One of the capital’s few mountain bike specialist bike shops – Soho Bikes of Berwick Street – has announced it is to close on Friday 26 January.

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Although not a very old store, Soho Bikes only opened in 2014, it quickly made a name for itself as both a mountain bike oasis in the big city and a good place to get coffee for cyclists and non-cyclists alike. It won the Best Bike Shop in London category in our our very own Britain’s Best Bike Shops awards in 2017.

The are no explicit reasons stated as yet for the closure (see full statement below) but Soho Bikes looks like it’s going the way of other bike shops that struggle with increasing rent and online discounting.

Soho Bikes statement

I am disappointed to announce that Soho Bikes will cease trading from its Berwick Street premises on Friday 26 January. The store will remain open and we will continue to run the café and a limited workshop service until that date*. A clearance sale for all stock starts today; do drop by for some mega bargains!

Soho Bikes opened in summer 2014 as a full-service bike shop, workshop and café. We took the bold decision to also sell mountain bikes, a market that we felt was underserved in London. In many respects the shop has gone from strength-to-strength, as I am sure any regular visitor would testify: Soho Bikes sells a wealth of quality products from market leading brands, our workshop is flat out and our coffee is highly acclaimed. The store has achieved a 4.9 star rating on Facebook, 4.8 star rating on Google, 4/5 rating on London’s Best Coffee, 9.1 rating on Beanhunter, was runner-up in the ‘Best UK Bike Shop’ category at the Singletrack Reader Awards in 2016 and won ‘Best Bike Shop in London’ in the MBR reader awards 2017.

Unfortunately, and as clichéd as it sounds, all good things must come to end. I have taken the decision that for personal reasons I can no longer continue to run Soho Bikes and I have been left with no other alternative but to close the doors for good.

If you have recently placed an order with us, or have your bike in for servicing, please don’t panic! We will be in touch during today or tomorrow to discuss the best options for you.

I would like to thank all our loyal customers, fantastic staff (past and present) and many great suppliers. It has been fun – I am just sorry it has had to end.

Nick Hawker
17 January 2018

Any enquires (including interest in stock and equipment) should be directed to nick@sohobikes.co.uk

*The shop will be open 9am to 6pm on weekdays, and midday to 5pm on Saturday 20 January.