Arch 9, Tanner Lane
Nine bicycles on the floor and a workshop that takes anything
We stock a short list of machines we have ridden ourselves, we build wheels on the bench at the back, and we service any bicycle that comes through the door. Where you bought it has never changed the price.
How the shop works
Three things worth knowing before you come in
01
Nine bikes, not ninety
We stock what two of us have ridden through a winter. If a bicycle is not on the floor it is because we did not want to stand behind it, not because it is out of stock.
02
Wheels are built here
Laced, tensioned, stress-relieved and dished on the bench at the back. About two hours a wheel, and the tension readings go in the envelope with the receipt.
03
We did not have to sell it to fix it
Any make, any age, including supermarket bikes and the one that has been in a shed since 1994. We will tell you honestly if it is past saving.
Workshop
The four things people actually walk in for
The full list, with turnaround times and the jobs we will talk you out of, is on the workshop page.
Puncture, while you wait
Tube replaced, the tyre read from the inside to find what caused it, rim tape checked, wheel back in. Ten minutes if the bench is clear, an hour if it is not. We will show you the thorn.
00
Standard service
Gears and brakes set up, cables checked, bearings felt through, wheels trued, chain measured, bolts to torque, and a written note of what is wearing out but is not yet worth replacing. Two days in the shop.
00
Hand-built wheel
Labour only, per wheel. Hub, rim and spokes on top, and we will happily lace into a hub you already own if the bearings are sound.
From 00
Look at it on the stand
Wheel it in, no appointment. We put it up, spin it and tell you what it needs and what it does not. Most of these end with nothing being sold.
No charge
The shop
The middle of the floor is empty on purpose
A garage is somewhere you leave the machine. A bicycle shop is somewhere people stand around, and we built this one for that: bikes along the walls, the bench open to the room, a track pump by the door that nobody has to ask to use, and a kettle that is not a marketing gesture. The workshop is not behind a hatch. If your bottom bracket is being pressed out you can stand there and watch it happen, and most people do.
Cogset
Who is on the bench
Three of us, and you can ask for whichever one you spoke to last
Ines Vahl
Wheelbuilder
Builds every wheel that leaves here and has done for eleven years. Will rebuild an old hub if it deserves it and will say so plainly when it does not.
Tomas Reder
Mechanic
Servicing, drivetrains, hydraulic brakes and anything electrical. Keeps the book and decides what can be squeezed in on the day.
Dilan Arce
Mechanic and fitting
Sets up every bicycle we sell and does the sizing. Half an hour with him is worth more than a carbon seatpost and costs a good deal less.
Arch 9
When the door is open
- Tuesday to Friday
- 09:00 - 18:30
- Saturday
- 09:00 - 15:00
- Sunday and Monday
- Closed
- Drop-offFrom half past eight on weekdays. Leave it against the far wall with your name and a telephone number on the tag.
- Wednesday eveningThe bench stays open until nine and anyone can use it. Bring your own bicycle and we will lend the tools and the opinion.
- First week of JanuaryClosed. Everything in for service before Christmas goes back before we shut.
The workshop book usually runs three days ahead. Punctures, adjustments and second opinions are done on the day, so come with the bicycle rather than telephoning about it.
Something rubbing, ticking or slipping?
Bring it in rather than describing it. Thirty seconds on the stand settles what twenty minutes on the telephone will not.