Wow, this forum is pretty good innit? Post a question at midnight, page and a half worth of replies the next eve -- some of it even partly in my mother tongue! Thanks guys, this really helps.
Lotsa support for Quinns and Picton then -- must def give them a go. Perhaps Abbey if I can get a good deal there. They seem to have some 08 Konas at discounted prices, but then it may not be all that long before we start seeing discounts on the 09 range? Formby looks like it may be worth a visit as well, not least for their wide range.
A few more quick responses to some points/questions:
I love cycling in Holland. I go over for a few days every couple of months and really want to move over there! You must be mad moving from NL to Liverpool lol
Only kidding Liverpool is great too!
Liverpool is excellent. Lotsa green areas and a nice laid back vibe, yet plenty of action if I'm in the mood for it. Have recently found out (talking to friends who cycle and doing a bit of innerweb research) that there's plenty of good routes nearby.
you could also try
Leisure Lakes nr Southport
Good selection of brands here, and not too far I guess.
www.thattocycles.co.uk
In St Helens - nice people, lovely, cluttered, untidy shop - just like a LBS should be. However, I think they have moved alot into internet sales with
www.bikesyoulike.co.uk (the other url seems to redirect there now).
A Giant Defy would no doubt do the job of getting me back into cycling, but I used to have a Giant when I still lived in Holland, and fancy a bit of a change... The website doesn't show any Dawes bikes, and anyway while they're no doubt also perfectly adequate for my needs, they don't really do it for me emotionally, if that makes any sense.
Which part of Liverpool are you in & how far do you want to travel ?
Am close to Sefton Park, but have a car with a big enough boot for a bike so a bit of distance wouldn't deter me if I get good service in return.
And Wirral is definitely not in Liverpool, no more than Middlesborough is in Newcastle.
I know. I learnt the hard way on a night out, by once asking a girl from the Wirral: 'Oh, what part of Liverpool's that?'
Hello Nim, I assume that with a name like that you have something to do with applied linguistics.
Nice work Sherlock! Actually theoretical linguistics, but am well impressed
. Have you got a background in linguistics as well then, or maybe psychology? No worries about me leaving my wheels outside -- got enough space in the house fortunately. Leaving it in town on shopping trips will be interesting though. I'm thinking of investing in 2 D-locks. During my student days in Amsterdam our rule of thumb used to be that the lock should be twice as expensive as the bike. But this involved buying a bike from a less-than-completely honest dealer with no fixed premises, if you know what I mean
As you can see, there's no love lost between our 2 cities !
Haha, I've realised this. Before moving to Liverpool I lived in Madchester for 4 years. (Another thing not to tell a girl from the Wirral
)
Anyway, thanks again all. It looks like I may have time on Fri and Sat to check some shops. Can't wait!
Actually I'm from Huyton myself lol
without anything in the way of trims!
