[Closed] (Good) Bike shops in Newcastle?

Im in the Kingston park area

Me too!

There's M Steels in Gosforth (near to South Gosforth metro)
http://www.msteelcycles.co.uk/

Edinburgh Bikes in Byker
www.edinburghbicycle.com

KB Cycles down in Newburn (the one that got flooded when 'that' culvert broke a few years ago)
http://www.kbcycles.com/

Start Cyles in town (top of Grainger Street)
http://startcycles.co.uk/

Evans down at the Metrocentre (it's actually over near Ikea)

Edinburgh in Byker

Guess that used to be Hardisty Cycles? (I worked there in the early 90s)

it depends what you want,

IMO Edinburgh and Steels are poor. Expensive, and not great workshops. Edinburghs customer service is laughable at times.

If you want a good mechanic, check out CJs in Cramlington. they also stock a good range of bikes and kit, it's my favorite shop in the Newcastle area.

I accidentally ran into what seemed like a good mountain bike shop under the railway arches. They stocked a couple of bikes I was interested in and they seemed like good guys.
http://www.gravitatecycles.co.uk/

I can't recommend the M Steel workshop, had a few pretty poor experiences with them then gave up. KB Cycles are pretty good though.

Being as we're going out as far as Cramlington, also try [s]Bicycle Repair Man[/s], er... Giant Newcastle out in Prudhoe. When did they change their name?

Never had a problem with Edinburgh or Steels. But then I do most of my own maintenance. Used to use the Bike Place up at Cowgate for stuff I couldn't do/didn't have time for before they moved to Bellingham. Anyone know where the mechanic went as he was great (he was telling me he was considering a job from Aldi a few weeks before the shop moved).

KB Cycles are good.

If you want [i]very[/i] personal service then Nic Vieri runs [url= http://www.vierivelo.cc/ ]Vieri Velo[/url] next door to the [url= http://www.pedallingsquares.cc/ ]Pedalling Squares Cafe[/url] in Swalwell.

(Basically a one man band and mostly road/cx stuff)

I've also heard good things about The Bicycle Repairman out in Prudhoe, but I see he has now become [url= http://www.giant-newcastle.co.uk/en-GB/ ]Giant Newcastle[/url] so I'm not sure what has changed over there.

EDIT: doh too slow.

Is the place in Prudhoe the same one as CycleArt? I used to ride with a guy who worked there. Knew his stuff but was the shop seemed road biased.

I've always had good experiences with Steels workshop. Got them to do a warranty rebuild on a frame and a full bearing replacement on a full suss. I'd go back to them. But mainly because I live in south Gosforth and they give a discount to the club.

EBC in byker has some good staff but can vary.

Start cycles is good for bits and pieces at a reasonable price - not sure about workshops.

I feel I ought to mention Cyclelogical but again I know the owner well and get a discount. I do hear good things about his mechanic but the stock is limited if you are just shopping.

Never been to KB. Does ride still exist on Scotswood road?

What kind of riding do you do? I ride with midaircrisis and there are a few of us around your bit of town. They meet over in Holystone for night rides but they will offer a good introduction to the local stuff.

I ride/race for Gosforth Road club. Very welcoming to newcomers on the cafe runs. I tend not to ride on these much as there are a smaller group of us racing who go out on harder rides. Meet at the regent centre.

If you have an interest in long xc/cx/road rides then let me know. I can also point you in the direction of local roadie chaingangs and mtb/road/cx races that are ataking place. Not so up on the mtb stuff these days (don't like Enduro) but there is an abundance of cycling events around the NE.

I've tried all the bike shops in the Newcastle area except the new gravitate cycles.

I now only use two bike shops, BreezeBikes in Amble for my dark side bike, for all my other bikes I use Bykology Bicycle Repairs (service only) in Hexham. 70 mile round trip for me to Hexham, but well worth it.

Would avoid Edinburgh Bike at all costs and Steels are not much better.

ride were wildtrak, they shut and have been bought out by start cycles.

kb, start cycles, steels, edinburgh cycles all have big showrooms to look at shiny things. never used the workshops.

for workshops if its roadie i can recommend - vieri velo, bicyclerepairman/giant newcastle/cycleart (all the same bods)

for mountainbike bykology in hexham are great if you stretch 'newcastle' a bit.

edit: wow if we are going to amble, hexhams definately allowed in.

theres a whole other thread to be written about cycling cafes in newcastle and surrounds. its rocking at the minute.

Never been to KB. Does ride still exist on Scotswood road?

