[Closed] M Steels Gosforth - Gone!

I never used them ..but sad to see any North East independent bike shop close its doors ..

Oh no, I've used them a wee bit. Sad to see them go.

Yup,I always lusted after a Dave Yates XC frame.
Lot of choice in steel fab now though,so it's not all gloom and doom.

I used them BITD, and the shop they had in Whitley Bay 🙁 I bought my first set of suspension forks from them, some OE Rock Shox Indy Cs for £50.

Very sad - just rode past the shop and it's shuttered up. I remember them from the dingy old shop on Salter's Road and being treated with contempt when I wanted BMX parts:)

The shop seemed to have become more and more sparsely stocked in recent years but I bought a few odds and ends and was in there on monday for a quick mechanical job. Sad to see them go and good luck to the folk who worked there, I hope the business can be revived.

sad to see any [s]North East[/s] independent bike shop close its doors ..

FTFY

Bought a few things from them over the years. A bike, set of wheels and odds and ends I don't recall now. It was never a welcoming place though.

@kayla - yes I remember the Whitley Bay shop - it didn't last that long from what I remember. Recently they seemed to have focused a lot on Specialized and road stuff - which I guess is their heritage but at the expense of carrying a broader range of stock. In comparison to Evans or Edinburgh Coop there wasn't a lot to choose from. Tough times for the smaller shops.

I got some OG coaster Skyways from the Whitley Bay shop too. They were a little more open to BMXs (in the early 90s) than the Gossy shop!

edit- and a Weinmann centre pull caliper for the back of my GT Vertigo to replace the Odyssey Shitbull 😆

Rad. I used to go to that shop on Westgate road or Jos Conways and lust after the PK Rippers and Haro Freestyler...

#nostalgia

The one that was part bicycle shop and part motorbike shop? Moved down to Blenheim St? Smelled of bikes?

#indeed

Sad times, they built me a snowflake laced Fir Impes on an LX hub. It's still being used to this day (gently).
I lived round the corner from it for a while, was almost a regular but it wasn't a welcoming place in the 90s for some reason. Just a bit sullen in there.

The Whitley Bay one was very shortlived I seem to recall.

The shop on Westgate Road was Newcastle Cycle Centre - shared premises with the Kawasaki dealers.

That's the one! Moved to Blenheim St in the mid-90s.

It was indeed mid-to-late 90's - when the bottom of Westgate Road was redeveloped and the new road and junctions built. As was Denton's before it moved to Scotswood Road near to Autosounds.

Never went there but the chap in the room next to mine in halls in first year at Newcastle University (who was a very wealthy overseas student) bought a beautiful M Steel road bike there which I absolutely lusted after - must have been 1981/82. Was so much nicer than my gas pipe, bent, Dawes - which some idiot pinched.

Shame, was a good shop when I lived up there...15 years ago

this prompted me to see if Dave Yates is still building frames and it appears he is. Some interesting nu-old-skool geo going on here:

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I grew up in Whitley Bay. Bought my Dave Yates diablo from the steels shop there.

Newcastle cycle centre - I used to lust after the alpine stars cro mega elevated chainstay bikes in there

But who remembers the bike shop in Cullercoats?!

Laverick's

I don't remember Lavericks but I do remember the Pedal-In in Monkseaton.

Maybe it was their diabolically poor website that added to it? Was very Roady indeed, narrow market maybe.

Love Edinburgh bicycle shop so hope more business goes in that direction.

...and Hardistys.

hardistys were the most miserable bunch ever. yes i know they were a historic shop, big supporters of the race scene, yes i know they supported jason mccoy, but its still the the most miserable bike shop I've ever been in.

Lavericks indeed!

Where was pedal-in? I seem to remember it, was it up by where the rover garage used to be just up from the black horse?

I grew up in Monkseaton and don’t remember a bike shop there! Or Cullercoats. There was a r/c model shop near cullercoats that I used to window shop at quite often though.

Who rode in ‘the dene’ and Seaton Sluice then? It’s where I learned all my mad skillz

I went to monkseaton middle school then the high school before it turned into that space age shape thing.

Yes to the dene. From monkseaton down the old railway track then left or right?! I bent th forks on my Raleigh dynatech going down the edge of the embankment into the 'dene'

Not been down the dene for like 25 years now! Is it still the same?

A chap from my class used to work in the r/c shop

Not been down the dene for like 25 years now! Is it still the same?

