Bike shop recommendation in Fairview/Marino?

fader123

Hello all,
I was wondering if anyone has had any experience using either of the two bike shops in Marino (City Cycles and Little Sport). I bought a bottom-of-the-range Trek 1.1 road bike at the start of the summer and got hooked pretty quickly! Now after a bit more than 2000 km the bike needs a few upgrades. The cage pedals it came with have finally disintegrated and I'm looking to get clipless pedals and shoes. Also looking to upgrade the brakes as they seem to be worn out (and weren't great to begin with, tbh).

I bought the bike using the BTW scheme from Wolfe Cycles in Sundrive Road, who were great, but I'm ideally looking for a regular LBS within walking distance of Fairview.

Maybe a separate question, but between the three things (pedals, shoes, brakes) I'm hoping to spend no more than €200, is this realistic?

Any advice appreciated!

Weepsie

Isn't 360 cycles near the area and I believe has an excellent rep?

And yes 200 would probably be more than enough.

sullivlo

Weepsie wrote: »

Isn't 360 cycles near the area and I believe has an excellent rep?

And yes 200 would probably be more than enough.

I think I was charged. €100 for clipless pedals, shoes and cleats for basic entry level bog standard shoes. Brakes will vary depending on what needs to be replaced - if it's just the pads it's cheap enough. But you get what you pay for - the dearer ones can last longer.

fader123

thanks a mil! Yeah 360 cycles is handy enough for here too.

€100 doesn't sound too bad! I think it is just the brake pads alright.

jon1981

+1 on 360 cycles

Searchers

It should be fairly straight forward to change the pedals on the bike - at most you may need a pedal wrench and/or a special sized allen key, and possibly a tube of grease for the new pedals. Halfords in Coolock will stock these, and there are plenty of you tube vids to show you "how-to". The saving on labour could be invested in better shoes!:)

If it is just the brake blocks that need changing on the brakes, this is also fairly simple to do and a google search will give you suggestions on better brands of blocks etc.

You don't mention in your post, but your chain and rear cogs may need to be checked if you don't regularly degrease and oil them.

I've had very good experiences with Little Sport for servicing, never used City Cycles yet.

Either way, it is worth getting a mechanic to check over the bike after 2k, particularly if you're going to cycle through the winter.

fader123

Thanks. Yeah, if it was just one job (brakes or pedals) I would definitely do it myself. I have been lubing the chain and cleaning the bike periodically, also making minor adjustments to fit / gears etc. Not to mention running repairs to pedals before they finally gave up the ghost. However at this stage, after 2 k / 6 months of regular riding I'm thinking I would like to have a proper mechanic give the bike the once-over.

Jawgap

Little Sport near the pedestrian bridge are a decent bunch - zipping past there one day and picked up a puncture, went in to buy a tube only to realise I'd forgot my wallet, the guy there gave me the tube and told me I could drop the money in again, then he helped fit for me!

tomasrojo

Yeah, I bought a bike at Little Sport and I always found them friendly and helpful.

brocbrocach

tomasrojo wrote: »

Yeah, I bought a bike at Little Sport and I always found them friendly and helpful.

They're not cheap though, 55e for Keo Easy pedals alone a few years ago, maybe that's standard I don't know.
Shimano pedals and shoes both are usually cheaper for some reason.
To be honest the €100 figure quoted for pedals and shoes above seems very low to me without going online. Really good deal if you get shoes for less than €70 in a local shop I'd think (could be lucky though of course!)

Effects

I've always found Little Sport really good to deal with.

jon1981

brocbrocach wrote: »

To be honest the €100 figure quoted for pedals and shoes above seems very low to me without going online. Really good deal if you get shoes for less than €70 in a local shop I'd think (could be lucky though of course!)

+1 I highly doubt you'll get pedals, shoes and cleats for >=100 in a shop. Most shops I've seen don't stock shoes below 70-80 quid...unless they are willing to do a deal on the pedals and around it out to 100.

tomasrojo

brocbrocach wrote: »

They're not cheap though, 55e for Keo Easy pedals alone a few years ago

Yeah, I wouldn't be well-informed about that end of things. I buy Wellgo BMX-style pedals (about €20) and use them with rubber-soled shoes (€0, as I have them anyway). Mr. Euro I'm not.

fader123

Went with 360 cycles in the end. Ended up paying much closer to €200 than €100 and I certainly could have got the shoes or the pedals cheaper online. However the customer service was *really* good and worth the extra money IMHO. Got loads of helpful advice and they gave me lots of time to try out the new set-up on a stationary trainer.

duffyshuffle

360 are very generous with their time and experience, defo the best place around this side of town if not Dublin

jon1981

fader123 wrote: »

Went with 360 cycles in the end. Ended up paying much closer to €200 than €100 and I certainly could have got the shoes or the pedals cheaper online. However the customer service was *really* good and worth the extra money IMHO. Got loads of helpful advice and they gave me lots of time to try out the new set-up on a stationary trainer.

100 euro for shoes , cleats, pedals was the wrong expectation to be set anyway

Their customer service is top notch, this is where many shops fail. I always learn something about the bike after I've been in with them and they never rush you.

magicbastarder

what sort of pedal system did you go for?
i'm on SPDs, and the pedals are about €40 in the shops i think.