Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative

Many thanks to Ian at the Rodney Street location for his assistance with a tire situation. Helpful and friendly with great guidance on cycle paths and maps. After my stop there, I enjoyed a fantastic ride on the cycle paths!

If you do cycling of any sort in Edinburgh, you will probably be familiar with Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative. They're located on Alvanley Terrace, near to the Bruntsfield Links. I've been in a few times - once to get some new inner tubes, another time to get some cycling mitts (fingerless gloves) and finally to replace a light.

The shop has such a great range of everything, along with staff who are passionate about the subject matter. Whatever I was looking for, there was always a great range of that item, across a variety of prices. This shop thus caters for the casual and hardcore cyclist alike. It's the sort of place that you'll wonder round, and see something that you don't really need, but do want, and then try to justify whether or not you need it. The selection of complete bikes for sale is also great to look at, with that 'if money was no object' glint in your eye.

Apart from sales, the shop also does repairs in a small workshop that is part of the shop. It's pretty much a one-stop shop for your cycling needs, and in a city like Edinburgh where cycling is the quickest way to get around, it is a very useful place. Well worth a visit if you live nearby, or even if you don't!

If you want a new bike this is the place to come because they cover the complete range of bikes and they're all quality bikes which are good value for money.

The cheapest you get is about £200 so perhaps they miss out the very cheapest bikes, but they may be forgiven for their level of quality. Should you want cheaper than this I would recommend picking up a second hand bike from Bike Station which are of good quality but second hand.

The next step up is the standard £300 commuter bikes you get sold throughout town and from here the more you spend the more you get with many different types and styles of bikes.

My advice would be to tell the staff what you want, what you need it for and they will do their best to find whatever suits you. A great bike shop.

Hurrah I finally own a bike, thank you santa!
Unfortunately the poor wee thing (now fondly named deathtrap) had a few slight issues that the co-op sorted out for me.
Firstly my wheel was not properly attached to the bike and was stupidly dangerous to ride and secondly my brakes did not work very well. This may be a great set up for a slapstick skit but not for real life things like annoying people cycling round the meadows. Which is clearly the point of having a bike.

Any the hoo, the bike co-op was amazing with me, they only charged £7 for parts and gave the bike a big look over and made sure it was all safe for my weakling legs.
The staff are great, patient and honest as all heck, they don't try to sell you anything you don't need and seem to have a make do and mend attitude. Basically they want you to ride bikes and have fun, which is a huge thumbs up from me.

What a great place!

I popped in here after inheriting a bike from a recently de-Scotlandified friend. the bike was in need of a look-see and lawd knows I'm not the one for that so I walked the poor wee thing over to the guys here.

Walking in you can tell this is a real-deal place. Everything is professional and well laid out. The bikes are brilliant, the range of accessories fantastic and the staff are absolute gems.

I was completely unaware I needed a booking and they were kind enough to arrange one for me though they were full up for several days. Additionally they asked if I'd like to leave the bike there (it really was in a bad way).

What really impressed me was the honesty. The engineer/mechanic/bikeman/all-round-nice-guy went through what he could do, from basic service to full service and the prices including parts etc. He ended by saying that he didn't believe the bike was worth too much time and effort. I explained that this is my test bike (if I manage to use this one I'm allowed buy a shiny new one!) and he said he would get it working and safe but had no intention of an overhaul.

He was a joy to talk too, I didn't feel patronised or in any way silly despite my complete blooming ignorance.

If I manage to use my beat up old thing and deserve a 'real' bike I will definitely be purchasing it here. Even if the range wasn't great I would just because I would trust these guys - that said, I don't have to worry because the range is so extensive.

Edinburgh Bicycle Coop is arguably one of the best bicycle retailers in Scotland.

Discovered these folks roughly 7 years ago and they have grown and become much better over that time.

They have their own brands of bikes and equipment. This stuff is field tested and improved yearly. Their Revolution bicycles are consistently rated as one of the best by Cycling Plus.

