Manchester Car Audio sits directly opposite and in competition with another car audio shop. Unless…read moreit's the kind of thing where the same guy really cleverly owns both, it must be quite fierce competition wise. As such, both of the car audio shops have a multitude of flashing neon lights and signs to grab your attention. Manchester Car Audio stocks, well, car audio systems. But they also sell navigation and tracking systems, and video screens that fit in the back of headrests or on the ceiling of your car. This is one of my dreams. Honestly. The staff at Manchester Car Audio are young, friendly and attentive. They look like they would definitely know how to pimp your ride, if that's what you were going for. In fact, they've got lots of monstrous sub bass boxes (or whatever they're called) that look ideal for doing just that. Note, having one of these in your car would probably take up your entire boot. But it would be LOUD.

To cut a long story short my stereo was broke so went to buy new! Got the new one from halfords and…read morewas told to buy the extra bits I needed online but each car has different fittings so looked for weeks!!! Finally decided to ring the car sound studio who was very helpful and had the stock I tried many other places who all said much more money and a wait for them to order in Once I knew they had the stuff I needed I went down within 30 mins of getting there my new stereo was fitted and I got a cup of tea in the waiting room I will be going back Thankyou!!!! Very happy with the service

Fantastic selection of natural fiber and synthetic rope, cord, and also twine. I searched for a…read morespecific product online and after looking at about 10 different rope sites, this one had the best prices. Also, super fast service. I placed an order on a Monday and it arrived on Wednesday. Orders are only taken online, not over the phone, by the way. I had a bit of trouble placing my order online and called for help so that's how I know they don't do phone orders. If one browser doesn't seem to want to work, just try another (I had to switch from Chrome to Firefox and then the site started to recognize I had items in my shopping cart.) Happy shopping!

Sitting in one of the railway arches on Whitworth Street, Harry Hall's Cycles is a cycle shop for…read moreserious cyclists. It's well set out and sells mountain and road bikes as well as loads of accessories. I'm a bit of a cycling novice, but I recently acquired quite a good road bike and my old pump didn't seem to fit the valves on the new bike's tyres. I popped into the shop and feeling like a complete idiot, explained that I had no idea how to pump up the tyres on my new bike. The chap serving me was really polite despite my clear cycling ignorance, and explained the technicalities of the valves and what pump I needed to buy. He presented me with a few options of what I should get and I've now got something perfect for the job that's also really light and fits snugly on my bike. The pump was quite expensive, and this typifies the cost of most of the cycling gear in the shop, which includes a good range of pumps, tyres, helmets and accessories as well as lots of different cycle clothing. However, it's all quality stuff and the staff know exactly what they're talking about. Though you would probably find cheaper gear at somewhere like Halfords, its worth going to Harry Hall's to know that you'll walk away with some kit that will be right for you, work properly and last a long time.

The railway arches of Whitworth Street West serve as a magnet for cool stuff, housing Green Room…read morealt: performance space, an achingly cool interior design showroom, Cocotoo Italian restaurant (?) and the cool effect spreads across the road to froyo café Frurt and round the corner to The Engine Room Café in Cambridge Street and even the front of restaurants in Chester Street. Plus, access the canal via any of a number of entry points on the same side as Frurt to view a timeline of the late Haçienda Club. (The canal path is a fantastic traffic-free route to Castlefield, Piccadilly and Stockport). Harry Hall Cycles is a good general purpose cycle shop, but I also commend them for showcasing some niche bikes. The current window display is mainly given over to the current trend for stripped down fixed gear or single speed bikes - fewer moving parts means less to go wrong and also lighter. I was also amused to read a poster publicising a Brompton bike race to be staged by that leading manufacturer of folding bikes - I've not seen that poster elsewhere in Manchester, so well done HH for showcasing that. (One cool thing about Brompton bikes for a cycle shop is how small they fold up, allowing many more Bromptons to be stored per sq. metre than regular bikes!) Downstairs is also home to road bikes, cyclo-cross bikes and the usual bike accessories. Upstairs features mountain bikes, style/girly bikes and some retro stuff including a modern take on a butchers bike. I think you have to pay them a visit and test ride a bike or two to decide if Harry Hall is the bike shop for you, but I enjoy the laid-back atmosphere and friendly staff who are generally happy to talk. I'll end by sharing a tip given to me by one of the guys here, which is to dismount and push your bike up over kerbs and such - apparently mounting kerbs wrecks the wheel bearings, and was something he would never do with any of his bikes. He had me at 'bikes' :-) I find something precious about city centre cycle shops - they are there in the midst of the polluting traffic offering a highly-effective, low-tech transport solution. The young and able-bodied car drivers amongst us, let's get on our bikes! And if you are an apartment dweller unsure how you would store your bike, all the more reason to get along to Harry Hall as they have a variety of storage solutions from wall hooks to floor-to-ceiling bike stands to store your speed machine up out of the way.

