July 2011 Newsletter

Well it's been a fair old while since the last newsletter and so much has been going on that I'm sure you'll forgive the wait. This edition will cover our mystery shop visit by Bikebiz.com, the second Sky Ride to take place in Bath, up and coming events and opportunities, welcome to new members of staff and lastly some local news from the heart of Walcot Street.

Trek Summer Offer Exclusive to John's Bikes of Bath.

We also have some cracking deals from the wonderful Trek Bikes with up to 20% off from selected bikes in the FX range, 1 series, 2 series, 4500 and 8000 series. This covers Hybrid, Road and Mountain bikes so whatever your needs we've got the deal for you this month. We'll be putting up new offers each month to keep you rolling, so tell your friends to subscribe to our newsletter to benefit from these offers. Take a gander at the bikes on offer!

Road Bikes.

Trek Alpha 1.1   Entry level road Racer, with Shimano Group Set. Was £549. Now £499!

Trek Alpha 2.3 Competition ready with Carbon Forks and Full Shimano 105 Group Set. Was £1275. Now £1100!

Town & Country Hybrids and Traditional Bikes.

FX 7.1 and 7.1 WSD. Fantastic Town Hybrids, fully adaptable for family adventures, Shimano Components and Bontrager finishing kit. Was £380. Now £320!

FX 7.5 and 7.5 WSD. Lighter, sleeker and faster than their stable mates with top quality finishing kit from Bontrager and Carbon Forks to take the stress out of riding. Was £700. Now £600!!

Trek St. Tropez, Ladies Town Bike. Comfort, Style and Functionality don't often get put together but Trek have done it with this bike. Was £550. Now £495!

Mountain Bikes.

Trek 4500 Disc. A more than capable XC machine with full Shimano group set & hydraulic disc brakes, a winner up and down the trails. Was £599. Now £540!

Trek 8000. Ready to Race off the peg! full XT Groupset and Fox Forks deliver the edge you need for competition. Was £1600. Now £1300

News & Views

First up our fantastic result in a roundup of Bath's Cyclerys, our new lad Mark put this piece together from the Bikebiz.com feature on Bath.

A Mystery solved by John's Bikes...

We're over the moon to announce that we've just been awarded a coveted 5/5 "Mystery Shop" result from the industry's leading voice, Bikebiz.com.

Bath's best Cyclerys were unwitting hosts to Mark Sutton from BikeBiz.com, who visited five shops to find out exactly who is King of the Hill? Mark's task was to pose as a rider looking for a bike that could take him on excursions on and off road, and as a possible Tri-athlete in one store due to their expertise. Whilst we cannot divulge all, we can tell you that all shops fared well but only one achieved this rarely awarded accolade... Us.

Mark's measure was fair. Looking for the vibe of the store, to see if it was inviting or intimidating. To see if his brief was listened to and acted upon. And finally how the sale was closed. He also observed how the other customers were been served whilst waiting; our usual aftercare service was in full flow with saddle height tweaks and the like for drop in customers.

Mark was offered two choices to test ride, once he'd chosen from the two, our guy went on to say how to get the best out of the bike for both on and off road application with non-jargon advice on posture and set up. Although not able to splash the cash on the day, Mark was reminded of our service offer on bikes ready to roll in an hour and our holding deposit facility could be taken advantage of over the phone or in person.

Mark summed up his visit to us by saying it was "Educational, Tailored and Polite"; basically everything John set out to do from the start. Spread the word and we hope to see you soon.

John back on his bike for the Bath Cycling Summit.

John has got back on a bike for the first time since his heart bypass operation; donning his trouser clips and throwing a leg over one of the new Bath Hire Bikes he met delegates at Bath Spa Train Station. Among those involved was Frank Thompson from the Two Tunnels project who led the party along a route through town using our dedicated cycle lanes to lead them to the BRLSI on Queen Square for the Summit.  Ben Plowden, Director of 'better routes & places' came all the way from London to add weight to the proceedings. He really hammered home the point to BANES that if the facilities are put in place then the people will use them, tourists and locals alike boosting flow and discovery into all areas of the city and surroundings.

SkyRide 2011

Sunday 5th June saw the welcome return of Skyride to Bath with over 5000 cyclists taking part on the new structured ride. Taking in the historic landmarks of The Royal Crescent, The Circus and around Victoria Park, the ride had pit stops along the traffic free route including the specially set up Bike Cafe. Team GB BMX star Liam Phillips and SkyRide ambassador Gethin Jones were there to support all the riders and sign bibs. We sponsored part of the event by donating one of our fantastic Trek Hybrid bikes from the FX range.

The lucky winner was Lucy Wendover and can be seen here with John himself and her daughter. Lucy was over the moon with her new bike and intends to participate again next year.

Trek Demo Fleet

We are very happy bunnies with our fleet, James & Mark have been ragging the Remedy 8 and  Fuel EX9 all over the trails around our fair city. Although tagged with "All Mountain" & "XC Thoroughbred" they punch well above their weight with all the on board technologies developed by Trek, they retail for £2500 and £2800 respectively. Ian and Joe have enjoyed more gentlemanly rides on the Madone 5.2 and 2.5 series road bikes. Ian has said he's totally blown away by the sublime ride and precision tracking of the Madone, whilst Joe says he can't believe how smooth his Alpha Aluminium  is considering he's used to riding carbon frames.

Remember these are not just for us to play with and try and look cool on, you can hire these demo bikes for the day for £50 which you get back against the purchase of a bike. We do take other details but pop in and have a gas about these awesome machines.

DeRosa and Merckx Demo Day!

 Saturday 2nd July we have two guided rides lasting an hour around those there hills of Bath on these legendary bikes. There are 13 spaces on each of the sessions and we'll fit you up to the bike best suiting your needs. This truly is a chance to see what all the fuss is about.

The Shop

We've seen allsorts come and go through our dedicated service centre but when this Thanet turned up with its Art Deco inspired lines and jaw dropping engineering, we knew we'd have to put some pictures up! Our tame "Fred" Ben was over the moon to work on the general service and fitting of new tyres... Randy, our workshop manager has also assured us we have the current quickest turned around in Bath. So pop in and put that to the test1

Touring...

We've also seen a rise in touring bikes and their popularity recently, with not just the fantastic Ridgeback range doing a quickstep out the door but also UK brand Genesis with their Cyclo-Cross bikes Croix De Fer and Day One with Alfine hub. John has been working closely with Mercian Cycles to build his ultimate tourer for later in the year, but we'll give you more on that when he has it dialled!  Their capable frames are perfect for UK conditions and they certainly give that giggle factor! We had a visit from Anne from Wisconsin USA; she was riding Edinburgh to Bath to London and stopped to have her bike serviced with us after hearing about us on the grapevine. Here she is with her awesome Surly...

So until next time, we wish you well and hope to see you in the shop soon keep on spinning those cranks!

All the best,

The John's Bikes Team.