Bike Hub Howth -closed

iamtony

brian.henry wrote: »

It was the -I couldn't give a f uck about the bike you had stolen and I intend to continue selling this lock to others as though it is adequate- attitude that bothered me. Had he answered as either of you have it would been much better.

Lets not kick them while they are down you sound like your happy they're gone.

Harrybelafonte

This thread is pretty depressing for many reasons. Make sure you get your dig in before the thread is closed.

evancunny95

brian.henry wrote: »

It was the -I couldn't give a f uck about the bike you had stolen and I intend to continue selling this lock to others as though it is adequate- attitude that bothered me. Had he answered as either of you have it would been much better.

Any lock can be broken. It is not his fault your lock was broken. Of course he is going to continue selling that lock. If he stopped selling any lock that was ever broken,he wouldn't have a lock to sell !

a148pro

Tenzor07 wrote: »

I don't recall seeing anywhere to park the bike securely outside the shop, not sure if they allowed people into the shop with their bikes, after all who'd carry a bike lock out on a spin to Howth?

Also with high end products such as Willier bike or Castelli clothing, people will shop around online to look for discounts and deals, rather than walk into a shop and drop €150 on a pair of bib tights?

They had these bike rests in the store when I was there, hadn't seen them in any of the other shops I've been in actually

I actually bought a pair of Asos bib shorts for around that price in Cyclesuperstore in Tallaght (does that count as an independent store??) because a) I wouldn't buy something that expensive without trying it on and, to my surprise given the hygiene issues, they let me try them on and b) they were actually reasonably cheap relative to on line (I only looked afterwards).

I think if lads know their stuff and can confidently buy online, or if cash is short that's fine, but you actually get a good bit of extra value for the 10 to 20 euro more you might have to pay in a real shop

magicbastarder

brian.henry wrote: »

It was the -I couldn't give a f uck about the bike you had stolen and I intend to continue selling this lock to others as though it is adequate- attitude that bothered me. Had he answered as either of you have it would been much better.

he didn't sell you an unbreakable lock, and that's your beef? it's a lock, not a ninja waiting behind the nearest lamppost protecting your bike.

BrianHenryIE

magicbastarder wrote: »

he didn't sell you an unbreakable lock, and that's your beef? it's a lock, not a ninja waiting behind the nearest lamppost protecting your bike.

My 'beef' is that after I informed him the lock was next to useless, that he seemed happy to sell it to other people.

I.e. people like you & people who haven't read up on what is and is not a good lock. When I spent €55 on a lock, I thought it would be good. It was useless. He didn't give a s hit.

eeeee

brian.henry wrote: »

My 'beef' is that after I informed him the lock was next to useless, that he seemed happy to sell it to other people.

I.e. people like you & people who haven't read up on what is and is not a good lock. When I spent €55 on a lock, I thought it would be good. It was useless. He didn't give a s hit.

Spending double that on a lock and it can still get broken. No lock is impervious to breakage. If someone really really wants to steal your bike locked up they can get it. They, as even bike shop do, sell locks at different prices and ranges. They're not useless, they are what they are. If you really wanted a super strong lock you should have spent an awful lot more than €55 and no research on it. It's not their fault your bike got stolen. The lock they sold you did it's job up until that point.

Bikes get stolen every day of the week. Whilst it absolutely shouldn't happen it does, and to be fair as a stranger just how much is he supposed to care about your bike that he has little or no connection with getting stolen? I would expect NO one but me to care my bike got nicked. The culpability begins and ends with me, in my choice of lock, area of locking, method of locking etc. Even of you do everything right it can still get nicked. Not the bike shops fault. If the lock was dodgy then it's a manufacturing issue.

RobFowl

brian.henry wrote: »

My 'beef' is that after I informed him the lock was next to useless, that he seemed happy to sell it to other people.

I.e. people like you & people who haven't read up on what is and is not a good lock. When I spent €55 on a lock, I thought it would be good. It was useless. He didn't give a s hit.

If some scumbags can climb Carrauntoohil and do this then they can cut through any lock you can find....



http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/cross-on-summit-of-carrauntoohil-cut-down-1.2011907

DirkVoodoo

brian.henry wrote: »

My 'beef' is that after I informed him the lock was next to useless, that he seemed happy to sell it to other people.