Surosa Cycles has a very distinctive shop front, which was recently obliterated when a Land Rover…read moreSport ploughed through it, and has been perfectly rebuilt. The strong branding creates a sense of seriousness and professionalism that can be somewhat intimidating to armatures just after day to day accessories, but once you walk through the door the owners couldn't be more friendly. The staff are knowledgeable and friendly, although they were kind of on the 'up sell' trying to push some more expensive items, but it wasn't a hard sell. The prices are a little more expensive than comparative chain stores, but they do offer extra specialist expertise in the biking field.

Really poor, suposed to have serviced the bike inc. wheel hubs, had just smeared grease around the…read moreoutside never had them apart. Also either didn't understand Campag gearing or plain lied about the faults avoid like the plague

Just been in for an on the spot repair. Absolutely brilliant service. The staff go out of their way…read moreto help you and save you money. I can not recommend highly enough.

Fantastic bike shop, friendly and helpful staff. ALSO - if you happen to have a problem with a pram…read moresuch as I did when a front wheel fell off, also head here for emergency repairs! They were only too happy to help so I could get my child and shopping home easily. Thank you to the staff for this which was a major headache quickly solved. I'll be straight back in when our next little one needs s bike seat if not before.

Hugo Boss' New Cathedral Street location in Manchester city centre really has improved of late…read moresince the refurb, the store now looks so much smarter to match the high-end brand it is with a great selection of stuff. The store did have a good amount of staff, all of them seemed pretty friendly and eager to help which was pretty good. They made sure I received all the information I needed ahead of processing an online return, which was done rather quickly, interestingly they don't have a shipment centre in the UK so all online orders have to be returned to Frankfurt, Germany via UPS (On a national level considering this it's a good job they offer free change of mind returns in-store or via a UPS Parcel Store!) Opening hours are in line with retail hours nearby and are pretty decent, generally, from 10 am to 8 pm during the week. I also like how they actually allow you to email the store, which you could use to check the stock of an item before you come in. Not many other brands do that, so I do really like it. The store also has a good selection over two floors and it does have a lift. The staff also deserve further credit - they are continually great and have been across many visits to the store and have a fantastic knowledge of the entire product range while also be friendly to chat about the product, recommendations or just checking if everything is good, they even managed to do this when the store was busy on a weekend in the run-up to Christmas, and considering how busy this store can get during that time as it is in a pole position right by Exchange Square and New Cathedral Street's Christmas markets that is really impressive. Of course, the prices are a little pricey but it is a designer brand with quality and style which is often worth paying a little extra for, they do have sale items in the store too with a good saving too which is even more impressive as not many designer brands of this nature offer something like this, the store has something for everyone with knowledgeable staff and an amazing feel to it too, it's got to the stage where I'm struggling anything other than making Hugo Boss' Manchester store the sixth addition to my "5-star club". It is remarkable to see this store progress from a decent "A-OK" store in the city centre, to my favourite store in the city centre since I last reviewed this place in what originally marked my 1500th review back in July 2017.

A & B Shoes, what a classic. I've been informed that we always got our school shoes from here as…read morechildren and now all my cousin's have toddlers and children of various other ages, A & B is still going strong in part down to my family. Here is proof of their expertise - my sister has flat feet and has to wear insoles and this was one of the first shoe shops that my mother tried for Hush Puppie style shoes that would be high enough at the sides and comfortable for her. Even though we now live the other side of Manchester entirely. Bypass Manchester town centre, Clarks and the lot of them and try A & B. So, a great little old fashioned shoe shop that, as with many others on High Street West, has stood the test of time due to the excellent reputation they have carved out for themselves. A real word of mouth success...

expensive, expensive. bought my wife a pair of boots for £79 sole fell off after 2 months of casual…read moreuse

This is a fantastic business in Hyde. Basically they sell kitchens and have a fantastic selection…read moreto choose from. The business was established in 1986 and since then it has grown and grown into a large dependable business. They stock all brand new, top of the range products and also have free delivery and installation. So if you are looking for a new kitchen then this is one place to start. They are fantastic and with over 500 different products, you will be stuck for choice. My aunt had her kitchen from here and she said their service is excellent from the choosing, buying and fitting. Everything is stressfree. So take a look at their website for more information.