Sort of, it's on High Street which eventually becomes Scotswood Road as it heads east:
http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=18/54.98136/-1.73589&layers=C

Good little shop with a decent range of stuff in it - mix of roadie and mountain bike gear. They did a nice sale event recently with discounts off everything and free cakes, pizza and coffee. That's my kind of shop 😀

There used to be one in Jesmond called Cycle Logical. I am going back nearly 20 years though 😆

Guess that used to be Hardisty Cycles? (I worked there in the early 90s)

"Hardisty cycles,
the home of the mountain....
BIIKKKKKKKKEEEEEE!"

Good times.

Does anybody remember the one on Westgate Road that ended up moving down to Blenheim Street? Newcastle Cycle Centre I think it was called. Jumpers for goalposts, etc...

I ride with midaircrisis... ...Gosforth Road club. Very welcoming to newcomers on the cafe runs. I tend not to ride on these much as there are a smaller group of us racing who go out on harder rides. Meet at the regent centre.

Been meaning to ride with both of these for a few years now but never managed it.

How far are we pushing local to Newcastle?

OP - if you want a ride out somewhere give me a shout (just getting fitness back though after a long layoff ).

As soon as I saw this thread title the top four popped into my head. I've also had very hit and miss experiences with all of them. I won't single them out but there's some very bad attitudes on show in some of these places. I don't need them to hold my hand or have 'American levels' of fake enthusiasm but some of them just can not be bothered. There's so many long faces on show in Newcastle bike shops.

Gravitate isn't bad. Been in a couple of times and they two lads are keen. Then again, they've just opened so get in there before they get jaded and miserable like the rest of them.

hardistys did massive amounts for the road and mountainbike scene jason mcroy etc. etc. so they have a lot in the plus column BUT god they were miserable bastards.

Been meaning to ride with both of these for a few years now but never managed it.

If you are looking for a (mostly road) club then Pedalling Squares has recently founded a club - they do a mix of rides including regular allcomers social rides (no one rides alone), weekly training circuits around Newburn Riverside, longer club rides, plus CX, Sportive and Audax rides.

Nice having a club that also has a "clubhouse"/cafe 🙂

Club kit isn't [i]too[/i] gopping either...

http://www.pedallingsquares.cc/cycleclub.html

It is my olde parish. Couple of people mentioned Cycle Logical in jesmond. the guy who opened it was a mate and came from Steels originally but I think he sold up and theres a Costa there now. bitd they were better than Hardisty's but matched by Denton Cycles. Did Dentons morph into KB? Sadly Colin who owned Dentons sold up and then sadly passed away but think he sold it to Phil <?> who worked there. Again seemed a good guy but I moved away.

Ah... Denton Cycles. I forgot about that one. Blimey. BITD.

Denton got moved to Scotswood, business seemed slow and they turned into Ride cycles and then something else. All closed now tho.

Dentons moved down to Scotswood Road, got bought out by Wildtrack, turned into Ride and then collectively went phut.

edit: drat too slow

There is a nice little cafe just opened opposite KB cycles in newburn now.

edit: at least you got the detail better than me Hot-Fiat ;0)

CJ are quite good for parts & tools. Steel's workshop is geared towards the leather tilley-wearing wax trenchcoat-adorned Jesmondite: so ok, but a bit clinical & %£$&ing expensive. They have helped me out a few times though when I've needed something urgent. £54 for a set of front Pro II bearings made me cry.

If you need anything doing wheel-wise though Steels is the only place to go.

We really miss Ian & The Bike Place guys. Their workshops were fantastic & the shop always had something that I wanted or needed.

Another for gravitate cycles and I'm based in the south of the country. Top service via the phone, all credit to them.

I've had good service from the Gravitate guys too - serviced my suspension before the summer and have always been happy to do little repair jobs or tweaks when I drop in (for minimal money/cake).

The Bicycle Repair Man in Prudhoe (now the Giant shop) always seem very knowledgable and a few friends have bought TCXs from there and have been happy with the service. They are a bit more formal and organised than Gravitate though, so less likely to fix something if you're just passing (although did also take payment in blueberry muffins once)

Gravitate seem nice, its round the corner from work, so I've popped in for a chat and a nosey.

Start Cycles are big and well-stocked, but up-themselves in my experience.
Steels used to be good back in the day, not been there for years.
Newcastle Giant Centre IS the bike repair man, no changes except the name, and yes, they're linked with Cycle-Art

Massive +1 for Bykology in Hexham. The Hexham Bike Shop closed down after losing out to web-shops and not being able to compete due to a stingy landlord. Reopened a year later as service and small parts only by the bus-station (now sure what the plan is when the bus-station is moved and refurbished, but he's always busy now.

