[Closed] The Bike Chain (Edinburgh)

What are you baseing this on ?

[url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/no-more-tbc-night-rides ]Here[/url]

Sad day

Oh no, I hope not, I've got nothing but good things to say about Mark and Brad.

looks like great service, good products night rides etc etc, great guys, and everything else they put in to it dosent add up to shit in the bike world when all the modern cyclist wants is the best price over the internet. but at least we have another edinburgh bike co-op to look forward to.

another edinburgh bike co-op to look forward to

[img] [/img]

Real shame, only been up in this part of the world for a short amount of time but they'd been really helpful with my mojo build, Brad gave some great little tips. Mark had said he was moving on but I was hoping it was going to keep going.

My mate Leo had a rough time working for them, but they were great to me when I was looking at Fattys. Shame to see it go.

On facebook just now for your info:

The Bike Chain is now The Bike Co-op

We at Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op are proud to be taking over the reins at The Bike Chain. From today, we will be running it as our second shop in the city, and we promise to honour all commitments made by TBC. For instance, if you've booked your bike in for a repair, just bring it along as before to the same address, 30 Rodney Street.

Similarly, if you enjoy a bit of friendly bike chat (look out for the Friday question) or want to keep up with the latest trends, events and offers, then pop on over to our Facebook page www.facebook.com/EdinburghBicycle. We look forward to seeing you.

For more information about us, please visit www.edinburghbicycle.com or email enquiries@edinburghbicycle.com or phone 0131 331 5010.

Shame to see TBC good, was a good wee shop with top chaps.

Not been in TBC for a while, as I no longer work or socialise in the area, however its areal shame to hear that a great shop like this has been taken over by one of the bigger names. The service I have recived from TBC, especially Mark has always been top notch. From loaning me a set of lights after mine failed 2 days before puffer, to the open and honest advice you got from Brad when your bike was goosed and could be fixed on the cheap. Unfortunatley this is not the experience I have of the Edinburgh Bike(un)CoOp. Wish Mark and Co all the best for teh future. You guys will be missed, as will my STW discount 🙁

Best wishes indeed to Mark & Co - always had top notch service from them and viewed them as an 'LBS' even though I live 200+ miles away.

Bought 2 bikes from them in the past couple of years, pretty much on the strength of their customer service, so will be sad to see an independant shop go ... 😥

Good luck to the guys,used them before and they were great...

That's a pity. My Orange 5 and the Mojo that replaced it both came from there. The service I've had from The Bike Chain has been pretty good, the service I've had from the Co-Op has been variable. Also it means there'll be a few fewer brands for sale in Edinburgh shops once they've moved their stock over.

The only constant in life is change, whether a good thing or a bad thing... 🙄

Will there be a sale of all the cool TBC stuff to make way for the coop's commuter lights and Specialized stuff? 😈 😛

Damn. What a pity. Great shop and excellent staff.

It's a sad day. The Co-Op was good about twenty years ago. But now, not so much. Shows how hard it is now to make a bike shop work. Mark and the guys couldn't have been more helpful and always got good feedback on here but presumably that wasn't enough. Wish them all the best for the future.

No offence but the bike co-op is just a gestating Evans cycles. Some good staff but a ****ing scarily dull business. Actually prefer to walk into Evans. Its just generic dull stuff stocked.

edinburgh bike co-op simply survives by manipulating the bike to work scheme.
by giving credits back to organisations at year end they are operating illegally, as any discount should be included in the purchase price and not a year end deal for the organisation to pocket.

And that works how?
Somehow I don't expect so!

its exactly how Leeds city council operates as I know the purchasing officer that negotiated the deal in response to their suggestion.

you pick a bike for £1k
leeds council buys it claims back vat rents it to you then year end they get a nice cheque for spending so much with the co-op.

that rebate what you will should be included in the individual purchase price.

Well, there we go. All change. Its interesting how a shop becomes people who then become characters who end up as friends...

Mark and Brad are still around being Mark and Brad, but the connection to the shop and its customers has moved on.

