Any experience of these bike shops (Surrey/Hampshire)?

[MasterDabber]

I'm finally getting nearer to actually buying an emtb after lurking here for a while. I've been road and mtb for a while.
I don't want to buy online and there are two shops I'm considering.

The first is Pedal Heaven at Fleet in Hampshire, not far from me. I've bought from them before (a Specialized Roubaix Comp - great bike btw). Pedal Heaven
They were good to deal with both in terms of the actual purchase and the odd servicing.

The other place is the ebike.co.uk shop in Farnham Surrey Electric Bikes | E-Bikes With 0% Finance – e-bikeshop.co.uk
Apart from being on-line they also have premises, showroom, servicing. They are a similar distance away. I've no experience of them and wondered if anyone here has used them and what their experience is.
The bike I'm interested in is 2023 Cube Stereo Hybrid 140 HPC SLX 750. The ebike shop advertised price about £200 cheaper than Pedal Heaven.

Any thoughts, opinions, experiences please?

 

[Expidia]

IMO . . . Pick a good brand and a shop near you. The longevity of your bike is more related to you keeping up with the maintenance rather than the particular shop itself because each time gas prices cycle downwards the interest in biking wains again. Bike prices fall and many local shops will go out of business. The Cube appears to come with a Bosch motor, so you are good there.

 

[MasterDabber]

IMO . . . Pick a good brand and a shop near you. The longevity of your bike is more related to you keeping up with the maintenance rather than the particular shop itself because each time gas prices cycle downwards the interest in biking wains again. Bike prices fall and many local shops will go out of business. The Cube appears to come with a Bosch motor, so you are good there.

With these two shops they are both near to me (but in different directions).
As far as I know, Cube are a decent brand, the particular model I'm interested in meets my basic requirements.... 29", 150/140 F/R travel, Bosch motor, 750 removable battery... the tyres it comes with will do for the moment - Hans Dampf - I've had one on the rear before and it was OK. Happy with the colour options, Price within my budget.... so seems to tick most boxes.

The bit I want to feel comfortable is good after sales service, good warranty support etc. I'm not so worried about the selling side of things and as long as the basic pdi and build is good. It's what they are like after they have my money.

 

[MasterDabber]

Please excuse a little "bump". I'm presuming that maybe no one has used either of the two bike shops or has particular experience of them. As I said in the original post, I have bought from Pedal Heaven and found them to be good. This wasn't in a ebike context though and some of the warranty challenges can sometimes be different from a regular bike.

The ebikes.co.uk shop is different. I have no experience of them and although they have a physical presence their model is quite different from a regular LBS. You have to make an appointment to visit the showroom, they only service bikes sold by them.

 

[Acee]

I turned up at e-bikes early in the year, mid week, early in the day as I'm local (hadn't noticed the 'by appointment only'). It was odd; the bloke blocked the door like a nightclub bouncer, as if he thought I'd still attempt entry after he told me the rule. I drove to Beyond Bikes, Smithbrook Kilns and bought one there.

 

[MasterDabber]

I turned up at e-bikes early in the year, mid week, early in the day as I'm local (hadn't noticed the 'by appointment only'). It was odd; the bloke blocked the door like a nightclub bouncer, as if he thought I'd still attempt entry after he told me the rule. I drove to Beyond Bikes, Smithbrook Kilns and bought one there.

Thanks @Acee That's very useful. I have to say that your experience doesn't surprise me. I called them earlier this week and the conversation was somewhat cold. I don't know if "cold" exactly describes it but it wasn't what I'm used to when talking to a regular LBS. Everything described by the person I spoke with was very formal, book your viewing, book your repair visit on-line. Additionally I asked about the warranties. Unless I've misunderstood/misread their website it seems to read that frame warranties are 5 years. on all bikes. I asked how that related to Cube's 3 year warranty. I was told with a Cube it would be 3 years... so how that relates to the 5 years on their website I don't know and I never challenged that as the conversation somehow hadn't been conducive to that.

I guess I'm starting to answer my own initial questions.

 

[Tokes]

I’m also in the same area as you @MasterDabber. I’ve bought stuff from Pedal Heaven, although not my ebike. My experience from them is first class, helpful, knowledgable and not pushy. They have some nice bikes on offer in their stock right now. I would have definitely considered them but budget did fit at the time.

I’ve also tried a spur of the moment visit to e-bikeshop and got the same doorman block. I only wanted to attempt a helmet purchase. Wouldn’t try again or make an appointment there.

I’ve visited a few other LBS in the area and haven’t found anyone that matches up to Pedal Heaven……..yet.

 

[MasterDabber]

I’m also in the same area as you @MasterDabber. I’ve bought stuff from Pedal Heaven, although not my ebike. My experience from them is first class, helpful, knowledgable and not pushy. They have some nice bikes on offer in their stock right now. I would have definitely considered them but budget did fit at the time.

