Good bike shop in Hobart?

[danielfp1]

Hi all,

Just joined the forums, as I've decided to get back into riding to get to uni this year. We've just moved from Melbourne to Hobart and I'm having a bit of a hard time finding a good bike shop in Hobart. Can anyone recommend a good one re one where the staff know the meaining of customer service?

I can recommend against Appleby Cycles in Elizabeth St in the city and against Tassie Cycles in Main Rd New Town for specific instances of rudeness and poor service in the last few days - other shops I've been into I haven't had particularly bad experinces with, but they have definitely left me with the impression they're not interetsed in selling basic parts or providing basic servicing to get my $20 garage sale steel frame back on the road - unless it means selling me lots of expensive kit I don't need (and telling me I'd be better off buying a new bike).

There's got to be a good, friendly bike shop in Hobart somewhere, surely, and one with decent bike mechanics who don't bitch and moan if I want to book in my old beast for basic stuff.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Cheers

[Rubicon]

Take your partner for a weekend away shopping....in Melbourne.

[LG]

I've always found "Ride" Bellerive to be pretty good.

[Aushiker]

G'day

Moved to the Tasmania state forum. They need all the posts they can get

Andrew

[danielfp1]

...l'll check them out...cheers

[m@]

Hi Daniel, welcome to the forum (and Tassie )

I have had similarly frustrating experiences trying to get my Repco Traveller serviced; most shops were happy to take my money but didn't actually do the work to the standard I expected - then gave me free advice (buy a new bike) to level the score

I'll put in a plus vote for Ray Applebys as I know the mechanic there; they're not quite enthusiastic about working on older bikes, but are usually friendly and do a good job. Depends very much on who you speak to though...

At the end of the day no bike shop likes it when you walk in with an old bike as it means they'll need to spend a lot of time in the workshop for very little income, plus potentially track down obscure tools and parts etc that have very little markup. Doesn't excuse the rudeness - but unfortunately you'll find to some extent that's a Tasmanian phenomenon, not limited to bike shops!

[AndyRevill]

Sorry, this is probably a bit late now but I've been away. Unfortunately I'd have to agree with you re Applebys - I've never had what I'd call a nice experience in there. My favourite is Ken Self on Elizabeth street - we've bought a number of bikes from them over the years- always happy to chat and explain things.

Good luck

Andy

[danielfp1]

...thanks Andy - I went in to Ken Self the other day actually for a browse and they were very nice and answered all my questions, even though it was obvious I wasn't going to buy anything that day.

Maybe slack customer service is just a Tassie thing generally, and isn't confined to bike shops here as I'd feared. It is good to know there a few good bike shops here.

Cheers
Daniel

[m@]

Oops - reading Andy's comment made me realise that the guy I know actually works at Ken Selfs, not Ray Applebys... Too many bike shops on/near Elizabeth St with similar names

So is the steelie back on the road?

[RobRollin]

From the time I started racing MTB when I was 15, 16 years ago, Appleby cycles has had a !! BAN ME NOW FOR SWEARING !! attitude. To the point I didnt go in there for years. They have a real stuck up attitude. Kai who works there is about the only decent guy whom I would talk to. They dont have any gear that I would want to buy from them anyways. Rey has been alright to deal with just not the rest of his crew.

Chris at Ken Self is a great guy, always willing to help (he did work at Applebys for years) but has since bought Ken Self. Ive been going to Selfs for years, since my dad knew Barry Self. Damian at Kens is also a great guy who will help you out.

Self's have rides every Monday night, Thursday night and Saturday avos. Mondays night are med pace. Thurs there are two groupettos, fast and med. Saturday is a social ride. Expect around 50ks on a Monday and Thursday and 42ks on a Saturday.

[Tom Marius]

+1 for ken self

great service, and always up for a chat

[danielfp1]

Yeah, rode to uni the other day down the cycleway from Glenorchy into the Art School on the docks - pretty pleasant trip I must say.

It goes to show that good service does pay, you can pretty quickly establish customer loyalty with simple things like...manners.

Now that the old Repco is running...I'm dead keen on another mountain bike (last one was nicked from my work in Melbourne) after checking out all the good fun at Tolosa Park on the weekend - what an awesome facility right on the edge of town!

Thanks for all the feedback folks, has really helped get my bearings on where to go re bikes.

Cheers
Daniel

[master6]

Hi Daniel, welcome to the forum (and Tassie )

Doesn't excuse the rudeness - but unfortunately you'll find to some extent that's a Tasmanian phenomenon, not limited to bike shops!

We all have different and limited experiences, thus resulting in widely divergent opinions.

I have been in Southern Tasmania for a little over 1 year, from the mainland, and generally find Tasmanians more helpfull and polite than other Australians. Club members in my new cycling club show better sportsmanship than those in several mainland clubs I experienced.
I mentioned this to one of the members of my new club and his response was "we have to be polite to one another because we are all related". I think he was joking, partly!

If as a newcomer I was asked for a negative criticism, it would be about the incidence of smoking. Last weekend two young teenage girls asked me for a smoke as I entered a shop. I laughed and offered to give them the truth on smoking when I came out of the shop (first time in 60 years someone has asked me for a smoke; I felt ill)
On alighting from the shop with my drug of choice, diet coke, I found them lounging, so offered the advice "You girls are good lookers; in 20 years your voice boxes will sound like they are full of sand, and your skin will be as dry and wrinkled as old work boots. Give it up and keep your good looks."
Apart from that, Tassie is marvellous, and so are the vast majority of Tasmanians.

[danielfp1]

...for what it is worth I had a really good chat with one of the younger guys at Appleby's this morning about what to spend my KRudd money on...maybe the recent change of ownership has made a difference there?

Thanks for all the feedback everyone...