Giant Store Camden Reviews 19

My partner and I visited Giant Camden with a view to purchasing a Liv bike. We had booked a fitting in with Farouk, which was a 90 min appointment. In reality, that sense of true customer service started way before that. The insight from Nick on the phone, where he spent time on the phone explaining options, talking about different models, treating me as if I was a valued customer before I had even stepped in the store. The questions they ask - what riding do you do, what's the experience level, etc, all pointed to getting it right.

On the day, Nick and Farouk had prepared a few options to test out, although these are stock bikes, the idea is to get the feel of the bike and make sure you will fit it rather than "ooh, isn't it light, and isn't the Red groupset lovely". The time that Farouk spent with us was invaluable. Having adjusted the two bikes to fit her, my partner went for a spin around the block, he then made some tweaks based on her feedback and observing her ride. The insights from Farouk, and his approach to getting the fit right was second to none!

When it came to purchase, they did not have the bike we had settled on... this is the measure of this Giant Camden. Of course they went out of their way to try and source the bike, but they hadn't pushed us to a model they had, they'd focused on my partner's needs, not their sale.

Bought my first carbon road bike at the Giant Store in Camden. Farouk was the salesperson that took the time ( 3hrs) for me to learn about my new bike and explain to me all the nuances concerning Di2 and the hydraulic braking systems. Amazing store. Amazing staff. High Recommended. I give them 5stars. Farouk is a Star.

From the outset the team at GIANT Camden were absolutely brilliant! I had never been fitted to a bike before and was a little nervous, but Farouk made me feel totally at ease and we chatted about my goals, cycling history and he eased me into the whole process. The attention to detail, knowledge shared and encouragement was totally worth the visit. I now, for the first time actually own a bike that is bespoke for me. I collected my bike today and he made minor alterations and I cycled home feeling confident and with a smile on my face. Totally worth it and can't wait to go on a long bike road!

I visited this Giant bike shop in Kentish Town with my four-year-old’s bike, which seemed to have the disc rubbing on the pads. In my experience, most bike shops will at least take a quick look or offer a bit of guidance, especially for something that might be a simple safety issue. Instead, I was met by two older staff members who, in my view, seemed more interested in their tea than helping a customer.

I was told they couldn’t even look at the bike and that I’d need to book an appointment a week later. For something potentially so minor, this felt incredibly unhelpful and dismissive. It’s the first time I’ve been in a bike shop where nobody was willing to so much as check the problem.

I then went to Camden Cycles down the road, where the issue was diagnosed and fixed in about 30 seconds—the wheel was simply out of place. That contrast says it all.

Despite owning a Giant bike and hoping this would become our local go-to shop, after this experience I won’t be returning.

The team at the Giant Store Camden are exceptional. I recently bought an new bike for my daughter who has just started uni - it was really important that she feels safe, and I feel as though she has a bike that is set up correctly to keep her safe. The team at Giant couldn’t have been more helpful. From fitting the bike, to recommending and fitting everything she will need - they were faultless, knowledgable, kind, and extremely helpful. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

I had to prepare for a six-day charity bike ride, had done next to no training and had absolutely no idea what equipment I needed or how to ride my bike without incurring injuries. Farouk at Giant Store in Camden was absolutely amazing at helping me on every level. He fitted my bike for me, showed me the best way to sit to avoid shoulder pain, talked me through the gears, explained the basic kit I needed without ever trying to sell my things I didn't want. His patience, charm and expertise were life saving - not to put too fine a point on it. I cycled over 360 miles through France, Belgium, Holland and the UK without any injury and helped raise lots of money for a brilliant cause. I could not have done it without you Farouk! Thank you. Helen

Only wanted a puncture repair they quoted £20 a few hours later they said they wanted to put a new tyre on too which would cost £49.98. I told them I could do that when I got so didn't need it. They then refused to repair the puncture unless I bought a new tyre. Went to a different shop where they did what I asked for £15 in 20 minutes. I enquired about the tyre, they agreed it could do with replacing but was not in dangerous condition.
The last time I used Giant they changed a tyre for me which I supplied. They claimed the tyre didn't fit properly as was low quality. It came off an hour later jamming the wheel. I took it to a shop in West Hampstead to be repaired. They said there was nothing wrong with the tyre but said it was incorrectly fitted. That was about 3 years ago and the tyre is still fine.
Worst bike shop I've ever used will never go there again, I'd rather walk home barefoot across fields of broken glass.