It's still there and got that embankment and there are some jumps dug into the bit to left if you are coming from Monkseaton. The council gave up digging them up or fencing them. Did you ever ride on the old pit heap near Earsdon? That was sketchy...

The dene forms part of my quick-blast-round-fields loop taking in the various waggonways and farm tracks between Whitley, Seaton Sluice and Blyth. More for the cx bike really but ok for something out of the door.

As for shops at the coast there's Dixons on Park View, run by a sarcastic old sod and Whiptail in Tynemouth - never been in.

Re: other local shops Edinburgh bikes are ok, preferable to Evans IME even though Shields Rd is in a pretty dire state these days. The newest seems to be CJ Cycles who have a shop near Cramlington and have opened one in Byker too. Seems ok, mostly Giant bikes from what I recall.

Hardisty's sold the business and site to Edinburgh Coop by the way.

Shame. Bought a Trek MTB from there when I was a student living round the corner. Mind you that was over 20 years ago....

Earson Pit heap brings back memories.

Earsden pit, lol that brings back memories.

I can still remember the smell!

Local institution, but they were a bit miserable in there. I remember buying an 80mm stem and being told "it's a bit too short for a modern bike"
That said, I'm still running a Hope XC front wheel "built by Dave" 20 odd years ago. And my wife's only bike which has been ridden all over the world with 25 kg of luggage on it is a spesh hardrock she bought from there at the same point.

Earsdon Pit, I got a very infected wound falling off there!
My house backed onto the old railway line, it was a pretty cool place to have access to so easily when I was a kid.
The embankment and all the little muddy trails were good fun all year round.
I used to like the coast path from the Sluice back to St Mary's too.

I moved away from the NE 19 years ago so haven't ridden there in a while, keep meaning to take the kids round when we're visiting my folks sometime.

Earsdon Pit, near the bombhole at Holywell Dene? My nephew still goes there (the Dene) with his mates on their bikes!

edit- yes, mad crazy skillorz learnt at the Dene here too, 20-odd years ago...

edited again- we're off back through it again today in fact, from Tynemouth to my mam's in Blyth 😀

I found my old Beamish Odd Sox jersey a few weeks ago. Sponsored by Steels established in 1894 I think. I was amazed at such on old business was still going...sad times. Wore the Jersey on last nights ride in their honour

From the owner: "Yet another victim to the unstoppable machine that is internet shopping"

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/business/business-news/gosforths-m-steel-cycles-shuts-13780566

Earsdon Pit ! takes me back , used to play around there in the early 80's on my YZ100 and getting chased by the rozzers making my way back to Monkseaton.

How times have changed and they will soon me building a new housing development there soon, last bit of mining history gone.

Many posts on FB and the like relating to Steels never having been the friendliest shop - in recent times I have to agree. I used to use them reasonably often when they were in the previous premises on the corner, but once they became a Specialized Concept Store there was very little stock of any interest, and never the stuff you really needed (for mtb at least).

How times have changed and they will soon me building a new housing development there soon, last bit of mining history gone.

I'd doubt that, there's enough problems with mining subsidence in the area without building directly on top of a spoil heap. There's a street in Northumberland Park where the new builds have been condemned and have cracks running from roof to floor. It's probably toxic too, much easier to build over the fields at Merton or under the pylons by the A19 at Backworth as they are doing.

anyway re: the shop and internet shopping. Well yes, that's bound to play a big part but I guess the shops that have developed an online business alongside the physical shop stand a better chance of thriving. Steels online shop was a token effort at best. So perhaps an inevitable closure, just hope the staff are well treated and find new jobs easily

Gone to the Dogs.

Bolx.

🙁

The Pedal-In used to be here-

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BITD, like mid-late 80s. We used to drool over the CW bars and braced layback posts in the window 😆

I used Steels in Whitley Bay as a kid with it being my nearest decent local bike shop. I then worked for Hardistys (one of the miserables....) 😆 So didn't need to go.
Sad to see a regional icon go. Where will I get my next Greggs top now??

That's sad, but it was my LBS for a couple of years a few years ago (just round the corner) and I went in a few times to try and support it, but they were never overly helpful and there were lots of expensive shiny shiny things and rarely bits I actually needed.

A friend I lived with at the time, one of the most laid-back people I know, also got really annoyed at their service when he took his fork in for a service.

A very small sample I know, but if representative, then I'm not too sorry.

As with many others in here, they scoffed at me and my bike when I went in looking for a tube. I presume because I wasn't riding a Specialized. I never set foot in the place again.