Find Steels ok, especially with club discount.

Had issues with Gravitate - asked service forks and they had issue opening so sent forks away for service telling me no extra charge when specifically asked then tried stick me ££ for extra work that hadn't been authorised - new bushings and postage which had also asked them about at time - in fairness were willing to drop cost extras as not authorised by me. Also serviced rear shock and specifically asked them replace bushing as was knocking - returned to me saying didn't need it as they had tweaked it and would be fine - first ride same issue reappeared so need get done now, more time unable ride bike. They seem keen and I know others who have had no issues with them so maybe i got bad week, sure will try them again as they stock some lovely bikes, eyeing up Banshee.

Ed bike co-op bit hit and miss on who get I think.

As above Start ok for mooch around but random on what stocked sometimes.

Cycle Centre top end of Byker before get to Co-op ok fairly reasonable and decent workshop.

While we've got a bunch of locals on the same thread, here are some handy links you may enjoy:

The Newcastle Cycle Campaign (please join us)
http://newcycling.org/

Sustrans North East (please join or support that too)
https://www.facebook.com/SustransNE

Cycling around Tyne and Wear FB group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/necycling/

Sky Ride Newcastle and Gateshead
https://www.facebook.com/GoSkyRideNewcastle

Any others?

Is the place in Prudhoe the same one as CycleArt? I used to ride with a guy who worked there. Knew his stuff but was the shop seemed road biased.

Yeah, I believe they are run by the same people. The large store has been re-branded as Giant Newcastle and the Cycle Art showroom is across the road in those small units. They have some jaw-dropping (road) stuff in that Cycle-Art store.

I always used Denton but I stopped using them when Ride took over. A couple of the lads who worked there are now at EBC and they are sound...

Does anybody remember the one on Westgate Road that ended up moving down to Blenheim Street? Newcastle Cycle Centre I think it was called. Jumpers for goalposts, etc...

I bought a Giant MTB from that store in 1999. I think the same people still have a shop in Sunderland...

Massive long-shot, I know but... On the subject of Dentons, does anyone have any of their stickers/artwork stashed away somewhere?

I have an old school Denton road bike which I had powder-coated in August (celeste BTW) which is crying out for a Denton headtube badge and some downtube decals. The ones that were on it were thin (like a transfer) and below the lacquer so I was unable to save them for the purpose of scanning. 😥

Trailblazer - gil over on retrobike does bike decals at reasonable cost if nobody has any, just supply a pic and he should be able to knock some nice thin ones up.

Also, while we have a local crew here, any of you guys got plans to do the sandstone way? was thinking of a 2/3 day bivi trip back home in the New Year.

trying to work out who I know of here.

Cyclelogical is owned by Peter Harrison, the chair of Gosforth and organiser of the Virgin money cyclone, Beaumont and Sloan Trophy. He certainly usedto race for Steels back in the day. The shop still exists but isn't in Jesmond.

Gosforth road club meet on Saturdays at the regent Centre. Typical ride is 50 miles (or longer in the fast group upto 70) with a midway stop. Meets at 9am, rarely leaves before 9:20. Normally head North then west as they use the Blacksmith in Belsay.

MAC meet at ASDA in holystone on Thursdays. 7pm. Weekend rides are a bit chaotic but normally on Sunday - you just need to check when. Local is anything up to Blyth, out to Corbridge and Down to Consett. There is some reasonable singletrack to be found. Nothing amazing but good for a local blast if you don't want to drive. They regularly do weekend trips further a field - just depends on who is organising what. There is a Strava group which you can find with local stuff on.

Another happy customer of gravitate, we called in when riding the C2C on tandems and found a broken spoke - they happily replaced the spoke there and then rather than us having to come back the next day. Nice lads

Cheers grahams. Just joined the NCC facebook group. Has anyone noticed the new lane marking on Clayton Street/Westgate Road junction? shocking!

