London bike shopping for gear

[cb1rocket]

Me and bro are going up to London tomorrow to see the firework display and have a day there. While we are up there we are looking for a new jacket to try on and new gloves. Does anyone have any shops they can recommend to us and also bearing in mind if they are open on New Year's Eve? Cheers for suggestions in advance.

[JiveBunny]

You're welcome.

[cb1rocket]

Yes i know there is google but Would like some recommendations, I know there is loads but we don't have all day scouring shops!

[Cheeseybeaner]

[nowhere.elysium]

JiveBunny; your depressingly smugly-delivered 'answer' suggests Metropolis as the first result. Quite aside from the fact that they're not open until the 2nd, they're also one of the last places I'd recommend people actually purchase stuff from, largely due to the spectacularly overbearing sales staff and high prices.

TL;DR - wind it. Condescension doesn't work if you're a n00b.

OP - if you're actually seeking to part with money, I can't really recommend any shops in London, due to the high prices typically associated therewith. Infinity's got a fairly decent stock range, Metropolis is OK if you're just looking, Hein Gericke's got OK prices, but nothing to write home about. Harper's (which was based in East London) has now moved well out of the capital.

Motoden and the like are all right, but I don't particularly rate them for gear, since they're primarily geared towards selling bikes. Personally, I tend to wait for the bike shows to try stuff on, and then either buy there or go online to purchase. It's just more cost-effective, in my experience. I've also never really found myself in the situation where I've needed gear so desperately that I've had to purchase it there and then.
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'10 SV650SF, '83 GS650GT (it lives!), Questionable DIY dash project, 3D Printer project, Lasercutter project

[multijoy]

Infinity are pretty much your only option with the demise of HG. On the plus side, they've got many, many stores, although I've no idea how many will be open on NYE.

If you're central, the Great Portland Street branch claims to be open on bank holidays, as does Clapham, Hanger Lane and the Chiswick Honda franchise (which was formerly HG!)
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'11 CBF1000A, '99 C90, '98 CB500
silky666: He rode amazingly well considering his bike is the weight of a small van and had slicks on.

[Cheeseybeaner]

[wots]

[multijoy]

I popped my head in there once, wasn't impressed. Unless they've had a refit in the last couple of years, I wouldn't recommend it.
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'11 CBF1000A, '99 C90, '98 CB500
silky666: He rode amazingly well considering his bike is the weight of a small van and had slicks on.

[Cheeseybeaner]

[esullivan]

OP doesn't say where they are coming into London from, but there's also a J&S in Watford, which would be really easy to get to off the M25 if you are coming from up north. I can't compare sizes since I've not been to the New Malden store, but the Watford one is one floor (albeit a big floor), so might be smaller.
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Current: '14 VFR800X Test passed 31/10/12.
Previous: '12 NC700S, '11 CBF 125, '04 SH 125.

[cb1rocket]