Sterlo
Early Retirement Planning
- Location
- East Riding of Yorkshire
Wiggle Sold
- Thread starter Sterlo
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Bonefish Blues
Banging donk
- Location
- 52 Festive Road
Old news; already in the big administration thread. Ashley has bought the IP only; the staff have been fired into the centre of the sun and the remaining stock is being sold off in their "final sale"... Never had a lot of time for this chain when they were alive, bit it's all pretty miserable and I feel sorry for the staff.
OP
OP
Sterlo
Early Retirement Planning
- Location
- East Riding of Yorkshire
I only really used them for sale jerseys and small bits and pieces but they're off my radar now.
Spiderweb
Not So Special One
- Location
- North Yorkshire
No more free postage then☹️
Regular.Cyclist
Über Member
- Location
- East central Scotland 🏴
DHB clothing is/was very good and provided a quality items at a lower cost than many other brands. I fear quality will go the way with the like of what happened to Evan’s FWE under Ashley.
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Evans eviscerated themselves without Ashley's help. The patient had stopped breathing by the time he came along. Carrying on as they had been up until then wasn't an option for anyone.
Bonefish Blues
Banging donk
- Location
- 52 Festive Road
My point also. The Ashley acquisitions had gone proverbials up well before he bought them, so we can't get all prurient when he does - he saves some jobs after all.
Yes and puts them on zero hours contacts.
Bonefish Blues
Banging donk
- Location
- 52 Festive Road
Giving them time to find something else if that's their preference. I'm sure he's the very embodiment of evil, but he can be used too.
bonzobanana
Guru
I don't know what is going on with my local Evan's store under Mike Ashley ownership which is the Yeovil Shop (previously TriUK) it seems 80% or more of the bikes are Trek bikes. Do they have very favourable sale or return deals or something. It's a huge bike shop with 2 floors and its like 2 Trek bikes for every 1 of any other brand. Some are discounted but others are not. You get a £900 hardtail mountain bike with entry level Suntour forks etc its just such rubbish value as Trek typically are. I was expecting to see much larger stocks of Pinnacle bikes and other brands. If you go into Halfords you have a fantastic range of very good value bikes with decent components but our Evans you really struggle to find bikes with a good spec to price ratio. I've nothing against Trek as a company but its not really a brand on my radar. They always seem rubbish for the price and they source some of their carbon fibre frames and forks from Quest Composites which is a very low grade frame factory.
For example this Trek bike at £500;
https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/.../marlin-4-gen-2/p/29759/?colorCode=greenlight
It's got a terrible OEM only Suntour XCE forks with only 28mm stanchions, basic mechanical disc brakes and 3x drivetrain with a freewheel just like a sub £100 bike. Totally unsuitable for off-road use especially as the rear wheel has a quick release rather than a solid axle which is one way of strengthening a freewheel setup so it doesn't fail quickly off-road. It's just a pretend mountain bike for £500. To be honest I wouldn't pay £250 for that bike.
I would of though such a large bike shop would need to support the purchases for a wide range of consumers both entry level to premium with more sales at the entry level end. It will be interesting to see how it goes but they certainly didn't have a wide range of brands and bike types. It seemed like on the ground floor they had 200-300 very similar looking road bikes mainly Trek to the left as you go in. In the past I went into Evans stores elsewhere, Trowbridge, Cardiff and a few other places and this would be the pre-Ashley era but they had lots of Pinnacle bike options with decent specs and value and other interesting options and the shops seemed much busier. I've never seen such a large bike shop with such a strangely limited choice of bikes. In the TriUK days they used to sell Giant bikes which I must admit I miss seeing in the shop and they are actual bike manufacturers.
For example this Trek bike at £500;
https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/.../marlin-4-gen-2/p/29759/?colorCode=greenlight
It's got a terrible OEM only Suntour XCE forks with only 28mm stanchions, basic mechanical disc brakes and 3x drivetrain with a freewheel just like a sub £100 bike. Totally unsuitable for off-road use especially as the rear wheel has a quick release rather than a solid axle which is one way of strengthening a freewheel setup so it doesn't fail quickly off-road. It's just a pretend mountain bike for £500. To be honest I wouldn't pay £250 for that bike.
I would of though such a large bike shop would need to support the purchases for a wide range of consumers both entry level to premium with more sales at the entry level end. It will be interesting to see how it goes but they certainly didn't have a wide range of brands and bike types. It seemed like on the ground floor they had 200-300 very similar looking road bikes mainly Trek to the left as you go in. In the past I went into Evans stores elsewhere, Trowbridge, Cardiff and a few other places and this would be the pre-Ashley era but they had lots of Pinnacle bike options with decent specs and value and other interesting options and the shops seemed much busier. I've never seen such a large bike shop with such a strangely limited choice of bikes. In the TriUK days they used to sell Giant bikes which I must admit I miss seeing in the shop and they are actual bike manufacturers.
bonzobanana
Guru
Huge number of employers use Zero hour contracts including Amazon, NHS, Boots and lots of pubs, restaurants and hotel chains. There are close to a million people on zero hour contracts I think. Mike Ashley pays full tax in the UK and has saved many jobs. People seem happy to buy from Amazon who have a horrific history of staff abuse around the world, do not pay much tax in the UK and of course are generally much more damaging to our economy. We seem to have a economically self-destructive mentality where we are happy to support much worse foreign companies but resent our own companies.
wiggydiggy
Guru
I can't afford to not buy from the cheapest supplier of whatever I want, its a juggling act of buying what I need from a retailer I trust. I've bought stuff from Sports Direct in the past and I will again, if they meet those expectations.
I asked a little while back when the Wiggle news first started breaking for alternatives, got some good suggestions and I've been using them: Replacement shops for Wiggle/CRC?
I asked a little while back when the Wiggle news first started breaking for alternatives, got some good suggestions and I've been using them: Replacement shops for Wiggle/CRC?
mustang1
Guru
- Location
- London, UK
I bought some stuff from Evans recently - I thought it was ok.
bonzobanana
Guru
Notice the stock lines at Chain Reaction and Wiggle are dwindling fast, maybe half as much stock compared to a week ago. Prices are a bit erratic but generally down. They have introduced a 10% off code for the final days maybe. I bought some Clarks Clout hydraulic disc brake sets which was £9.99 for the front with a 180mm rotor and £10.99 for the rear with a 160mm rotor and then a further 10% off and maybe 2% cashback through topcashback. Less than £19 for a decent hydraulic disc brake set front and back. However its European spec with the front brake lever on the left but you can swop them around if you have some mineral oil to top them back up again.
Last edited:
