SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

Thought this might ring someone's bell.Sharing a pint we were talking about the Bicycle Shops we frequented as kids.Some are gone, some still here, and we are (God willing) still customersWe were born 1960 so not really pedalling till late 60's. The name of Watson Cairns came up and we remembered that in lower Briggate (a pub now I think).

Colin Russells , also known as Compton Cycles, he was on one side of the road for years and then moved across the road. just where Hudson road comes in.Two wheels good was on Call Lane toward the top end.One shop that was famous was one just a little way down from Stifs, but predated it b quite some time, it had a bicycle on a pole I think it was Richardsons or something like that.There was a shop just on the corner of bachelor lane at Horsforth, but that was many years ago, deep into the '60s.There was another one just off Burley Hill on Knowle Terrace, used to stock some expensive stuff too, but there is absolutely nothing to betray this shop at all.

I remember Watson & Cairns in the late 1980's and early 1990's. I still have a bike from there with their sticker on it. Shame they disappeared as they were good. 2 Wheels good is where Nandos is now & seemed to be more higher end stuff. There also used to be Halfords on Vicar Lane where the bike stuff was upstairs. Morley at one time (late 1980's and early 1990's) had 3 bike shops; Ray Dell in Morley bottoms, Just Bikes in Queens Street (almost opposite Morley townhall) and then Malcolm Barkers on Fountain Street. Malcolm Barkers closed I think I think in the early 1990's and over the last couple of years it is now Garage Bikes.

There is an old stone built row of shops opposite the arndale centre in Headingley.In what is now a noodles shop (Wokon I think), there used to be a bike shop in the late 70's and early 80's.It was a mecca for the local kids wanting to customize their Raliegh grifters, tomahawks, chippers and choppers.I purchased a set of cowhorn handlebars their to convert my racing bike into the flimsiest mountain bike imaginable.

Two Wheels Good started off down where the guitar shops are (Call Lane?) where it was pretty good and then when mountain biking exploded in popularity (1987ish?) it moved to the big unit on the corner of Briggate where Nandos is now (just up from Watson Cairns at the time). I think they'd been bought by a Sheffield firm and had dual branding for a while (Two Wheels Good and "Freewheel" I think) before closing - it was never as good after the move and the prices got a bit daft.One of the Morley ones mentioned was actually the corner unit of South Queen Street / Fountain Street, now a Pizza Hut takeaway. Garage bikes is a few doors further up Fountain Street (and is highly recommended, by me anyway)If anyone didn't know and wondered, Stif, lately of Headingley are still going - they moved out to Nidderdale and are still going strong (Summerbridge IIRC)

Stif Cycles did in fact move to New York, however not of the Big Apple fame, but the one near Summerbridge.There was a cycle shop, Grays, where the Pizza Hut takeaway is in Chapel Allerton, next to the Tesco garage.

Cheers for the link, fascinating stuff (-:

MWD wrote: a set of cowhorn handlebars their to convert my racing bike into the flimsiest mountain bike imaginable. Tempted by Edinbo's Revolution Cross Sport    

Bob Jacksons on Harehills Lane

Am I correct in thinking there was a J. T. Rogers on Vicar Lane that became a Halford's?