Knowing them both and how hard they worked to build that business, I predict its not the last we will hear of them even though they have gone their separate ways...

All the best guys and thanks for all the good times and banter.. oh and the bike stuff too.

Chapeau...

Gonna add to Ricks post.
I had a great team over my spell there. You all know who you are. All of you. I learned a lot.

Most of all thanks to our customers for making my decision to leave the hardest ever. But, my wife is hotter than you all together and I kinda like hanging with her more than you guys. 😉

Genuinely though, I met some amazing people in that shop and everyday was a laugh.

I'll defend the new guys too, I met them at handover. We decided to sell the shop, there is no hostile takeover conspiracy or big guy eating the small guy. I am sure James will see you right.

And Rick- thank you. You know what you did.

my wife is hotter than you all together...

But there is no way she can be as cute as jimmy, surely..?

Woah. You leave jimmy out of this.

Is this the same Brad your hailing who has publicly on facebook more than once dissed building Surly Long Haul Truckers as quote; building another piece of S*** today 🙄 Can`t believe a shop owner would let his staff talk like that online to be honest about customers bikes...

It was someone i sent their way, and i can`t imagine his feelings to read that online to be honest about a bike he saved hard and long for and had big plans for...

So good luck to Mark who is a top bloke and i have enjoyed a trail ride with 🙂 and his future who i hope it all works out for...

To slag off the Bike Co?, well it depends on the individual staff at the end of the day, had no probs with dealing with them, if not happy in a shop then just ask to speak to someone else...simples 😉

Slag off?

Bruce- I was an owner.
It was dealt with accordingly at the time.

It seems like the people who really count are doing it for the right reasons- shame that it'll impact such a great shop but fair play to all concerned, hope it works well for y'all.

And you never know, it might mark the start of a return to EBC form of old.

In the meantime- anyone fancy a Not The Bike Chain night ride once the snow melts?

And the bog dries out a bit.

All over it. It was ice tastic this morning along the lymphoy road section and the sun was out making it all nice.

Looking fwd to having the time to ride again.

Here's to riding bikes, eating pizza with chilli jam and all washed down with Reindeer Wee.

*emits urine*
Can we listen to Neil at the same time?

I'll defend the new guys too, I met them at handover. We decided to sell the shop, there is no hostile takeover conspiracy or big guy eating the small guy. I am sure James will see you right.

I know, I'm just being a dick really and wish them all the best, any bike shop is better than no bike shop. For me TBC was the mountain biker's mountain bike shop though - the Coop barely stocks anything I want or need, despite it's huge size. Perhaps calling it the cyclist's cycle shop would cover a wider range of it's clientele. Coop seems to be 90% aimed at the commuter, which I guess is where the money is.

btw Brad and Mark, the fish that used to live in TBC, are happily swimming away together here still, don't know if it's Brad or Mark with the one eye always swimming round in circles, and between them they eat way more food than the 10 other fish in the tank put together 😉

All the best in your new venture Mark & Brad. My wife & I will both miss TBC. It was the one bike shop in Edinburgh that I liked the bikes that were in stock & enjoyed spending my dosh.

All the very best, D.

Gutted TBC' closed, now other folks are gonna find out how clueless I am when it comes to fixing bikes! All the best Mark an thanks for everything.

We'll get some more rides in. How's that shock working out?

The shocks great (thanks again), not been out much but went round GT black in the snow today and the bike felt great (although the legs didn't). Definitely up for more rides so keep in touch.

Very sad that TBC is no more. Best bike shop in the city by far. That said, give EBC a chance. Yes, they are a big (in the corporate scheme of things still tiny though) bike shop, but they are still a cooperative and still put a lot back into local cycling. And remember, they may be doing well these days, but they also had the guts to put their money into cycling before it became all trendy.

Best of luck to Mark and Brad though.

Gutted to hear of TBC closing, only bought one thing from them but the frame is lovely. Best of luck in your new adventures Mark.

Still got my number aye? Just drop me a text sometime. We can test the lines in the Spylaw and Goose and Bridge Inn and ....

Edit - double post. Oops

Yeah, still got it. Spylaw lines are good, I gave them the once over the other day. Cheers

Gutted. Only rented a go pro from them but they did give me some amazing disc brake advice at the same time!

Good luck

Good luck for the future, Mark at al

Whether it's for better or worse is immaterial, a small LBS being swallowed up is never 'happy' news. I'll always have fond memories of TBC; though I only bought one bike from there, it was a bike that I had the best of times riding 😀

Jason

As I said on the other TBC thread Good luck to Mark and the other staff , Im guilty of buying from cheap online shops instead of spending a bit more at the likes of the bike chain. It must be hard to make a living working in any retail shop in this day and age but with the likes of Chain Reaction and Planet X being so competitive bikes shops must be really hard hit.

I'd imagine Mark would make a success at any new venture he takes on as he has always came across as a genuine and helpful guy so best of luck in his new role at 2 Pure.

Personally I've never had any bad service from the bike coop and bought 2 bikes from there . Im not saying Its a good thing that Bike Coop has taken over the shop but the way some folk are reacting on The Bike chain facebook group is a bit OTT. Surely It would be worse If someone had bought the shop and turned It into a bloody 'Ransdens gold merchant'or B & M bargains but then It is Stockbridge after all. 😆

Hm. My experience of EBC is excitable young staffers who value 'new!' mixed with a suspicious old roadie who practically chases me out of the shop with what is probably meant to be attentive service but *really* isn't... The obsession with moderne is fine, but hanging off my elbow and following me round basically guarantees no sale.

I tend to use other shops as a result...

I didn't buy much from TBC but Mark (and other staff) always made me feel welcome in the shop and were up for the crack. I'll be sad to see them go, but good luck to the new guys.

Best wishes Mark et al.

Thanks for all the help and patience, and especially the trade-in - completely unnecessary on your part, but just confirms what most others have said above.

Good luck with 2pure, sometimes in life it's nice to be a bit of a salaryman.
As long as they've not handed you the job of Crank Bros warranty support.

My experience of EBC

Shame to hear of another independent LBS closing up. Only had one dealing with TBC and that was the use of their demo Cotic Rocket (for no charge!). They seemed to be really nice, clued up guys. I went on to buy a Rocket frame from EBC as I work for them. Granted EBC are more commuter orientated but don't write them off as they do have some very good staff dotted around the business.

Sad to see TBC close and all the best to Mark and the team in their new ventures. Only bought a few things from them (admittedly two were quite big) but hugely appreciate the service I got from them. Hope the new role gives them more time to ride more and do more of the stuff you enjoy doing outside of work.

Let's hope the bike Coop hang onto tbc ethos too.

This is sad news, good luck to Mark, Brad and all the others that have given marvellous service at the finest velocipede emporium the world has ever seen.

By the way if you still want TBC levels of service and advice rather than having to deal with the coop, and haven't come across them yet, Pedals in Bruntsfield is great, I tend to get little bits like brake pads from them on the way home from work.

http://www.pedals-edinburgh.com/

I'll definitely miss the place, not my local-est of LBSes but was always worth going out of my way to visit.

I doubt the new owners will ever achieve the 'above and beyond' level of service that TBC's staff delivered as standard, but hopefully they'll give it a shot.

ojom? rubbish user name

It's the way he rides his bike. 😉

Yoo hoo. It is indeed sad that TBC is no more but have no fear! Brad doesn't disappear 🙂 stay tuned

I'm going to make some big assumptions here and say it's not as sad for the TBC guys as it seems. I suspect that with Mark leaving the other owners didn't think it was worthwhile keeping the shop going given their other concerns and that is was a good time to sell up. I doubt Brad wanted to work for something like EBC and Mark will have wanted to spend more time with his wife (which, if you'd seen her, you would completely understand). So while it's sad for we customers it's not so sad for the guys who have been keeping us so happy for the last 3 or 4 years. They probably deserve a bit of happy time.

