A store that sells both bicycles and espresso? In Melbourne?…read more Suspend your disbelief for one small moment, my friends, and listen as I tell you- such a place really exists. "It's not possible!" I hear you say, "There's no market for it! Melbourne has no people that like both single origin beans and (very expensive) bespoke bicycles!" Well, stranger, you're about as right as Bob Brown. Mosey on down to Camberwell Train station and saunter across the road to find this spandex-clad cafe hiding just down Auburn Parade. As one veers toward the veneer of this vivacious velocipede vestibule it's visage vividly expresses the services available: BICYCLES AND COFFEE. Fans of animal collective, U-locks and penguin classics no doubt reach self-actualization as they are confronted with gleaming espresso machines and spandex-clad movember stragglers upon entrance. The floor space is mainly given over to bicycle frames worth more or less as much as a decent family car, with a communal table staffed by extras from a Richard Simmons workout video. The coffee itself was extremely presentable- opting with a house blend ristretto I was not disappointed. Served in a blur of some of the most powerful barista-fu I've seen in some time, the crema came out very sweet with a bold, full, tart body. My breast-ridden associates opted to conform to the latte maxim, an art obviously mastered by the devilishly handsome barista on shift. Although I prefer to take my coffee neat, the milk in this case was extremely light and creamy, with a perfect temperature- surprisingly sourced from our old friend Paul. That guy can steam my milk any day. As the communal table was full of what seemed to be J. M. Barrie's lost boys in tight pants we were offered the outside seating- six double stacked milk crates and a small table nailed to the wall in a cramped alley out the back. This arrangement may sound like festering shithole of a place to sit, but was surprisingly pleasant in the afternoon sun. Visit Bike Gallery for average beans made great by a decent machine served by Calvin Klein models. Or, take out a mortgage to buy yourself a carbon-fiber-titanium-alloy pushbike so you can leave your wife at home and wear extremely tight clothing and shave your legs and ride around on pushbikes and sip coffee from tiny cups with other 40 year old men on the weekend. No homo.

I've no idea what that other reviewer with pretentious of E. M. Forster was prattling about. Bike…read moreGallery is simple: quality goods served in a quality atmosphere. If that's what you want you'll be duly impressed. If you wear your inferiority like a badge of crimson shame, look elsewhere.

I was visiting from the USA and at the last minute decided or rent a road bike for two days. No…read morelocal shops could help me with anime but after a few calls I found Brighton Cycles. The owner I think Ethel "sic" was so friendly and accommodating. They provided a fantastic road bike, set me up with a spare tube and helmet, and even were very generous and gave me a water bottle when I asked at no charge and said I could keep it. These guys were awesome and such a pleasure and great fun I found them. They are bikers and are passionate and gave me great tips on rides for the 2 days. What an awesome time and can't thank them enough!!! Melbourne was amazing to see on bike and I have them to thank for it.

Awesome work here guys! They helped me out of a tight bind…read more So I had the super fantastic idea of leaving my bike out on the street overnight, locked mind, but when I came back, my new bike was striped clean. Sheeeeit!!! So new; seat clamp, seat post, seat itself, front wheel, inner tube, tyre, 29 inch wheel, and disk brake. Crudsticks! I'm silly Well, they did me a deal, all this for $250. yay! actually quite good considering. And yes, while it sucks, I will be soon riding frankenbikke, which will be some new bike, some old parts, and some non matching parts. So yeah its shit, but now I have an even more unique bike! That's kinda cool. Glad these guys were on hand to sort out the situation, and organise a re fit and rebuild for me, order the parts and all of this stuff. Recommended. I have a lot of experience in bike stores.

The position for Smith Street cycles seems to be a short lease venture location, as the previous…read more3-4 ventures haven't lasted longer than 6 months. Smith Street cycles seem to be bucking the trend as it continues to serve the local cycle enthusiasts. The massive factory esque store has a huge number of new bikes for sale. There is also a decent size mechanics area where you can get you bike fixed or serviced. The choice of bikes is not large, as there seems to be more of a focus on quantity of a certain style. The actual space seems a little too big for the store. The walls are fairly bare and it doesn't have a lived in feel that most other bike stores have. The sales staff seem cool and willing to help, but don't try and ask a mechanic for help as I did, otherwise you're likely to have your head ripped off by the guy in charge, maybe it was just too early on a Sunday morning.

Smith Street Cycles is a massive bike store with a big variety of bikes on offer. The shop is in…read moresome serious need of repair (note the mouldy inflatable kids pool in the window that appears to be there for the sole purpose of catching water from their leaky roof), but that is no reflection on the quality goods that they sell. The staff are quite helpful and give solid advice about bike repairs and maintenance. My only criticism of Smith Street Cycles is the fact that, for such a large store, they only have a very small selection of bike-related equipment. For instance, they only sell one kind of bike light (it's a good quality one, but doesn't provide much in the way of consumer choice).

