Scotty Browns passion shines through

Feb 7th, 11. When RoadCycling.co.nz asked readers what bike shops they considered the best in New Zealand, one name stood out - Scotty Browns.

Scotty Browns, much more than a bike shop ©Paul Francis

While other bike shops were nominated for their great range of bikes, good service and/or friendly staff, Scotty Browns was consistently nominated for its staff's pure passion for cycling.

"These guys are just so excited about cycling. Just watch them leap around with shiny eyes when someone buys a new bike, not because they are getting a sale but because they know the joy of a shiny new bike," one reader wrote.

From help with insurance claims, including letting customers take home the odd product prior to the insurance cheque coming through, to providing what one reader called "advice I would trust my life on", Scotty Browns place in the cycling community appears much wider than a place to buy great bikes.

- "Scotty is so involved in community events and very generous in his sponsorship.  He is always happy and a great communicator.  He is great at teaching developing cyclists."

- "Scotty doesn't just look after the local Canterbury cyclists, back in 2009 he started raising funds for Cholmondeley Childrens Home.  Scotty doesn't do anything by halves, so the goal was set to ride 1000km over three days, including a few laps as part of the Grape Ride.  Over the course of four months, Scotty raised over $45,000 and hundreds of pairs of shoes for the kids at Cholmondeley."

The new store on Bedford Rd - the original store was badly affected by the Christchurch earthquake ©Paul Francis

One reader felt the power of Scotty Browns' brand all the way over in Italy.  

While following the 2008 Tour de France, he and his wife made an impromptu visit to the Carrera factory.

When they mentioned Scotty Browns, they were welcomed in and received a full behind the scenes factory tour.

"It's amazing how that guy can open doors on the other side of the globe!  We got the full behind the scenes tour of the factory, we were even introduced to some of the craftsmen that hand build these beautiful frames."

During the recent Elite Nationals, which Scotty Browns was a sponsor of, Sarah from RoadCycling.co.nz was invited to an evening with Greg Henderson.  

Not only was it a fantastic night, where Scotty Browns' vocally loyal clients enjoyed asking Hendy questions about life as a pro-cyclist, the night was a fundraiser for a charity helping up and coming cyclists.

While Scotty Brown himself received praise for his generosity of spirit and sponsorship to the wider Christchurch community, other staff were also mentioned.

 - "Scotty's team are so passionate and dedicated, they make you feel like a cyclist and are willing to share their knowledge with you."

 - "Scotty Browns isn't just about Scotty, the rest of the guys and girls that work at Scotty's are pretty awesome too. From quietly spoken Aiden, who once lent me his own Sidi shoes to try before buying, mechanic Rowan for telling me off for not cleaning the coke off my bottle cages before bringing the Carrera in for a service, and Jess for helping my wife out when selecting birthday and Christmas presents."

"More bike bling than a Tour de France bunch"  ©Paul Francis 

- "Huge personalities, not just Scotty but Jes and Aiden and John – there is lots of knowledge in this store. Great bike fitting too, Rowan rocks in the workshop."

Of course, Scotty Browns also has great bikes as one reader summed up, "It has it all, great shop and brands, and more bike bling than a Tour de France bunch."

If RoadCycling.co.nz's reader are representative of the NZ cycling community, and at 155,000 unique readers last year they must be, it seems creating a great bike shop is far more than having a good range of bikes to sell.

The final word comes from a reader's email:

"As Scotty would say: 'You gotta feel the love' and you certainly do when you enter the Emporium."