I bought a Contend bike from Giant in Camden in 2019. I had it serviced every year, or more frequently. There were no issues discovered at any service until the 4th year, when they quoted £600 for work to the bike. The bike itself only cost £50 more. They said the manager would reassess the quote, but never got back to me. They tried to point me towards buying a new bike. Just to be clear - there's no suggestion that they're negligent, but it's very expensive there, the entry level bikes clearly don't last and the attitude is very much take it or leave it. I've found an independent bike shop instead and wouldn't recommend buying a Giant bike and certainly not servicing it with them.

I've been using this bike shop for 20 years now and have just bought my 3rd bike. I have always found the owner Nick and staff to be so helpful. I'm so lucky that this cycle shop is on my doorstep

I spent a few hours today with Farouq to decide on a road bike. I am sort of in-between sizes with a short inseam etc but he can read your body geometry extremely proficiently and suggested bikes that fitted me very well almost immediately. He was absolutely brilliant. He set up a couple of bikes for me to road test and suggested a multitude of options and changes which made the final choice a perfect fit. I can't recommend him and the staff at Giant Camden enough. Knowledgable, professional and courteous.

I recently visited the giant store in Kentish Town and was seen by a gentleman called Farouk, he was straight and honest which I appreciate and has worked tirelessly to help me with my bike fit going above and beyond to save me money where he can! Fantastic service offered.

This shop did not even apologise that it had mislaid a cycle shoe that I had in for repair and I have not received any recompense.
The manager does need to be aware that customer service is key to any business and review like this will not help

They tried to sting my partner for a bill over over £300 when she only wanted the brakes fixed. The repair list amounted to an all or nothing proposition. They wouldn't just do the brakes. Terrible behaviour. We both bought our bikes from there and have had repairs done before, no problem. AWFUL service.

I've visited this store twice now in the last four months. I am a woman in my 30s who is confident in traditional male spaces. Most bike shops have mostly male staff so I would class them as traditionally male though this should not be the case.

The first time there were 2 male members of staff who were both dealing with a very dissatisfied male customer who was obviously trying to get his money back. I was looking at the Liv bikes which are engineered by women for women . I could see there was quite a dispute going on so I just pottered about looking at the bikes waiting my turn. At some point another male customer came into the shop and also started looking at bikes. After about one minute of the male customer being in the shop one of the members of staff came to ask him if he wanted to try anything. I thought I would let this go even though I had been there first as maybe he hadn't been keeping an eye out because of the dispute ( which apparently took 2 members of staff to deal with). The angry customer left and the other member of staff started doing something on the computer. The new customer was dealt with swiftly and given some advice about pedals. I was thinking it would be my turn now and I would be seen to either by the man on the shop floor or the guy on the computer. However, a delivery guy turned up and of course he was dealt with first. I had been in the shop for about 15 minutes now and had not been acknowledged in any way. A man from the back of the shop who must have been fixing bikes then came out and started having a chat with the other two guys. At this point I actually stood in the middle of the shop and said " Am I actually going to be seen to here?" They all kind of looked at each other , one went back to his computer, one returned to the back of the shop and the other sheepishly came over to see what I needed.

Bad day, I thought. However, this seems to be the norm and I think it's a management problem. I was in there two days ago - One member of staff on the computer, other guy dealing with a customer. Once that customer had gone he came straight over to me and I asked to test ride one of the Livs, good service so far. As he was putting the pedals on for me however, the phone started to ring. Bizarrely, the man on the computer did not answer it and it continued to ring until he eventually barked an order at the man helping me saying : "answer that it's going to ring out", the poor guy didn't know what to do, he tried to say " I am helping a customer", but that was ignored and he had to answer it. The phone call was once again a man , I could hear his voice, and was quite long - so here I was - time against me as I had a meeting that afternoon - stood holding a bike with no pedals in the middle of the shop - the other guy, presumably the manager as he was giving orders, continued to do whatever his super important thing was on the computer. I felt sorry for the other guy who was trying his best and did promptly return to helping me once the call was over. But once again, I just felt disappointed.