I’ve also tried a spur of the moment visit to e-bikeshop and got the same doorman block. I only wanted to attempt a helmet purchase. Wouldn’t try again or make an appointment there.

I’ve visited a few other LBS in the area and haven’t found anyone that matches up to Pedal Heaven……..yet.

Thanks @Tokes More confirmation.

 

[James_C]

You are quite near Berkshire Cycles, why not go there?

 

[MasterDabber]

You are quite near Berkshire Cycles, why not go there?

I had a look at Berkshire Cycles website but although they sell Cubes, I can't see any emtbs listed.

 

[HampshireSam]

I'd give berkshire cycles a call,
Not long bought my levo from them. Is about 45mins from me. But worth the drive for the price they could offer me and the level of service.
They list cube as a brand they sell,.

 

[MasterDabber]

I'd give berkshire cycles a call,
Not long bought my levo from them. Is about 45mins from me. But worth the drive for the price they could offer me and the level of service.
They list cube as a brand they sell,.

Agreed, it might be worth the call. As I said, they list Cube bikes but there weren't any Cube ebikes as far as I could see..... so whether they do or don't sell them remains to be seen, but yes a call would be worth while.
Btw, I agree that BC have a great reputation.

 

[MasterDabber]

I'd give berkshire cycles a call,
Not long bought my levo from them. Is about 45mins from me. But worth the drive for the price they could offer me and the level of service.
They list cube as a brand they sell,.

Just a follow up to this.... I gave Berkshire Cycles a call this morning. They confirmed that whilst they do sell Cube bikes they don't sell Cube emtbs. The reason given was that they weren't happy with the support that Cube gave their ebikes. Who knows, this whole market is a bit of a minefield.

 

[Paulquattro]

Just to throw a curve ball
I've dealt with the ebike shop twice now and never had any issues
I had a warranty claim as well on a cracked frame and it was dealt with quick and painless
The appointment system may seem a bit off for some but it works well
they give you the bike your interested in to ride round and there time with no interruptions
I can only give my own experience others may have found different and obviously have but i would buy from them again no problem if they had what i wanted at the right price as there after sales and warranty support was spot on as well as there stock and prices .

 

[MasterDabber]

Just to throw a curve ball
I've dealt with the ebike shop twice now and never had any issues
I had a warranty claim as well on a cracked frame and it was dealt with quick and painless
The appointment system may seem a bit off for some but it works well
they give you the bike your interested in to ride round and there time with no interruptions
I can only give my own experience others may have found different and obviously have but i would buy from them again no problem if they had what i wanted at the right price as there after sales and warranty support was spot on as well as there stock and prices .

Thanks @Paulquattro Not really a curved ball, very useful in fact. I wanted to get some first hand experiences of using the ebikeshop. Pedal Heaven (and the recent suggestion of Berkshire Cycles) I have some knowledge of personal experience of. The ebikeshop is the slightly oddball one that I was interested to hear more about. Their model certainly seems to be a different from what might be called "regular LBS" but that isn't necessary bad if they deliver and perform well. As I said previously, I did find the formality a bit off putting but it's good to hear your experience.

 

[HampshireSam]

So long as the ebikeshop don't feel pushy etc regarding the sale of a bike having given you that 1 on 1 I'd not be put off by booking an appointment.
You not tempted by a speicalized?
Berkshire will do a good price and fantastic aftersales.

 

[MasterDabber]

So long as the ebikeshop don't feel pushy etc regarding the sale of a bike having given you that 1 on 1 I'd not be put off by booking an appointment.
You not tempted by a speicalized?
Berkshire will do a good price and fantastic aftersales.

Am I tempted to a Brose motor is really the question..... and I can't say the thought is too tempting. Bosch seems a bit safer option.

 

[Stihldog]

I don’t know if this method works across the pond, but the occasional box of Tim Horton donuts seems to get me faster service and slightly lower prices.…without asking.

We have three lbs’s close by and I use each one. I also make sure that the employees get the donuts …not the owner.

 

[Hobo Mikey]

If your happy with Pedal heaven why not go and talk with them and see if they will price match. I would always go back to a shop I had good service with.

 

[James_C]

I'd suggest go into your chosen shop and negotiate hard. I doubt anyone needs to pay full RRP at the moment.

 

[Funkeydunk]

Just a follow up to this.... I gave Berkshire Cycles a call this morning. They confirmed that whilst they do sell Cube bikes they don't sell Cube emtbs. The reason given was that they weren't happy with the support that Cube gave their ebikes. Who knows, this whole market is a bit of a minefield.

The electric bike shop does cube, in fact it’s one of their main brands. www.theelecticbikeshop.co.uk