And while there are other bike retailers that I've used, the three bikes I've bought from them - an original Arkrose, a D3 last year, and a Kauri which was the only thing that would suit my disabled wife - were ridiculously better value than equivalent spec bikes from anyone else.

Bought one about a month ago. Picked up from local shop a week later. No problems, apart from I had to call them to arrange pick up and it took a few attempts to get through.

The one nearest to me (Gateshead) is shocking. I bought a bike from them 2 year's ago and it had a scratch on the carbon fork that had been coloured in with felt tip, only realised when I got the bike home. Ended up getting a refund on the bike instead of a replacement as I didn't trust them.

@molgrips as long as you got a good bike, all's well. Demand is just outstripping supply and that's affecting higher price levels as the raised demand continues. The loo roll effect comes to the bike market?

We got one of the bargain Stumpjumper Experts at the end of last year. Arrived on time to manchester Store. Got ready by someone who did a pretty poor job on the gears. Asked them to fix it before we bought. Bought the bike a week later. Gears still not working. Phoned them up and moaned about it. Fixed gears myself eventually. Would do it again as it was obscenely cheap. (£1900 or thereabouts with c2w)

Staff in our local Evans are great, nice bunch and good service. It is a shame it's part of the Chav-direct empire, but I still use the shop.