Halfords

This is a nice big Halfords, with a huge cycle and biking area upstairs. I can’t comment on Tasha’s advice on the biking section, as at the age of 21, I have still yet to learn how to ride a bike! Shocking I know, but it would have just been embarrassing to try and learn at the age of 16, and its only been recently that I’ve had the confidence to learn to ride. But now I don’t see the point seeing as I can drive!
Aaaaaaaaaanyway, Tasha is almost definitely right, so I wouldn’t worry about this part of Halfords, but the rest of the store is pretty handy. They have an obscene collection of parofenalia for your car, whether its minor repairs, full on pimping or a revamped sound system you’re after. They even have a bunch of super technical car guides for each model that I reckon may be rattling around the bottom of my Dad’s stocking this Christmas. They also have something obscene, like 4,000 colours of car paint to remove scratches from paint work. They also offer professional services with selecting and fitting parts, and one of my friends who worked at a Halfords went on to become a mechanic, so I tend to think of them as being reliable.
There are all sorts of other tools and DIY stuff here, with a massive parts section at the back, meaning you ought to be able to find what your looking for. So far as the more intense and scary power tools are concerned, Machine Mart may be more the place to go, as they seem a little more professional in what they stock. That said, you could do a lot worse than Halfords.

Parts stores have such a distinctive smell — one I associate with complete and utter boredom. Halford has all possible ‘part’ themed sections as well as the appropriate smell. I tried to start in the camping section, but it seemed to be mislabelled, as the shelves only contained more car stuff — nothing of interest.
Other areas included car seats, tires, paint, satellite navigation systems, audio, decorative accessories and the huge selection of bicycles on the first floor. Signs advertised various services: fixing scratches and dents and installing pretty much anything offered in store.
A few random sale items were available near the front — Hot Wheels toys and fuzzy dice, for example. Real high quality stuff. Well, thankfully, I won’t have to return until I buy a car.

I paid around £160 for a bike in the sale here a couple of years ago. I took it to the free repairer at the university of sussex (the bike doctor, find him in ‘health week’ annually!) when a few things weren’t working quite right. He said that the bike had been put together really sloppily, the brakes dangerously so, and never to buy from Halfords again! The bike got nicked not long after (in the evening at Churchill Square if you’re interested) and I went to G Whizz cycles, which the bike repairer had reccomended. Their prices are reasonable, there’s a good choice and they’re happy to fix and adjust anything that goes wrong. If you want a new bike, buy one through an newspaper advert as you’ll often find Halfords buys that people have never used. If not, buy second hand — much better value for money! I certainly will never be returning to Halfords.