It's pretty safe to say, Soho Bikes is unique...at least for Central London. Despite the UK capital city's affluent nature, London is largely devoid of any sort of establishment that might cater to the more off-road orientated amongst us. That is, until now...
Situated on Berwick Street in London's 'West End', and buried deep in the heart of the biggest film post-production community in the world, Soho Bikes keeps some pretty illustrious company. Not to be outdone, the shop also keep some pretty tasty goods in stock, from the likes of Troy Lee Designs, Five Ten and Santa Cruz to name just a few, as well as serving some of the best coffee and cakes - sourced from specialist suppliers - that you'll find in the area.
But Soho Bikes isn't just a trendy café or a boutique for the odd passing film executive, keen to buy a V10 as his city bike, it's a proper mountain biker's oasis in the middle of the metropolis. Founded by old friends, Nick Hawker, Tom Hodder and the irrepressible Rob Warner, Soho Bikes is crammed full of passionate folk. There's Steph and Ben the Aussie baristas who make a mean coffee, Matt, who provides wrenching services for whatever bike comes through the door - from fixies to DH rigs - and Matty, who manages the store.
There's also plenty of cycling memorabilia on display, from Rob's old World Cup Giant DH frame, helmet and jersey from the late nineties to race plates from long-forgotten World Cup venues and even Greg Minnaar's jersey from the 2014 Leogang World Cup, delivered by hand by the man himself! Of course it's not every day the World Champion drops by, but Soho Bikes will still be buzzing on a daily basis with the latest videos from Pinkbike streamed to screens around the shop, together with live coverage of World Cup DH action throughout the season, so where better to watch it than Rob's own bike shop? In short, the team behind Soho Bikes aren't just a couple of guys after a quick buck for a cup of coffee and a Danish, they're a solid bunch of bikers, keen to see access to mountain biking kit brought in from the shires and onto the bustling streets of Central London.
"We were amazed to be told by our distributor for TLD, that we weren't only the biggest dealer of TLD gear in Central London...we were the only TLD dealer in Central London...", said Tom, whilst un-boxing copious quantities of fresh new 2014/15-range Troy Lee riding and causal kit, "...and it's the same deal with our range of Santa Cruz bikes. No one's got the range we have here". Indeed the shop was full of crisp new men's and women's kit from TLD - including full face helmets - plus loads of Giro lids too. Add to that a massive range of Five Ten shoes (unquestionably the biggest selection seen in any UK city-centre store), Shimano footware, clothing and bike parts and numerous other products from other brands, and you start to see why Soho Bikes is a bit special.
So what made a former World Cup winner want to open a bike shop in Central London? We caught up with Rob. "I've worked in the cycle industry my whole career so getting a shop open is a really natural progression. I've known Nick for years too so when he said last year about opening a shop bang in the centre of London it was just the kind of thing I wanted to be involved with. I know Soho well from all my media work so that was also a great fit. We now have a wicked shop bang in the middle of the coolest part of London - doesn't get much better than that does it? Oh and did I mention my TV shows get shown in the shop too...?".
It's clear from the fit-out of the store, the products on display and the location, that Soho Bikes is not some flash-in-the-pan concept. Some serious planning has gone on here, as Nick explains, "I started working on the plans for the shop last summer with Tom and Rob, so it took about 10 months to even get the keys to the premises, and then another month to fit the shop out. We've been extremely lucky to have a great group of family and friends to call on to help get it all sorted. This isn’t the place to go through everyone individually but many thanks to you all - you know who you are! That said I have got to give a special mention to James for his design work, and to Ally for producing pretty much all the fittings and furniture, top effort lads." Ally Fraser, a carpenter and joiner based in Steve Peat’s home town of Sheffield, fitted out the entire shop interior in 4 weeks using reclaimed timber from across Yorkshire. The wooden flooring that runs throughout was sourced from an old mill in Bradford, and brings a huge amount of character to Soho Bikes.
The shop also offers more than just 'don't touch' bike candy in their basement showroom and two-wheeled temptation in the form of box-fresh Santa Cruz, Giant, Cotic and Genesis bikes adorning the walls in the café seating area. Practically any bike you see in the shop can be taken out for a demo. From an 5 minute pedal around in Soho or overnight weekday teaser to a longer weekend test ride of several bikes, the team will be offering their entire range - from commuter bike to DH rigs - to the public for testing, and you won't just get an off-the-peg selection, as they will endeavour to offer as bespoke a service as possible to potential buyers, imparting both their knowledge and know-how to prospective customers. Added to this 'local bike shop' level of service, which will include post-sale bike servicing and direct after-sales support, Soho Bikes will also be stocking a small range of niche componentry, including BOS suspension products, KS seatposts and Hope components. With shop rides at locations around London planned by the team too, there's going to be plenty going on with the Soho Bikes crew.
And it would appear that good news travels fast, as a few days ahead of the shop's official opening on Saturday 21st June, we ran into Santa Cruz Syndicate rider, Greg Minnaar, fresh off the plane from the Leogang World Cup race, and it's safe to say he was pretty impressed. "It's right in the centre of London and you don't expect to find a mountain bike shop in London. Walking in there's a really nice coffee bar, and I'm sure there's some beer snuck in the back somewhere! It's funny because our bike shop in South Africa has a similar racking system installed, so I'm not sure who copied who, but it feels like its our sister shop in London. There's a really good atmosphere in here, really cool, and it's something I think other bike shops should try to emulate. When I get back home, we'll turn some of our stuff into this. It feels cool, the coffee is good and it's really nice."
Greg was also in London to support a fashion event for Samuel L. Jackson's '
One For The Boys' cancer charity, modelling some fine threads alongside Tinie Tempah, Simon Pegg and Lewis Hamilton, but as key Santa Cruz dealers, Soho Bikes were the lucky recipients of the 25th and final
Limited Edition Minnaar V10 Worlds Replica, ahead of its auction at the charity event in Central London. Rumour has it that the V10's highest bidder was a certain Formula One driver who attended the event, but we couldn't possibly say who!
So after 11 months of hard graft by the whole team, Soho Bikes is now ready to open its doors to the public. If you're in or near London, make your way to Soho on Saturday 21st June for their opening party. Mountain bikers in London have never had it so good!
And for loic just before he crashed, " he's on song like an Austrian transvestite!"
You gotta love Warner! Legend!
Subtle difference.
Now who is more of an ass, me or the 3 trolls without reading comprehension skills?
The place looks sick, the best fitted out bike shop ever.
Well done all :-)