Push Cycles in Newington Green

I’ve been cycling as long as I can remember, my Dad and I used to go on epic what seemed like epic cycling holidays when I was younger, and at University I loved belting around from lecture to lecture. When I moved to London however it just didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of my life. Too much after work drinking - cycling drunk is just plain stupid - and other commitments meant that I just kept leaving it in bizarre places.

Then, early this summer I borrowed a friends track bike to nip home. Within minutes I knew I was going to have to get a new one. I never looked back, and even better, given the hiatus I’ve had, it’s been like falling in love with cycling all over again.

This post wasn’t meant to be about cycling, it was actually meant to be about Push Cycles just around the corner from me. Anyone who has ever owned a bike will tell you that going into a bike shop can be a daunting prospect. They won’t like your ride, they’ll think you’re an idiot, they’ll generally treat you like shit and then they’ll take your money. In fact, brilliant online stores like Wiggle and HubJub will have probably done pretty well out of the fact that significant percentage of bike shops are staffed by pricks.

Not Push. In Push they won’t assume you’re the worlds best mechanic, and better still they won’t treat you like shit when they find out you’re not. They’re friendly, extremely well informed, and are clearly are hell bent on helping as many people they can make the most out of their bike. Case in point. Last week I upgraded my handle bars (Nitto Bullhorns if you’re interested, they’re great) and discovered that the clamps on my break levers were way to big to fit. Push had some that would fit, but rather than charging me the 25 squid and sending me on my way, they offered to do a straight trade for my old levers. I agreed, but feared that I may now be asked to fit them myself. Instead they did them for me explaining how to do it as they went. Oh, and did I mention they kept the store open late for me?

This is the bike shop I’ve always wanted to find, and they’ve got me for as long as I can cycle over.