The staff need serious customer service training and misogyny awareness training. Giant prides itself on the Liv brand as being engineered by women for women rather than the shrink it and pink it mentality that other brands do. As a previous Liv owner I can vouch for it, but the service I received here was awful and there was definite cultural blindness going on. I won't be going here again. Pull your socks up boys.

I needed a wheel exchange, so I left my bicycle at Giant Store Camden as it was the closest store. This was a week before Christmas 2020, it was reasonable that the new wheel would not be delivered during the holidays, so I was told to expect it in the first week of January 2021, i.e. about 2 weeks later. This did not happen apparently because of Brexit. After several discussions, I could in the end collect my bicycle exactly 2 months after I left it with Giant. I understand that the delivery problem may not have been in Giant's control, but a reputable service would manage alternative supply after such a delay. A quick check on the internet a month earlier showed that a wheel could be delivered within days. So far, unpleasant but not entirely Giant's fault.
When I picked my bicycle and had to pay the bill, they surprised me with an added service package that I had not asked for. The man told me that among other things both my breaks were not working, which I cannot agree with as I maintain my bike regularly and the breaks were very good. After a discussion, he agreed to lower the price to close to what I was initially told I would need to pay for the wheel and its fitting. It felt so much like they were trying to rip me off.
Maybe Giant Store Camden has the best bicycle technicians (I don't know), but the whole experience left a very bad taste. I will avoid in the future.

I would not recommend this place at all. It was a terrible experience as they tried to rip me off.

I originally bought a bike from this store (TCR pro 1).

Days after, I realised the back tyre was flat and needed regular pumping (every other day). After some checks I realised there was not sealing, so I called Giant to sort this out, and I booked an appointment to check it. This was delayed up to 6 months between lockdown and waiting times. I took advantage to have my first service as well (which was included according to the agreement). Everything else was working perfectly.

Next, they called me and said that the tyre had a puncture, that the shifter was faulty, and that the front brake was not longer working so new pieces were needed.
A warranty was applied to the shifter but they kept me waiting for three weeks to confirm they were going to be compensated by shimano.
Later, they said that the caliper was not working and it was my fault because of the sweat during indoors training. They stated that they were good people for not charging me for the shifter since it was faulty due to the same reasons (actually shimano applied the warranty). The mechanic refused to set up the front brake for me as it was , he would just do it with a brand new item. He claimed that the caliper was too dangerous. This caliper was 6 months old (a very high quality ultegra unit).

At this point I picked up the bike with the brake and paid the replacement for the tyre (89.98 GBP) and walked the bike home. This was supposedly part of my free service (i.e. fixing the sealant tyre which they solved by charging a new tyre). I looked at the caliper myself, lubricated with WD40 and operated the caliper ten times wiping off the excess lubrication. The caliper was working as normal afterwards.
Such a contrast with what they warned me previously in order to pay extra money.

I had some assitance from an experienced cyclist who could not believe a reputable bike shop would clearly try to make money from an innocent cyclist. This sort of behaviour needs to stop.

Terrible experience. I will never use this shop again, and I doubt I will ever buy a Giant bike again.

I bought a Giant Defy Advanced 1 carbon frame bike with disc brakes back in June this year. After a couple of weeks the rear brake started to make a squeaking noise so I took it back to the shop. Initially it was repaired - they said the caliper was not aligned, etc. - but after a few days I had the same problem. When I took it back to the shop, the best advice they could give was that I should use a disc cleaner. I was happy to give it a try but given that the noise wouldn't go away and the brake performed poorly, I booked another slot at the workshop. They charged me 50 pounds or so as they had changed a few parts (even if that was not the problem that I reported)...but they did not fix the brake problem. When I asked again, they insisted that the solution was to use a disc cleaner and there was no need to change the brake. I simply refused to believe that a bike that costs over 2000£ and that is only 3 months could have such a poor braking performance but because they couldn't or refused to fix it, in the end I brought it to EvansCycle to have it fixed (i.e. they looked into the pads and rotor, which were contaminated). My advice is stay away from this shop - if you really want a Giant, go to the other shops in London that offer better service.

