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Good bike shop in Cambridge?

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Tintin and the Picaros

Why don't you shut up. Plus Cambridge is more than suitable for driving around.

Well, it has roads, so in that sense it is suitable, yes.

But regardless of this fact, you're not allowed to have a car if you're an undergrad, so it doesn't matter anyway.

well you are allowed a car - just not a parking space

Craghyrax

*sigh*

:dry:

You're Access's worst nightmare... :rolleyes:

:rolleyes:

Joys so he's my worst nightmare now then I guess?? :rolleyes:

:rolleyes:

fumblewomble

The rules are for keeping a car, not just parking it. http://www.cam.ac.uk/staffstudents/studenthandbook/studentlife/vehicles.html

bizarre - i guess that it one of the stupid rules that no-one follows, i know several people with cars none of whom have a license, they just don't park it in the college carparks.

IIRC the rule dates from the 1920s or so, when rich young things would bring their vehicles to college and end up smashing themselves to pieces in car accidents.

THe rule seems to have been kept because it's practical- Cambridge has a traffic problem now, but think how much worse if it would be if even a few of the 20,000 or so students had cars....

I've had my bike for 1.5 days and it's already leaking air from the rear wheel. I think there's something wrong with the stopper where you pump air into it. Does anyone know how much roughly this will cost to repair? Any guess is useful.

you can get a new inner tube for 3 or 4 quid - it's not difficult to change yourself.

there's no good bike shop in cambridge

groovy_moose

you can get a new inner tube for 3 or 4 quid - it's not difficult to change yourself.

I'm one of the least practical people in the world, I think I'm going to need help :frown:

:frown:

The West Wing

I'm one of the least practical people in the world, I think I'm going to need help :frown:

:frown:

Take fitzbillies treats to the Jesus bike porter? :p:

:p:

The West Wing

I'm one of the least practical people in the world, I think I'm going to need help :frown:

:frown:

If you can find someone to do for you / show you how to do it and lend you the tools (tyre levers and possible a spanner to remove your wheel if its not quick release) it will save you a fair bit, even if you have to buy them a drink! I would play to the stereotype at this point and say go find an engineer

, but as I've puncture repaired inner tubes for two other engineers in my college as they didn't know how, it's evidently not a safe bet! The Halfords website says they will charge £5.99 on top of the inner tube which is probably fairly indicative of what the price will be in bike shops.

-Matt-

If you can find someone to do for you / show you how to do it and lend you the tools (tyre levers and possible a spanner to remove your wheel if its not quick release) it will save you a fair bit, even if you have to buy them a drink! I would play to the stereotype at this point and say go find an engineer

, but as I've puncture repaired inner tubes for two other engineers in my college as they didn't know how, it's evidently not a safe bet! The Halfords website says they will charge £5.99 on top of the inner tube which is probably fairly indicative of what the price will be in bike shops.

Would you be willing to do it/teach me to do it for a fiver?

The West Wing

Would you be willing to do it/teach me to do it for a fiver?

I'd happily do it for free

- I'd feel bad charging someone! Could you PM me your email if you want to arrange a time - tried to send you a message but apparently you cannot receive any more

-Matt-

I'd happily do it for free

- I'd feel bad charging someone! Could you PM me your email if you want to arrange a time - tried to send you a message but apparently you cannot receive any more

That would be AMAZING!!! I would be eternally grateful, and I will happily compensate you in chocolate/drinks.

Sending PM now :biggrin:

:biggrin:

If you're in one of the Hill colleges, or are living north of town, there's a bicycle repair van that stops outside my college (Churchill) mon/w/f and seems ot charge fairly reasonably, although I haven't really gone anywhere else to repair.

The irony being that if your bike really does need repair, you can't ride it where ever it needs to go :biggrin:

:biggrin:

.

thefish_uk

I had Cambridge Cycle Centre on Botolph Lane recommended to me (it's off Trumpington Street, near Pembroke Street). I went there myself with a problem with my brakes which was fixed by them changing the brake cables. Seemed quite honest to me - they looked at the problem, told me how much it would cost me to fix it, I returned the next day to pick up my bike and it was sorted. Done. I've been there since to fix a problem where a brake cable needed to be changed and I'm pretty sure they also put new brake pads on said brake too which was nice of them.

However if you go into any bike shop unsure of whether you should have X done to your bike they will invariably say you should.

My bike's chain decided to get stuck earlier today (and in the middle of Hills Road bridge...), and no amount of pulling on my part managed to get it unstuck.

So ended up walking my bike back to town. Vaguely remembered this thread, so I stopped at the cycle shop on Botolph Lane since it was on my way back. The person there was really nice and managed to get the chain unstuck (after a lot of pulling, which didn't work either, and eventually having to use something else to get it unstuck), so at least I now have a functioning bike again.

Will probably go back there to get a couple of other problems with my bike sorted out at some point I think...

I was wondering, how much is the average bike in Cambridge? Not good one - I highly prefer a shoddy ugly one that doesn't get nicked. I'm asking because you can get a reasonably working bike here for about 20-40 euro. Is it worth buying it here and then somehow taking it with me to the UK?

Wherever you go, don't go to the Cambridge Cycle Centre on Botolph Lane!

There are just too many stories about their arrogance, rudeness and money-grabbing. (Some of these are at their page at Google Plus - but that's only the tip of the iceberg.) They know all the tricks. For example, I've heard several stories of them increasing the charges to freshers after they've agreed an initial price, saying the original price they told them is wrong. Sometimes if someone buys a bike from them and then takes it in several months later because something has gone wrong with it, they have been known to deny that the bike was bought from them in the first place. Often if someone who's not very knowledgeable about bikes asks for a service, they either won't do anything at all (but still charge you £50 or more) or they will replace perfectly working decent parts, which might need just a bit of grease, with rubbish old parts which will last only a few weeks. What a disgrace!!

It's true that if you say you are unsure whether a job needs doing to your bike, almost all bikeshops will tell you it does. But even so, the shops in Cambridge vary a lot. Give this one a very wide berth!

(edited 9 years ago)

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