In Praise of.......Evans Stores

[User]

 

[thomas]

Look at their price board. It's like £15 to change a tyre lol!!

I don't care that they charge that...just surprised people would pay.

Never had a problem with Evans. Never bought from their online site; just in store.

 

[Dave5N]

They do nothing to support cycling. Just rip off the gullible.

And the level of knowledge amongst their staff is risible.

 

[TheBoyBilly]

Sorry Dave, I can't agree with you mate. I have visited about four of their stores - two in London, the Brighton store and the Gatwick Warehouse and have been very impressed with them. They do seem support cycling by organising road and MTB days out, along with various other stuff. I haven't bought a bike from them (but am about to) but have spent loads both at the shops and on the online site. Never had a moments bother.

Bill

 

[gaz]

I have two top local bike shops. De Ver and Geoffrey Butler. I ride road bikes and could comfortable afford bikes in either shop. But my shop of choice, and where i have bought 3 of my last 4 bikes, is Evans.
I like the service i get. The staff at my local branch are knowledgable and they are all cyclists. They will never turn down a chat, and i get a good service there.
Thats not to say that the people in De Ver and GB don't know what they are doing.

 

[jiggerypokery]

I like Evans in Brum for the range of stuff that they have available and the buying power that they have in terms of being able to get a doodad or wingwah in for you on next day delivery and as Mr Paul states they do price match. There's also the factr that it's really good to see a bike shop in the centre of a city, a city that's very car orientated at that - and they're doing well so the interested from the knowledgeable and the gullible must be good.

My shop of choice though is Scotts of Hall Green where the level of knowledge, free on the spot fettling, free wingwahs and doodads (that usually come out of a tin in the workshop) and the fact that if you ask how they did something they will take you in to the workshop and show you how to do it yourself - can't be matched.

Having said that...bloody hell is it filthy in there lol, v old skool, if you take your bike in with light coloured bar tape expect it to come back looking like CSI Miami have been all over it with their finger print kit.

Do love the place though.

The snob in me however craves the gleamimg delights of Red Kite Cycles in Shirley

 

[dellzeqq]

Evans is a franchise operation. One Evans can be very different from the next. Evans at Victoria is (or was) a disgrace. Evans at Clapham North is kind of hopeless, although Matthieu is a fine mechanic, and Mrs DZ thinks he's very handsome. Evans at the Cut is full of nice people who want to help, likewise Evans at Waterloo. It's the same as almost anything else in life - it depends upon people. Which is nice, in a way.

And, while I realise this is a personal thing, I'd rather drink a cup of my own wee than shop at De Ver....

 

[ianrauk]

Just bought a Nightvision Evo Jacket through Evans on-line. Their price £99.00. Got it for a price matched £75.00. So that can't be bad.

Have bought a few things in their London Bridge store and they seemed friendly & knowledgeable enough in there.

 

[Becs]

I go past the Chalk Farm store on my way to work so I tend to go there for convenience. That said people have told me they've sold me the wrong size road bike (I'm rather new to this) and I find a lot of their staff very patronising and often feel like I'm being fobbed off when I ask questions. The west end store was quite helpful and did locate the only pair of size 10 shoes left in London in the style I wanted but I had to go all the way to canary wharf to get them - the staff in that store were absolutley great though!

I still prefer my old LBS in Cambridge (Kingsway cycles near Adam and Eve St, fantastic people!) and I tend to go back there for any servicing - a trainfare to Cambridge + a service works out about the same as an Evan's service.

 

[swee'pea99]

As DZ says, Evans are like Halfords - they vary depending on the staff of the individual store. Some have knowledgeable, helpful and friendly cyclists behind the counter, others have staff without opposable thumbs. Pure pick of the draw. 

 

[thomas]

[quote name='swee'pea99' timestamp='1290509510' post='1478383']
As DZ says, Evans are like Halfords - they vary depending on the staff of the individual store. Some have knowledgeable, helpful and friendly cyclists behind the counter, others have staff without opposable thumbs. Pure pick of the draw.
[/quote]

Bit like every single bike shop though. If I worked at a bike shop the level of support would probably be poor as I don't know the answers to most technical questions (even though I obviously enjoy cycling).

 

[Lighthorse]

I went into Evans and got chatting. I asked about a Shimano Alivio 42/32/22 chainset, 175mm. They had one at £44.99. I laughed. He looked at me weird. I told him Decathlon had a Shimano Alivio 42/32/22 175mm chainset with a 110mm B/B included in a bubble pack for £29.99. He looked at me weirder.
Then I explained all about "Chainline" and how an MTB chainset can be used as a micro sub-miniture compact double on a road bike for Audax riding. He turned red.

 

[Aperitif]

I find their size 26 dresses fit me perfectly.

 

[Silver Fox]

My nearest Evans is in Manchester city centre, always found the shop to be well stocked with goodies and the staff very helpful.

On the other hand, I bought my Yeti mtb from the Preston branch of Leisure Lakes. The bloke that sorted my order and desired spec was a gent but the manager is an absolute tosser. He didn't have a clue how to treat a customer spending a considerable amount in his shop, the fact that I'm probably old enough to be his father didn't help either.

 

[Mark_Robson]

I find the Evans price match fantastic. I bought a pair of Shimano 105 5700 road pedals today. They were on the shelf for £57 and they price matched them for me at £37.

I bought my last bike from them and they were happy for me to take it for a ride before making my mind up and they threw in quite a few freebies after a little negotiation.