BikeBiz’s undercover reporter heads to the East Midlands to quiz chain stores, IBDs and boutique bike outlets on their junior bike offerings ahead of Christmas…
NO PRIZES for guessing City Cycles, set in a residential centre close to a main road, is a Cyclelife dealer containing much Raleigh product. Sporting a kids’ bikes display outside the shop, the promising start was followed up with prompt attention from the staffer who came over from behind the counter. Looking for a bike for Mystery Shopper’s ten-year old niece and providing a vague price remit of £100 to £200 or maybe higher if he could be persuaded, the assistant swiftly offered a bike bang in the middle at £150. He explained the benefits in buying an adult frame that by adjusting the wheel size the bike could be upgraded: “This bike will last as long as you want it.”
He explained the benefits of the more expensive bikes the store had on offer, with better materials for a superior ride experience, but steered me to the £150 option and went into depth about the bicycle components to push home the point that it was a decent purchase. A promising start to the bike shops of Leicester.
22 BIKEBIZ DECEMBER FMB
SLIGHTLY CLOSER to Leicester, but still out of the city centre, FMB – Fix My Bike – is well placed on a busy thoroughfare with some local shops. Very quick to help, the door had barely closed behind Mystery Shopper before the keen salesman had greeted me. He offered a few models ranging from £129 model up to a £200 bike. He honed in on the £129 model and explained that with an extra tenner:“you get alloy levers which have a nicer feel”. Again he recommended the pros of an adult bike with a range of frame options to accommodate the short ten year old in question. The staffer asked the crucial question – “Is it for Christmas?”. He went on to provide a wealth of options for payment, from a standard ten per cent deposit to a ‘pay a bit at a time’ cash card, and said the shop could hold the bike for collection as late as Christmas Eve. In fact, the clued up staffer made a Christmas present purchase as simple as possible. Top work. Upon leaving the store the salesman was straight on to helping the next customer through the door – good work.