This place is pretty big and usually well priced. The staff are all really friendly if a little lax…read moreabout service at times. They have a massive selection of bikes and the bike mechanics in my experience are more prone to discuss options for bike maintenance and fixes than the usual mechanic. As such I think if you are on the look out for a bike they are well worth checking out. The only criticism I have with their bike tune-up service is that they require you to leave your bike with them for a week which can be pretty troublesome if you use your bike to commute most days.

This place used to be run by two old quirky brothers and it was like going to the theatre each time…read moreyou went in. Obviously business has been good here and the money has brought change. The staff are relatively friendly, but it's not quite theatre. Stuck in a very quite pocket of Clifton Hill, this old shop is packed to the rafters with bikes. A huge number are piled along the centre of the store and the rest hang from the roof. There are accessories galore, with anything that you could need. They also have a few mechanics on hand, constantly doing repairs and servicing. The steps into the shop have a nifty home made ramp to wheel your bike up and down. I took by bike in last week to be looked at as my gears kept jumping. I showed the technician and instead of booking it in and taking my cash, he advised me how to simply fix it. I guess he saved me $70 for a service.

As far as I know, BikeNow is currently a South Melbourne Store at:…read more240 Kingsway (Corner Kingsway & Dorcas Street) P - (03) 9696 8588 F - (03) 9696 8599 E - General Enquiries info@bikenow.com.au E - Bike and Trailer Hire hire@bikenow.com.au I have a Specialized Amira, so, of course, I love specialized bikes. BikeNow was Great! They replied quickly to our emails because we emailed a few bike hire places from our cruise ship a few days before our arrival into Melbourne, Australia and BikeNow was the only shop to respond immediately. Within 1 hour of entering their shop, the staff had our 2 aluminum road bikes ready to go with the right sizing, helmets, bike bags with emergency supplies, and bike locks along with a couple of maps of downtown Melbourne for a total of $35 per person. One of the guys even spent extra time with my husband explaining the "highlights" of Melbourne city - talk about going above and beyond bike duty! Great bikes with responsible people. Thank you BikeNow for being behind our wonderful trip to Melbourne, Australia!

The guys at Bike Now are better than experts, they have all the experience without the attitude…read more They're willing to talk to you about whatever your needs are for cycling, and they will give you truthful advice even at their own cost. Utterly impressive service and their product range backs it up, this must go hand in hand and it leads to the store being a perfect one stop shop. Both myself and my wife got bikes on the same day, each of us with very different needs and aims with cycling. She got a flat bar road bike (Vida Carbon 2014) which was aimed at a more introductory mark with potential to develop, and I bought a high end road bike (Tarmac SL4) that is an upgrade on my Giant TCR. Fantastic bikes and we're both extremely happy. Kitted out, and the fitting of bike to body position was excellent. Good work Bike Now.

I brought my road bike here a couple of year ago. After the service I have received here I think…read morethat I will be coming back to The Freedom Machine for as long as I can ride with two wheels. Not only was the service during the purchase great but the post sales service is where they did some of their best work. They offered me 12 months free servicing on the bike which I did not expect when I went to purchase it. When I did book it in for a service they were more than happy for me to ride it in and go for a stroll around Chapel St, have some lunch then pick it up a couple of hours later and ride home. They also fit the little extras that I brought like my on board computer and drink bottle holder.

Bought a bicycle here 5 years ago. Just brought it in for a service. The guys were very helpful…read moreand prompt.

I went to Lygon Cycles with a broken axle rod on my bike, and I am sure you understand I went there…read morewith trepidation - because a broken axle rod sounds serious to me. Well they fixed it for an easy $20 and even tightened my brakes and greased up my chain as an added bonus. The guys at Lygon Cycles really are friendly and happy to help you with any advice you may need. I also like the fact that they offer three options of bike service - bronze, silver or gold - so you know and understand what level of service you are paying for. Because between you and me I am sick of paying to have my bike serviced and paying upwards of $70 only to find that some places will literally just tighten your brakes and grease your chain for this amount of money (all whch these guys did for free for me). I also like the fact that they tend to service the bikes pretty quickly usually getting it back to you the next day. If you are in the market for a new bike - they do have a rather small range. But it is worth checking out and I have found that the advice they give at Lygon Cycles is far more tailored to fitting you to the right bike rather than trying to sell you a dream. They also have a range of second hand bikes for sale if you want something a bit cheaper.

Lygon certainly cycles. Every second person in the hood has a bike and I'm proud as punch to live…read moreamongst so many two-wheelers. There's nothing special about my bike but I do love it, and I like to know that other bike lovers are helping me to maintain my bike and that's why I like to bring my bike to these guys. Everyone who works here are cyclists and you can see that they're pretty passionate about it. It's a small shop so there's probably not as much stock here as there are at larger stores, but they've got all the essentials and you will find whatever you need for your bike here. And if you don't have a bike, you can buy one here.