Feature – Shopping for Bikes

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Whether you want to shop online or feel the quality of some bikes bits, the Cycle Division have you covered

RST Cycle Clothing & Trigon Bikes

Feature – Shopping for Bikes

NOTE: Send your results as well as club, team & event news here

I know from buying camera bits and other things for the business, that too much these days, it’s nigh on impossible to buy it over the counter. So much is online only and whilst the Cycle Division have a website for doing your home work on, and buying bits and pieces too, they also have a shop in the centre of the country.

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It ticks the boxes for me for what I want in a shop. Easy access, and this one is just off the motorway (Junction 28, M1); easy parking and knowledgeable staff. The Cycle Division have been around a while now and supporting VeloUK for much of that time. It has within its walls, legends from the cycling world like Chris Walker & Jonny Towers as well as riders very familiar in the big races not so long ago like Gareth Hewitt.

These guys know bikes and you can hear that when talking to them. The shop part of the Cycle Division business, according to Gareth Hewitt, is just over a year old. “It has been received really well” says Gareth.

“The main reason behind needing a bricks and mortar shop came into being when we took on the brands such as Scott and Cannondale. It was something we’d always thought about doing and wanted to do but that really spurred us on to get it done sharpish”.

The shop is in a few rooms upstairs in the MotoDirect building which is where the major British motorcycling brand RST (as seen everyone!) is based and many other brands from the world of motorcycling. So expect to see the racing motorcycles as well as racing bikes when you turn up!

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Lots of bikes from the value for money but quality product Trigon imported by Cycle Division, to Scott and Cannondale machines.

On my visit, I parked up with plenty of spaces available and after buzzing the bell, was let into reception and I made my way up the stairs to the bike store. No appointment is necessary and there are staff on hand to help you or leave you to browse the many household brands on offer.

Scott and Cannondale are the two flagship mainstream brands of bikes in the shop and they also have Trigon. That’s a brand that Cycle Division began with but despite their best efforts, is still becoming known in cycle racing circles despite producing some fantastic bikes. Gareth explained that you get great value with the Trigon such as a bike at the UCI weight limit (6.8kilos) for under 2K.

The shop is not all about high end even though there is plenty of it. Customers can get an entry level bike for £500 or spend up to eight or nine grand. If getting a light bike is your thing though, I’ve seen regularly tweets on bikes going out the door that are well under the UCI weight limit.

The focus is on road bikes but you could go in and come out with a bike for all the disciplines of track, road, cyclo-cross and mountain biking. And to help maintain your bike or customise it, the shop also has plenty of accessories as the photos show.

Gareth explained that the list of products is growing all the time off the back of customer’s asking for this or that and if enough ask for the same thing, and it’s not a stock item, Cycle Division are soon looking at correcting that.

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Whilst all budgets for all are catered for, the shop also caters for all ages and one thing that caught my eye was the kids clothing from RST. “It was something we did a few years ago and has been quite successful” explained Gareth. “The feedback we got from parents was that getting stylish looking, well fitted kids clothing, was hard to come by and so it has proven to be popular”.

Whilst the shop has plenty to keep many a cyclist happy, Cycle Division are looking at more additions. Like a cutting edge bike fitting system from Guru –  from February 2015.

“We already have some fully trained bike fitters as we always want customers to go out fully fitted to the bike and this new system will also allow those with an existing bike to be fitted to it. That will keep us busy I am sure in 2015” says Gareth.

It’s that experienced staff where the shop scores well with riders there who have raced the top British races and therefore know and understand the demands of the sport from racing or having a sore back after a five hour sportive. “Their knowledge and experience adds to the service we offer” says Gareth.

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Lots more is planned to help improve the services and products the Cycle Division shop will offer in 2015. A new brand of bikes is being looked at and customers can also take advantage of experienced mechanics in the workshop to get their machines serviced. Another service already on offer are demo bikes that customers can have a go on to make sure it’s for them.

There is so much to Cycle Division the only way to see it is to visit the shop. Oh, and do yourself a favour and follow them on twitter … all sorts of bargains and news is tweeted and you may even get the chance to win stuff too!

The latest bargain I saw for example were free Continental tyres with their Cero wheels… guessing you will have to be quick on that one!

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Always bargains to be had at Cycle Division.

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