I.e. people like you & people who haven't read up on what is and is not a good lock. When I spent €55 on a lock, I thought it would be good. It was useless. He didn't give a s hit.

Maybe it wasn't the lock, maybe it was how/where you locked it? Maybe it was just bad luck.

To say the lock was useless is fairly useless in itself. Without knowing anything else, what is the shop to do? Give you a new lock? Declare the current lock useless despite there being no evidence to suggest so? And to say he didn't give a **** is a bit much, what did you want? A mass recall on this lock? Get over yourself, please.

I think it is pretty poor form to use this thread to take a bit of a kick at the Bike Hub, your experience differs completely with any that I have had there and any that I have heard from people I know.

And now, one of my own experiences with the Bike Hub:

I popped into the shop with a friend after our cycle around Howth, then we headed around the corner for coffee. This man came running over to us as we sat down inside and said we could leave our bikes inside in the shop where they would be more secure. He even said we could bring our coffees in and sit down there if we liked. I later learned this was Harry, Paul's father, who gave him a hand around the shop. I worked in a bike shop in Sydney where paying customers and window shoppers were treated with disdain and I hated it. Here was a shop that treated people who hadn't shown as much as a red cent as much care and respect as their best customers.

Needless to say, when I got my bike to work voucher there was only one place I was going to give the business.

I could make my own suggestions as to how the business might continue in one form or another, but that's probably pointless now.

Goodbye bike hub! Good bike shops are a dying breed.

Harrybelafonte

brian.henry wrote: »

He didn't give a s hit.

Nor do we Brian, nor do we.

dixiefly

brian.henry wrote: »

The lock that was on my bike (Sirrus) when it was stolen was bought there for €55. When I was there again, I told the guy about it and he grunted, seemingly uninterested and happy to continue selling it to people.

Brian, maybe you just caught him at a bad time on a bad day. We all have interactions with others that are not perfect.

I think the general tone of the thread is the overall standard of service which seemed to have been great. It must have been difficult to balance their charges & profit margins with online competition and rising rental prices. The most startling post for me is the person complaining about paying €10 to change a tube. Costs don't always relate to the job in hand, location, tools, expertise and time must be factored in. There are others in other areas charging multiples of that for other services.

dixiefly

Zyzz wrote: »

Charged me a tenner to change a tube way back when..

Never went back :pac:

Zzzz,
What did you EXPECT to pay for a service such as this?

nak

Diggabot wrote: »

Such a shame. I've had nothing but good experiences with them. I bought a Specialized helmet from them and subsequently had a spill. The helmet was knackered and I was going to replace it through Specialized's crash replacement policy. Turned out the policy didn't apply in Ireland so I had to buy a new lid.

That is not true, warranty does apply here. Maybe the shop had stopped dealing with Specialized by then.

Shame to see the shop close.

iwillhtfu

dixiefly wrote: »

Zzzz,
What did you EXPECT to pay for a service such as this?

I think that comment has been misconstrued.

We weren't made aware of the tone of the conversation.

Calling into a store without mentionig a puncture and someone noticing and saying I've a few min free I'll sort that for you when they were aware of a saddle bag pump etc being present is IMO offering his services for free and a quality customer service. So if he were to turn around and charge a tenner I'd be a bit bemused.

On the other hand if you called into the store pointing out you'd a puncture and were told yeah we can fix that for you. I'd expect to pay.

I'm guessing the first was the scenario Zyzzz found himself in.

Either way a tenner isn't much and if I found myself in the first scenario I'd imagine I'd be buying at least another tube off them.

dixiefly

iwillhtfu wrote: »

I think that comment has been misconstrued.

We weren't made aware of the tone of the conversation.

Calling into a store without mentionig a puncture and someone noticing and saying I've a few min free I'll sort that for you when they were aware of a saddle bag pump etc being present is IMO offering his services for free and a quality customer service. So if he were to turn around and charge a tenner I'd be a bit bemused.

On the other hand if you called into the store pointing out you'd a puncture and were told yeah we can fix that for you. I'd expect to pay.

I'm guessing the first was the scenario Zyzzz found himself in.

Either way a tenner isn't much and if I found myself in the first scenario I'd imagine I'd be buying at least another tube off them.