Also, hoping to ride the Sandstone Way on NY day if conditions are good. Got to figure out logistics yet...

steels for wheels when dave worked there but he's moved on now so not sure what its like now. pricey

start head honcho shop staff are up themselves. however the mechanic did lend me a tool once overnight so i'll let them off

edinburgh bikes ok for bits if needed never used workshop

gravitate sounded promising when opened - heard good thing about servicing shocks/forks etc and round corner from work. however my one visit had me realising i'm not in ther target audience & disposable income bracket plus they weren't that helpful tbh

evans - been once and seem to have a lot of stuff. no idea on workshop but from the grapevine i dont think its great

newcastle is crying out for a good bike shop - need to take note from some of the ones popping up in manchester/bristol i reckon. will try bykology or bicycle repair man next if i need mechanic

paul interested to hear on sandstone way as i fancy it sometime too - let us know how it goes. i'll ask claire about tyres tonight 🙂

Never used it, but Cycle Hub have a workshop.

Cheers grahams. Just joined the NCC facebook group. Has anyone noticed the new lane marking on Clayton Street/Westgate Road junction? shocking!

Nice one. The FB group serves as sort of unofficial communication and banter. There is also a twitter feed if that's your thing. If you want to join the campaign fully then you can [url= http://newcycling.org/join-us/ ]sign up for free on the website[/url] then you'll get the newsletters etc.

There have been a few discussions about lane markings recently. I get the feeling a lot of them are being redone because of the changes to traffic flow around central station which seems like a mixed bag from what I've heard.

Ohhhh good thread as I've never come across Pedalling Squares! Guess where we will be going at the weekend!

Pedalling squares regularly ends up as #1 eatery in the whole of Tyneside on tripadvisor.

Can't wait to give the Sandstone Way a try! As for miserable bike shop staff, it doesn't get any worse than the shop - in - a - trailer at Hamsterley. The young lad who 'works' there is Kevin the Teenager with severe pmt.

The guy (Karl)at the hub should be good. Again I think mostly roadie stuff so I'm not sure about shocks etc. I know a few happy customers but have never used them myself.

Waiting for the route guide to be officially launched on the sanstone way as a few of us are goingto do it as a one dayer next year.

I quite fancy doing the sandstone way as a bivi trip with a one night stop or maybe two, once its opened formally next spring.
Was thinking of May bank holiday... then maybe back for a one dayer later in the year.

Pedalling squares regularly ends up as #1 eatery in the whole of Tyneside on tripadvisor.

That [i]may[/i] have more to do with the fiercely loyal clientèle (many of whom know the owners and/or ride in the club). 😀

The coffee and food is good and it's a nice cafe - but it's not [i]that[/i] good!

Don't think anyone has mentioned Activ Cycles in Corbridge. They used to have a reasonable shop and a small race team. Now still a shop but also a fantastic cafe a few doors along from where they were.

There's a cafe in Cycle Art too and going into Giant Newcastle makes you realise what an enormous range Giant have.

andyh -

Used to use the Bike Place up at Cowgate for stuff I couldn't do/didn't have time for before they moved to Bellingham. Anyone know where the mechanic went as he was great (he was telling me he was considering a job from Aldi a few weeks before the shop moved).

Dave who you talk of is no longer in the bike trade. He did indeed take a job with Aldi. I know this as I was the other mechanic/shop bitch at The Bike Place. I really enjoyed my 5 years at The Bike Place, shame it went 'tits up' but the place just wasn't sustainable for a number of different reasons.

Was The Bike Place the one that did motorcycle stuff as well? It used to be at the metrocentre then moved to Swalwell?

That's the one kayla1

Have to agree with GrahamS. Was in there the other week and it was fine but not the best eatery on Tyneside! Still it is great to see such a commitment in such a good spot.
Activ cycles always seemed a bit expensive to me but I imagine they are catering to demand. Really like their local caff!

Where is the peddling Squares Cafe ? I looked on the website but could not find a location...........Cheers

Towards the bottom of whickham bank - behind the sports car place.

Activ are bit more road focussed, but they are a dealership for Intense I believe, and the mechanic has raced DH at international levels I believe.

I bought my first Voodoo from the Bike Place when they were down at the metrocentre. Ian who runs it in Bellingham is in the Tyne Valley MTB club so I see him from time to time.

Towards the bottom of whickham bank - behind the sports car place.

Cheers Hot Fiat. I must drive past on my way to Chopwell. It would make a good start point for winter rides when we try and avoid the worst of the slop in the woods.

Where is the peddling Squares Cafe ?

Quality Row in Swalwell. Here you go:

http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=17/54.95204/-1.68615

Obviously, if you go to Pedalling Squares, don't be a wimp - ride up Whickham Bank first (Then back down).

I can confirm that Pedalling Squares has a chain tool and they are happy to lend it out if you decide to grunt up that hill in the wrong gear on your barely-looked-after rat bike... 😳