At the moment I am visiting London. My wife forced me to visit a depertment store (Selfridges) in Oxford St and to my deligt I found that they also sell bicycles. I saw a Trek Equinox 7 standing in front of the shop. I am not a fan of this model, but I noticed that quiet a few people were very excited thinking that this is the bike Lance uses for TTs in this year TdF. I asked the shop assistant if I could try sitting on it and he said “No, it has no pedals and it is locked I am afraid”. I explained that I needed to know if I feel comfortable on it before I could consider a purchase. He explained that this bike is not comfortable and there is nothing to check. If I need comfortable I should look at one of the road bikes. He then gave me a long lecture about the fact that the Equinox has been designed for very short distances going fast during the TdF only. “For long distance you will not want those aerobars” he summarized. Being modest I told him that some people ride similar bikes in long distance triathlons and if fit correctly it is more comfortable than a road bike. He gave me a funny look and walked away. I thought that it is there just to promote Trek during the tour and he is no bothered about selling it. Did you have similar situations?
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I say to you this: pick up an issue of Cycling Weekly, 220 Triathlon, or Pro Cycling and find a London shop from there. There are LOTS of good shops in London. In Yeovil, the best tri shop I have seen (in person) is there. Yeovil is in West Country, so it’s a bit of a drive (about 2-3 hours).
I like Selfridges for linens, towels and clothes, but I can’t say that you would want a bike from there.
Buying a bike from Selfridges is like going to McDonalds for nutritious food. Sure, they sell “food”, but it aint going to be good for you.
If you want a decent bikeshop in London, go to Wandsworth (just north of Wimbledon, easy to get to by train) and ask for directions to Evans Cycles. They are on the High Street - great road and tri bike selection, and some of the most knowledgable guys in London.
Boy, I tri hard…
Class bikes-try Sigma in Hampton Wick, trains run from Waterloo
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