Hi All, long time lurker and very in frequent poster… hope you can help.
can anyone recommend a good bike shop near the south coast that holds a good stock of helmets? I’m struggling with a decent fit on my tall narrow head and I’d like to try some on rather than wasting my budget on return postage to the online retailers!!
I’m based just outside Portsmouth and have so far tried, 99 Bikes in Chichester, Portsmouth Cycle World, Halfords (forgive me) and Evan’s in Sports Direct (again, for give me).
don’t mind a bit of travel as we’re often in the new forest, Bournemouth way with family and may be due a trip to Brighton in the summer.
if anyone also has any suggestions for a helmet that would suit Bert from the muppets that would also be welcome!!
TIA
The only other ones I can think of, but don't know stock levels, Solent Cycles (Fareham / Lee on Solent) or Chase Cycles (Winchester) maybe?
All Ride Now in Midhurst is a decent shop, not sure what helmet stock is like, but worth a call
Xtremity Sports at Park Gate
Giant Store, Harefield
99 Bikes at Totton in case it has more stock
GA CYCLES in Shirley
May be worth a call.
The only one I've shopped in recently was 99 but a friend mentioned Xtremity in favourable terms today. The others I just know of from years and years ago.
There used to be a couple of shops in Petersfield as well.
Giro and Abus helmets, at least from a few years ago, fit my fairly thin oval 62cm noggin.
There's Hoops in Winnel, Winchester, just off the M3. It's in the old Hargroves/99 bikes unit on the industrial estate. It's a fair sized unit so potential for decent stock. Bournemouth has primera sports and until recently Bournemouth cycle works (appears to have folded in the last few weeks). There is the woods cycles in Lyndhurst and boost bike hub in Brockenhurst. No idea on helmet stock for either but woods is well regarded.
Owens, just outside Petersfield. I don't know how much stock they carry. Good for repairs etc
Owens and Hoops in Petersfield. MB Cyclery in Haslemere. All slightly different brands stocked but close enough together that you can do all 3 quite quickly and after that you would have tried everything I think.
Owens and Hoops in Petersfield. MB Cyclery in Haslemere. All slightly different brands stocked but close enough together that you can do all 3 quite quickly and after that you would have tried everything I think.
Add in Cycle Sphere (Bordon nr Petersfield) who do Lazer (and possibly others).
Worth trying Decathlon? I've got a moderately large head and recently picked up one of their Van Rysel kids for the road. It's been excellent this far though I haven't truly tested it. Pricing is very reasonable.
Add in Cycle Sphere (Bordon nr Petersfield) who do Lazer (and possibly others).
Good point - yes another close shop with a different brand. Also has the advantage of being attached to a street food hall so you can recover after your 4 shop epic with a burger/curry/bbq/thai/fancy beer.
Primera - Bournemouth have a good stock of clothing helmets and shoes.
Jon's Cycle Repair is worth a try at
Unit 19 Glenmore Business Park
Lime Kiln Lane
Southampton
SO45 2AR
UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone: 02380 890712
He's a retro biker who started a shop and tries to keep decent amounts of kit available.
Thanks for the replies so far, they sound promising! The Petersfield quartet sounds like a good first stop… might have to see if I can get enough shore leave at the weekend for that and a ride!
You can also add Raw Bike Co to your Petersfield visits too, as thats just outside of town too.
Oh, I didn't know they had a shop too. That's Steff, I thought he was coaching and guiding. Good to hear he has a shop too. Will have to pop in.
OP - that's 5 in a close area - can't go wrong there now!
If you're a roadie, well worth heading to Owens after doing the full climb to Warren Corner.
There's at least four traditional starting options, slightly west (Ridge Common Lane) through to slightly east (Village Street, longest at ~4 miles) of Petersfield.
That's iirc and Owens is close to the "little Switzerland" segment hangar switchbacks.
So a short tour this morning. Hoops in Petersfield first and met the helpful South african chap. He admitted they can only carry stock to a certain price point and that their Farnham shop would probably carry more stock.
the Giro Fixture M was a pretty good fit in terms of height but a little wide. The Lazer Kinetone, also not a bad fit but a bit wide and lacking vents.
the specialised Ambush, camber and Tactic didn’t quite hit the mark - mostly because the visor has been designed in that odd place on top of the lid… seemed to accentuate the height of my head!!
Headed on to Raw Cycles just out of Oetersfield and again a limited stock but this time aimed at the more serious cyclist rather than the recreational walk ins. Mostly Fox helmets which I had tried a couple at 99 Bikes and I think they didn’t have any M sizes.
tried a couple here and the owner spent some time going through the details. Really nice chap (didn’t get his name) and gave me a good price on last years Fox Speedframe Pro which colour wise better suited me!
shame I didn’t get to go further on the tour, as these shops do need our support. Maybe I’ll make a resolution to pop in more often for the little things like tubes and patches rather than the easy option of Halfrauds or Amazon!
thanks for your help everyone
Did you buy one then?
Yep, the Fox Speedframe Pro! And very nice it is too!
Good oh, hope you enjoy it.
@lazyandy - i dont suppose you spotted if they did the 'enduro' fullface Pro-frame helmet? I need one (or similar) and much like yourself, there arent many places about that hold stock.
They had a couple of full face helmet, but i didn't look to see which model they were... i think they were Fox brand. The owner is a nice chap, I'm sure he wouldn't mind a phone call!
Good to hear you are sorted lazyandy.
Anyway, just popped into RAW this morning as I needed some small bits and hadn't been before. Great shop in a nice old converted barn. Probably the closest shop to Rogate too. Also near QECP so well placed. Quite new so many folk don't know about them yet, me included until bugpowderdust posted ^ . Pop in if you are nearby!
A heads up for the locals - unfortunately Cycle Sphere in Bordon is closing.. clearance sale starts on Tuesday.
I just started a similar post due to the lack of stock carried by the LBS's. I am in the same area as you (well Fareham) was there one that had a wider range of brands than others? I am struggling to find one.
Of those I visited (Raw, 99Bikes Chichester, Cycle World Portsmouth and Owen’s Petersfield) I would say that they’re all similar in stock levels.
the internet means that the don’t hold stock on the shelves on the off chance of a walk in… we don’t come along that often! Much of the stock is the high ticket bikes and maintenance bits and bobs.
all worth a look even if you just buy a tube or some lube on your visit…. Every little helps!
all worth a look even if you just buy a tube or some lube on your visit…. Every little helps!
This is my instinct but increasingly wondering what it helps? The continued existence of shops that don't provide anything of use? If the business model is now servicing then surely they should be able to exist off servicing not people overpaying for inner tubes out of sympathy?