Few things can make your pulse quicken like being handed the bill at Giant Store Camden - they'll replace parts of your bike without telling you and then fleece you on the price. For example: I needed new brake pads and inner tube and was quoted £35 for it. Imagine my surprise when I came in a few days later to find the derailleur hanger, gear cable and seat post all replaced and a price tag over £120. Apparently the "bike wasn't rideable" without those changes - weird how it rode 80km the day before it was brought in.

When pushed the owner's excuse was that it "wasn't economical" to call me and ask if I wanted the changes done (even though his mechanic called me about a less expensive change). This is the type of conduct you'd expect from an untrained member of staff, not from the owner of the business. Show some leadership, fess up when you messed up, and stop ripping people off!

I have dealt with these guys since they opened and generally I’ve got on well with them.
Lately though, and I am quite certain market pressures are the reason for this, their prices have risen, which is annoying enough but standards have fallen at the same time.
The last straw? I wanted some new suspension forks installed on my mountain bike. £60 an hour labour ( can’t have less than the hour ) IF the forks were bought from them. £90, if not. And they weren’t. Now this is going to take a halfway decent bike mechanic 15-20minutes. Maybe less. And frankly £60 an hour strikes me as a bit steep.
On an earlier occasion a road bike with a new stem came back with the wheel comically misaligned and the oaf at the desk aggressively asked me what I wanted him to do about it. Fix it, I suggested. He then admitted that he didn’t know how and there was no one present who could.
And a new rear mech, chain and cassette were installed on my road bike; The gears were never quite right - they SHOULD have been perfect, but at the time I sensed profound annoyance on their part for bringing my own components, bought from Chain Reaction. They had a second attempt at putting it right. Slight improvement, but still not perfect; I had the feeling I was being punished. I still think that.
Now I understand actual bike shops with premises are suffering at the hands of online retailers - how they must HATE Chain Reaction cycles! But I remember only a decade ago a really serious hardtail MTB sold for well under £1000. Now, that same bike will cost £1600 and probably not be as well specified. Christ, there is some rubbish out there! And the prices of bikes, components and servicing has skyrocketed. I used to work in the old Yellow Jersey (strictly part time) and the doing a deal or a favour, knocking a bit off the final reckoning for a regular customer? Forget it, those days are long gone. As are the days when a boy could aspire to own something truly decent. Look at the prices. No wonder children don’t cycle anymore!
I’ve walked around the shop looking wistfully at the new, shiny, bang-up-too-date mountain bikes and road bikes, but really cannot justify spending a few thousand, and we are talking about £2-3000 for something nowhere near the top-of-the-range, when the bikes I already own are more than fine. And again, there is this sense that in NOT making such a purchase I have in some way offended them. This industry does not want you to be content with what you have and will penalise you if you don’t buy a new bike every 2-3 years. What do you think the fantastic cynicism of changing around all the standards is about? 29rs and 27.5rs and the like? Not better bikes. Selling more bikes to a saturated or bored market. Any attempt to revitalise an older model is strongly discouraged - £90 an hour labour costs! And pot luck as to who you get working on your bike - the 2 or 3 who plainly know what they are about. Or that other fellow. Buy components from them, though, and it would cost far more.
I loaned my wife’s mtb to a friend for a week’s holiday. They put it in to be serviced afterwards with Giant, as a courtesy. And were astonished at how much it cost; In fact, it caused a falling-out that took months to resolve, because I, err, recommended them.
We abandoned winter riding because the servicing costs were ruinous. Both bikes needed £60-90 of work done after every second or third ride; Slithering around in all that mud takes it’s toll. Like so many things these days buying the bike is the easy part. The affordable part, even. Keeping the damned thing on the road (or worse, off it!) costs a fortune.

I don’t know about you, but I’m off to look at uTube to see if I can do it myself, even though, like headsets and bottom brackets, I’d much prefer to steer clear. Failing that, I’m looking for another bike shop. I’ve heard there are some Poles working out of a lock-up who are charging a fair price for expert repairs and servicing. Any body got their number? Giant are plainly aiming upmarket and don’t want my sort around there. I have been told!
But I’ll just bet that owner, manager and staff, in their personal dealings for goods and services, every last one of them will search good and hard for the best deal. Would they shop at the Giant store on that basis? I wonder. I really do.

And if the awful trading conditions weren’t enough, Cycle Surgery around the corner is about to close it’s doors forever.