Fair enough, probably Zyzz was a little surprised.

At the same time, if it was me I dont think it would have upset me sufficiently to never go in again and to bring it up here on the occasion when the shop is closing down.

Like if you met the guy on the street and he helped you then fair enough to expect a freebie but on the premises you shouldnt be upset at being charged. Imagine going into a doctors surgery and asking for a quick checkup and advice and getting upset at being charged €10?

rollingscone

Are you sure Zyzz isn't just taking the piss as is his usual MO? He'd be well aware that a tenner is the bottom end of the scale and his third favourite activity after hoovering up KOMs and climbing on the big chain ring is making contrarian comments.

arybvtcw0eolkf

evancunny95 wrote: »

Any lock can be broken. It is not his fault your lock was broken. Of course he is going to continue selling that lock. If he stopped selling any lock that was ever broken,he wouldn't have a lock to sell !

For sure!..

Here's a photo of just the front wheel of my motorbike, there's close to €200 securing it and the same for the rear ~ if I could have done that with a €55 lock I'd have saved myself a wad of money!.

iwillhtfu

dixiefly wrote: »

Imagine going into a doctors surgery and asking for a quick checkup and advice and getting upset at being charged €10?

Fair enough but last week I brought my daughter to the doc turns out she had an ear infection. I happened to have her sister with me and he said sure while she's here we'll have a look at her. Another possible ear infection.

My point being when I went to pay I was only charged for the first daughter despite me pointing out both had been seen.

Just saying.

Anyway completely off topic I'm sure Zyzzz can stand by his own opinions.

Sorry to see them close I was only in it the once and found the lads very friendly.

AmberGold

Thread going off topic now.

Sorry to see this shop close, it was nice to have a decent bike store on the north east side of Dublin and they sold quality products. Harry is a gent and I wish him well, we did some business back in a previous life.

Howth is a difficult place for a retail business without doubt although it does have appealing aspects and I can see why they chose to locate there. The Bike Hub formula would most likely have worked in another location.

eisenberg1

brian.henry wrote: »

My 'beef' is that after I informed him the lock was next to useless, that he seemed happy to sell it to other people.

I.e. people like you & people who haven't read up on what is and is not a good lock. When I spent €55 on a lock, I thought it would be good. It was useless. He didn't give a s hit.

To be honest, that is a bit like ordering a pint of Smithwicks in a bar, its your choice, but it is still piss.

You read up on the lock, and bought it. As has been said, ANY lock can be opened. On you tube, you can see some (cheapo locks,granted) being opened with a biro, in under a minute.

stecleary

Was only ever in the shop once. My seat clamp was a little loose and the post sinking as I was cycling. Called in looking for a lend of an Allen key to sort it myself. They obliged and lent me one. I asked what I owed them as I wouldn't expect to use someone's tools for free, they refused to take money so I picked up the cheapest multi tool they had for €7 paid for it and even then he didn't want to seel it to me because he knew I was only trying to return the gesture.

magicbastarder

eisenberg1 wrote: »

To be honest, that is a bit like ordering a pint of Smithwicks in a bar, its your choice, but it is still piss.

oi! no need to get nasty. smithwicks is the drink of kings.

Zyzz

@Rollingscone - want to come climbing with me? Big ring only.

iwillhtfu wrote: »

I think that comment has been misconstrued.

We weren't made aware of the tone of the conversation.

Calling into a store without mentionig a puncture and someone noticing and saying I've a few min free I'll sort that for you when they were aware of a saddle bag pump etc being present is IMO offering his services for free and a quality customer service. So if he were to turn around and charge a tenner I'd be a bit bemused.

On the other hand if you called into the store pointing out you'd a puncture and were told yeah we can fix that for you. I'd expect to pay.

I'm guessing the first was the scenario Zyzzz found himself in.

Either way a tenner isn't much and if I found myself in the first scenario I'd imagine I'd be buying at least another tube off them.

Just to clarify, this is exactly what I meant by my original post. I had the tenner as dead end emergency money, I would have happily changed the tube myself but to be sprung with a fee for something I thought he was doing for free and taking up no more than 2 minutes of his time..a bit surprising..

Anyways enough off topic, that was my experience, its sad to hear a cycle shop is closing and people are out of employment.

/Zyzz