About us
Cogwheel isn’t a chain and it isn’t a hobby shed. It’s Sam and Leo, a rented unit on Mercer Street, and a lot of greasy tea mugs.
Co-owner · gears, wheels, e-bikes
Sam learned to true wheels in a busy city shop, then got tired of ten-minute job slots and customers treated like ticket numbers. She started Cogwheel so there’d be time to actually look at the bike.
Ask her about stubborn indexing, weird Dutch hub gears, or why your chain keeps dying every winter. She commutes on a cargo bike with a wobbly milk crate and refuses to replace it “until it really fails.”
Co-owner · brakes, builds, kids’ bikes
Leo spent years assembling boxed bikes in a warehouse and fixing race team pit bikes on weekends. He likes the neighbourhood pace better — and kids who ring the bell the entire time their training wheels come off.
He’s the one who’ll notice your brake lever is a finger-stretch too far and move it without making a fuss. Brings in homemade biscuits on Saturdays. Claims they’re “for customers” but eats half.
We opened in 2019 in a unit that used to sell vacuum cleaners. The first month we had one repair stand, a kettle, and a handwritten price list blu-tacked to the wall. The price list is nicer now. The kettle is the same.
We wanted a shop where you could lean the bike, explain the rattle, and get a straight answer — including “you don’t need that expensive part.” Most of our work is still walk-in commuters, school-run bikes, and people who finally got around to that soft back brake.
We’re not trying to be the biggest shop in town. We’re trying to be the one you trust when the chain snaps two streets from home.
What to expect when you visit — beyond the repair.
Two chairs that don’t match, a thermos that’s usually full, and magazines that may mention bikes from a previous decade. Stay if you like; we’ll text when it’s done if you’d rather not.
Short-term rack space while you’re in the shop. Don’t leave valuables. If you’re dropping off overnight, we tag it and roll it inside.
Before we replace something, we’ll point at the teeth, the pad, or the cable fray. Understanding your bike is part of the job — not an upsell script.
A £12 adjust beats a £120 part when the adjust will do. We’ll say which is which.
Happy to show you how to fix a puncture at the stand. Not offended if you just want it done.
Rusty shoppers, fancy road bikes, kids’ balance bikes, cargo haulers. No attitude about what you ride.
If you’re stuck within a few streets with a busted chain, call. We’ll often walk over with a master link.
Even if the bike’s fine. We’re usually happy to answer a quick fit or pressure question.