Freeborn Reviews 

I've used freeborn a few times now for a few bits and pieces, never had any problems, was even lucky enough to get shown around some the local hills by a few members of the team whilst staying with friends in the area, had a great evenings riding with some friendly guys safe in the knowledge that if i broke anything trying to keep up i wasn't going to get ripped off being so far from home, all in all I would shop there again and hope to get a chance to ride with them again soon

After not jumping on a MtB since I was 16, an early mid-life crisis as 30 edged nearer gave me the ambition to turn my hand to acting like a child on hills again. After scouring the internet whilst on operations in Afghanistan, I was struggling to really obtain the information I required just from the sites I visited. After searching for my local shop, Freeborn was my next port of call.

Over the next two months I spoke with almost every member of the shop's team either via e-mail or phone, pestering them for the 'gen' I was after to make a decision on my bike. Despite, obviously, having allegiances to the shop where they work and the brands they stock, I was giving genuine opinions on many bikes I was looking at and made to feel like I was a valued friend of the shop, not only a customer. All this, whilst still only contacting them via media whilst in Afghan. (In my experiences, I've never had such time and effort put into my request without actually turning up to a store).

After squeezing the poor guys for what must have seemed like eternity, my decision was made for a custom build Devinci from the store. This was executed quickly and before I knew it, I was ready to ride.

This was over 18 months ago, and to this date, Freeborn-namely Paul, Joe and Russ have provided an after sales service like no other. Servicings have been carried out swiftly and I was advised by the team against wasting money on some bits I wanted to upgrade (furthering my point that these guys are enthusiasts, not just there to take your cash). I was welcomed on rides with the shop which have such a great atmosphere and really got me back into a sport I'm struggling to understand why I ever turned my back on.

I have been so impressed with this shop, to the dismay of my bank manager and better half, that two other bikes have been purchased since my first visit with exactly the same service provided.

This is a shop that caters for the novice to the extreme, roadies to down-hillers and I would happily shop there anytime. I often recommend the shop to boys I work with and do the same to anyone reading this review.

I bought a bike from Freeborn which I intended to Export outside the EEC and therfore wanted to purchase from a retailer registered with the VAT export refund scheme. Before I made the purchase I asked if they were able to do this and the store manager said that it was not a problem. I contacted them a couple of weeks later when I was ready to leave the country with my new bike for the forms 407 which is what is needed to claim VAT at the airport, and they said that they were not registered. We had a long conversation and he went on about a different way of doing this that I never heard of before, I was not convinced about this at all but he was so insistant. He told me to trust him that this was possible and that they had done it many times before. Needless to say customs rejected my forms so I ended up paying VAT in the UK as well as in South Africa. I contacted them later several times only to be ignored. I was seeking compensation for the £300 UK duty. They don’t have customer services and the MD (BTW) a Chap called Paul Kave does not like to come to the phone or give his email away, so I had to send my emails to another employee to get to him as I was not prepared to have another conversation with that arrogant store manager. He basically came back to me via his employee email saying that they do not operate VATFREE scheme and he had chatted to the store manager who denied what he told me. They were also sorry that I turned up with the wrong forms at customs (the ones the store manager told me I needed ). He also accused me of asking them to commit fraud by asking for a VAT rebate. All this with no direct conversation but via another employee. It’s a long story but to make it simpler my advice is rather pay more from a reputable bike store than shop with this bunch of liars that have no customer care skills, argue with customers, and have no desire to provide a good service for expensive goods.

I am from Israel, and I have found in OCP products I use for biking which are almost half the price on average of the prices we can find here. Even after adding the shipment cost (and deducting tax...), they have still much preferred bargains.

It would have been great if the had a larger variety of products. Finding what you are looking for on their site is easy.

When I neede customer service, I recieved prompt and informative responses.

I will recommend my friends to try OPC as well.