Cycle King Stony Stratford

Much better staff. I bought three bikes in this store in the last 4 years and multiple spares and there has been a massive chage. The staff is qualified, advise better and they are also much more friendly.

Really pleased with the service we received at your Stony Stratford store. The staff were very helpful in advising us with the type of bikes we needed, giving pros and cons of various choices and not just pushing the most expensive! There is a great selection of bikes in store, all shapes and sizes including a penny farthing and tandem!! They can be made up, checked and ridden away same day. We were allowed to browse without being hassled and my son tried several models in-store, and came away very happy with his choice which is very well suited to him. The bikes are competitively priced, and they will also price match other stores if you find them cheaper elsewhere. They offer a free check 6-8 weeks after purchase to make sure the bike is still sound. Can highly recommend Cycle King, thank you especially to Simon for helping us to the car and playing Tetris with our purchases!

I was in a few weeks ago with my autistic son , who had damaged his bike, the staff were a little off put by my son to be honest, but then one of the staff came out from the bit where they fix the bikes, she was great with my son, and explained how we could fix the bike, she did a great job with him and was very knowledgeable on the best ways forward to help us, as we are on a tight budget, I think her name was Chelsea, so if you go into cycle king Stony, ask for her.

Had a great experience at cycle king a couple weeks ago, the girl behind the counter Chelsea was very friendly and helpful she was very informative not only with the process of the repair but also the knowledge of other products in store I was enquiring about. Also she assured me everything would be ready on time and it was and I have had no problems since. If I were to return it would be to see her specifically as I felt she engaged with me and was very genuine.

Terrible customer service! You can tell how bored and unmotivated the staff are when you enter an empty store and you get a slow head raise and a monotone good afternoon. I greet random strangers on the street with more enthusiasm.

On top of that the store is not clean and the bikes are all over the place with no room to have a proper look at them. It really puts anyone off.

Took a wheel to be straightened, ended up egg shaped. When I returned Chris the "mechanic" said I hadn't "ridden it in"!. Wouldn't recommend for any repairs or services, and given the response I got, consider having any bike you purchase checked over by a professional.

Absolutely disgusted with the level of customer service supplied by cycle king!
More than happy to take my cash but not interested when it comes to their ridiculous returns policy! Would strongly recommend against buying from here!!

I have had a terrible experience with buying a Claude Butler bicycle from this company.

I went in and explained my main intended use for a new bike: I would be moving a pannier rack (and other accessories) from my old bike onto the bike and using it mainly for shopping and the rare cycle-camping trip. I showed the sales agent my old bike - it was locked up outside at the time - as I wanted the frame to be slightly larger on the new bike.

When I received the bike, I got about a mile from the shop - to the A5/A508 roundabout and have to stop and start because of the traffic lights. I noticed the front wheel felt a little off (hard to describe). Turns out the quick release nut was loose and opened at the lightest touch. The wheel could have actually come off at any time! I am very glad I noticed this! I did check handlebars, pedals and the other quick release (not the spokes unfortunately - this will make sense later) at the side of the A-road, and they were okay. I did notice both tyres seemed low, and when I got home I checked the tyres and they were both around 35psi - they're supposed to be between 50 and 85.

They did not mention that the bicycle I was looking at had a non-standard fitting for the pannier/mudguard (compared to every bike at Halfords and most other bikes at the same store). Specifically most pannier/mudguard attachments have the hole parallel to the wheel, the supplied bike has it facing the wheel. That 90 degree difference means the pannier simply will not fit. They did give me a couple of metal scraps but there was no way that would fix the problem. I had to buy a completely new pannier with the side attachments. Check carefully before buying! What's worse is that they knew the problem. When I went back to the shop, I started saying I could not fit the pannier, their technician finished the sentence for me - because the hole is oriented differently! I suspect it's not the first time they have run into this problem with this bike model so why wouldn't they tell me about a clearly-known specific issue with this bike BEFORE I bought it?

They also did not mention a load limit of 120kg which I only discovered upon reading the manual - received after purchase (and even denied ANY load limit existed on multiple occasions). Given that myself plus my backpack (which is pretty heavy to start off with to be fair) means the base load is over 100kg. Not a lot left for shopping on the panniers! The bicycle is therefore not fit for the purpose that I stated I would be using it for.

Now for the big kicker. The first time I take the bike out on a fairly long journey, the back wheel buckles. The bike did not hit any pot-holes - I am always careful about that. The concrete was a bit bumpy in places but you'd expect a bicycle to cope with that! At first they claim I must have mistreated the bike (which is utter rubbish). Then they claimed that I must have bashed the wheel about when loading it into a car as the rims were not damaged, only the spokes. Again utter rubbish - I did load it in a car but the wheels were rested gently on top of the bike frame with no other load on top. Then after charging me for repair, they then tell me that the spokes were actually loose and the bike "must have been tampered with".

This last claim is clearly utter rubbish. The bike has been locked up for a handful of minutes outside shops a few times but had only been out of my house on three occasions! Even if someone were to mess with it, I think getting out a wrench and loosening the spokes is highly unlikely. I suspect they made this claim to cover up the fact they just didn't bother putting the bike together properly in the first place and justify charging me for repairing damage that was a result of their negligence.

All in all I feel that they have mis-sold me a bike because it's not fit for the purpose I stated I was buying the bike for, and that I have wasted a lot of money on a bike that, while I can now use, I anticipate it will break again and need replacement at some point. I won't be coming back to Cycle King.

A Stony legend