Thursday 3 October 2013

this is a comment that was sent to us on our facebook page from a Scottish police officer via a fake account he opened for the sole purpose of antagonizing us , i copy and paste it exactly as it came , "Mr Hudson should try working with the police instead off mouthing off about assaulting them. Very silly, angry man. And I'm also sure that you are advertising bikes for sale on Facebook, surely that's second hand??????. Although I've seen better second hand bikes for sale at Eastside bikes and soul cycles, being sold by professionals who don't have an anger problem." 


Thursday 26 September 2013

interbike 2013

shop has been quiet lately , which has given me time to take in some of the new products on show at interbike 2013 via the magic of the tinterweb, here is a link to mtbr coverage , http://reviews.mtbr.com/category/interbike   , some rather nice bits and bobs due out soon, worth a butchers hook
one of the many things that caught my eye was the carbon frames from Hongfu ,http://www.hongfu-bikes.com/ , prices are very impressive and weights are superb too , they can be bought from  http://www.e-hongfu-bikes.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3 , all their frames and parts are made in house ,and, i have a funny feeling that they may be making equipement for many of the big names too !
;-B

Tuesday 16 July 2013

the repair shop

https://www.facebook.com/UccrUnionCanalCycleRepairs
http://www.uccr.co.uk/


so, what makes us different  ?
 as cycle mechanics who have been repairing bicycles for many years we have have noticed a trend towards simply replacing parts on bikes ,  when its needed we do the same , however , we are not just 'fitters' ,we are BICYCLE MECHANICS ,  we love to tinker with and recycle parts ,the old carlton on our home page is built entirely from recycled parts ,apart from the saddle, cables and handlebars.
  after many years working at a bicycle recycling organisation that often gets bags and boxes of disregarded components donated , often the staff would go through the parts and if something didnt work it went in the scrap bins ,  often these disregarded parts were actually repairable ,
 shimano STI shifters are one example , we can almost always fix malfunctioning units and even get them working better than new ,  seized  dérailleurs can often be free'd up to give many years more service ,
  many (but not all) shops will tell you it is not cost effective to fix these parts ,  we say that when it comes to a part that costs £50-£250 ,an hour of labour to repair the component  is the far more cost effective route not to mention the ecological impact of replacing usable parts that can be repaired !
here at UCCR we will always work to give you the cheapest , best value option ,  we do not sell or fit new parts we are not prepared to use ourselves , we wont suggest to a person that uses their bike for commuting only that they should purchase parts designed for racing ,

the most important lesson we have learned over the years is that we hate poor customer service , when we aren't working we are customers too , we both hate paying for 'the experience' , we dont want posh shops and under paid uninterested part time staff trying to tell us what we want,  this is where we differ from the norm , we have tried very hard to take our labour and parts costs down to the bone while keeping the quality of work at the highest level we can , if we can get another six months of reliable use from a part on your bike we will tell you just that and give you the choice and if we can save you money we always will ,,
feel free to leave a comment , we will always read them .
be safe and enjoy the ride ;-)