As for the comment about Brad earlier, as another ex shop mechanic Brad was a breath of fresh air. Brad didn't cut corners, knew his stuff inside out, was the only person I know who could spot a full suspension rider borrowing a hardtail at 500 yards and would fix a bike to the best of his ability and not fob you off with naff quotes, but would also try and bring things back to life for people.

From what I saw of Brad he hated seeing people on crap bikes, and building a crap bike for someone is a sad thing. And, while it's expensive, a Surly Long Haul Trucker is a crap bike. I got a similar feeling every time I built a Trek Pilot for someone- one simply doesn't need that much headtube.

There are only 2 people in the country I would let fix my bike (other than myself) and Brad would be one of them.

Best of luck to all concerned, I know we loved being your customers but I imagine sometimes it was hard keeping so many people so happy and no doubt you'll have fun doing whatever you're up to now. I know Mark's off to something fun and no doubt Brad will do something rad (even if he's got into archery, what the chuff?).

It'll be Velo Ecosse for me when I'm back in Embra. I know they're a roadie shop but they stock weird stuff that you need on a Friday before a ride while EBC stocks stuff to keep 90% happy.

Sad to see the Bike Chain go

That's what happens when you buy online folks!

You want cheap or great service?

They may have bought online.. from TBC? Most bike shops, big and small offer to sell stuff 'online'.

Another thing is people jumping to conclusions. If someone brought a part into an LBS and asked to get it fitted... only to get a death stare from the shop owner after telling them it was from CRC, how many shop owners would ever consider that the customer might have picked up the phone and rang the number from the advert in the magazine? Could easily be someone that's never even bought anything online in their life.

Good luck in your new ventures Mark and everyone. Thanks for all your help in the past year. I still owe you a few drinks Mark - post Wednesday night rides if resumed would be good for that or you could join our little pub based bike club. It's a slipery slope that one though.

I've yet to meet Mark but he is on my bucketlist of people to meet. You'd better not disapoint me.

ojom - Member
Woah. You leave jimmy out of this.

Nobody puts jimmy in the corner.

I'll be hanging around E(T)BC this Friday with bottles of beer from next door out of sentimentality, if anyone cares to join.

Do you need to borrow some brown paper bags Jimmy? 😉

Who, oh who, is going to step into the role of Stephen Merchant impersonator? 🙁

A fellow Daniel Radcliffe impersonator could pull it off.

Daniel Radcliffe - pulling Jimmy off..???

Harry and Ron, shower wing at Hogwarts, Secretivum lovinum spell works every time.

Househusband I smell your jealousy.

Jealousy isn't a strong enough term...

The smoke & mirrors striking home already - brief message for the new owners; [url=

Linky[/url]. disappointed as haven't had any issues with EBC before.

Gutted to miss out on the (very) competitively priced Enduro service deal by 4 days.

That's disappointing Rob, do you mean they didn't even squeeze your tyres?

BOSH! Have no fear about the Enduro service, Brad is going to be running the same services to the same level at 'Edinburgh Cycle Company' with a brand new, kitted out workshop. Basically everything available at TBC will be available at ECC (Granton road) starting April.

Thats good news, that enduro service is a bargain. If I hadn't just done my forks and shock myself I would have booked it in. Hopefully take advantage of it when I get back from the alps....it'll need it! 😀

Good to know - suspect I'll be an early bookee.. Thanks, Brad.

[url=

Edinburgh Cycle Company FB page[/url]

All about the customer service.
Which must be of the highest standard all of the time, nothing's too much, ever.

The customer is sacred. Worship them.

But that's just me . . .

See you soon everybody... 😉

If you are very small, or very big, the coop in bruntsfield is flogging the tbc stock at 50% off. Seems to be only the brands they don't stock themselves, but half price poc, madison and some other bits and bobs are there if you are a funny shape. Couple of maxxis ignitors too