The service is really good and they offer stuff that will interest everyone from serious roadies and mud-jumpers to kids.

I would use them more if I lived in Edinburgh but currently I mainly use their website to order stuff and only visit twice a year. This is a blessing since i would definitely spend a lot more money if it was local.

I LOVE Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op!

This store stocks everything you could every need for your bike and more! Several of my male friends are obsessed with mountain biking and so they go to this store all the time to by more things and accessories for their bikes (which they don't really need) and they always rave about this store. I came here for the fist time several months ago and was amazed at how much they sold.

As well as selling bikes, wheels and helmets, Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op goes several steps further and also sells lights, bottles and tiny 'computers' to attach to your bike to monitor how fast you are cycling - amazing!

The sales guys in this shop deserve special mention as they are so knowledgeable about bikes and are really friendly and are more than happy to answer your questions. Why can't all sales people be like this?!!

Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op also offers classes on how to build a bike and bike maintenance. I cannot rate this store high enough - it will fulfil all of your bicycle needs and more!

I often get sent on errands here my my mountain biking boyfriend and his cycling enthusiast father. Perks of being a lazy student I guess. Plus I often get dragged on shopping trips, so I have visited this shop quite a lot.

This shop just screams good quality and professionalism when you enter. Everything is so organized and the staff are all bustling around helping customers. Every time I go the shop is quite busy, which is a tell tale sign they are doing something right.

There is a workshop within the store and they are pretty quick at repairing any problems. They also stock pretty much everything that you need to ride a bike, whether its to work or up a mountain or if your just teaching your kid to ride their first bike.

The staff are excellent too. As I often go in completely clueless as to what I am looking for, they always have the time to help and really know their stuff, even if I don't. And if they don't have what your looking for they will probably send you off in the right direction to get it.

When they have sales they are often pretty good and there are some good biking bargains to be found.

A really great store to buy a bike or some kit from for beginner or experienced riders alike. They have a bigger range of stuff than most other shops in Edinburgh and the staff are great. Over the years I've spent thousands in the shop and I'm really happy to have been a customer there.
I'll just list a few reasons I like them.

1) The range is excellent and clearly laid out - it's easy to grab stuff but easier to browse and enjoy the bike goodness

2) If you go in and the mechanics take a look they will be honest and try their hardest to give you the best deal/easiest fix - a few times I've been in and just been given some random spare parts so I can "DIY" it. They're a great bunch.

3) The sales reps are knowledgeable without being douchebags. I have real issues with "technical" shops where often the shop assistants are into the "lifestyle" of it all and hate people asking stupid questions/assume that all questions are stupid. I've never had this at the Bike coop. They're chatty and helpful - using personal experience to help guide your choice

4) The extra mile - they will go out of their way to help you out. I needed a random part for a pump and although they don't sell that part they were keen that I get one so have put up a note in the warehouse to watch out for returns/broken pumps that I could salvage the piece out of! If it works I'll save myself £30 for a new pump!

5) they have loads of bikes n stuff. Let's face it - it's a bike shop. I LOVE looking at bikes.

Ok it's a little more expensive than some places but for that you get no-quibble returns on items. A pair of my shoes broke 5 months a 16 days after I bought them so I took them back and they happily exchanged them as it was recorded on the system (I didn't have a receipt) and I was within my 6 month statutory rights period . Win!

All in all an awesome bike shop.

Whether a commited cyclist or just curious about what cycling has to offer you could do a lot worse than pay these guys a visit.The staff are cheery, approachable and knowledgable.Their own brand goods represent value for money.

They stock everything from entry level bikes and kit under their own brand "Revolution", up to top end kit from Specialized and niche manufacturers like Van Nicholas. The store is really nicely laid out and does not have the dusty dingy feel of other stores.

I have spent quite a lot here over the years and most often use it as a bit of a benchmark for what's available.