Wayne,
When I was in Birmingham back in 2008, I drove about 30 minutes to Derby to visit Mercian. He runs a bike shop in town and his fabrication shop is not too far away. Since you're there, you also must visit the Brooks factory in Birmingham as well.
Enjoy.
Mike Schmidt Millington, NJ USA
On 1/15/10 5:48 PM, "Wayne Bingham" <veloclassique@gmail.com> wrote:
> I will be in the UK the first week of February, and I'm looking for
> recommendations for interesting bike shops, or bike related things to
> visit. I will be primarily in two locations, the Midlands/Birmingham area
> (actually Leamington then Kidderminster) and in Theale near Reading.
> Unfortunately, I probably won't have a chance to get in to London (other
> than to and from Heahtrow). Also, if there are CR members in or near these
> areas that would be interested in visiting, I'd be happy to meet-up as
> schedules allow, especially if beer is involved. My wife is there on
> business for the week, so I'm somewhat constricted by her schedule, but
> other than that I'm pretty flexible. We do have good friends in
> Kidderminster, and will be there for the weekend before flying back home on
> Sunday the 7th.
>
> Thanks in advance for any recommendations.
>
> Wayne