RashThings can get really complicated when you want to buy bikes & accessories especially when you are living in a country like Jordan. This is no secret especially when you consider that the world of bikes is so complex that you cannot even imagine buying a bike that fits your needs specifically putting aside all the drama that we get from the customs and taxes department from importing equipment in general into the country (story of our lives).
Generally speaking, I rely mostly on the cycling stores for benefitting from complicated maintenance issues, cleaning and buying simple accessories such as lights, tubes, forks or other simple equipment that you might generally need. On the other hand, as your cycling needs become more and more complicated you are probably better off importing things from abroad as you can’t imagine any store in Jordan to have such equipment in stock. A piece of advice if you are starting to get into cycling is to get your first bike from Amman in support for our local bike shops as they really need and deserve the support. This is exactly why I like to opt to do my maintenance and cleaning at the cycling stores as we really need to support them as much as they can support us (cyclists are a minority in Jordan) too. Im going to keep updating the list of stores as soon as I discover new spots in and out of Amman:-
Cycling Jordan
The most professional, trustworthy and honest store in Jordan. Run by Sarri AlHusseini who you can be rest assured that you can leave your expensive equipment at his place for months & months without them being tampered with. This store generally stocks Scott road and mountain bikes from the entry to the medium level range. If you buy anything from this store you will never regret as Scotts are generally great but also you will get some amazing customer care in return which is worth every penny.
Maintenance is usually done by Ali an Iraqi employee who has been exposed to all sorts of bike problems possible. What’s great about him is that he is not hesitant to sometimes admit that he doesn’t know what to do with a complex problem and can then revert to Sarri who is even more experienced with complex issues and can really help you out.
Cycling Jordan also arranges cycling races like the Arabian Epic mountain biking race which is taken over a period of time (I think a week) and the 100km cycling challenge (road bike race) alongside the Dead Sea in December of every year. They can also arrange support for your long training rides or even guide tourists for a whatever mountain biking trip around Jordan.
Pros:-
- Great brands.
- Feels like home.
- High quality maintenance & expertise.
- Great bike clean.
- Sarri the owner is genuinely an honest hard working person who you can completely trust.
Cons:-
- You will spend all day over there to get something done.
My personal rating 5 Stars vs 4.6 on google.
Nader Bikes
You can get lucky by going to this place as it sometimes has a stack of different random equipment on display that might be considered as a good catch from someone who wants to sell his used equipment. Usually doesn’t stock a good variety of bikes in general but you can find quite a huge stack of random cheap Chinese cycling wear which might be of good use sometimes.
It’s also good to note that the owner Nader is a cycling legend in Jordan and has a ton of experience as he used to be the Jordanian cycling federation coach and hence is very well experienced in terms of maintenance. The shop also arranges cycling tours for amateur cyclists who looking to start cycling in Jordan.
Pros:-
- You can find cheap quality stuff that does the job.
- Could get lucky catches at times.
Cons:-
- Not the best of places, but not the worst.
- Cheap low quality stacks of equipment coming from China.
My personal rating 3 stars vs 4.4 on google.
Bike Rush
Honestly I think this place is going to be very hard to review as you can definitely say that as a store it probably has the best presentation in terms of bikes, store cleanliness, maintenance, equipment and fancy tour or support car services. Going into this place you can sometimes find some very nice road/mountain bikes from all different ranges (carbon, aluminum sometimes titanium and electronic shifting at times). There is one major caveat and that is the place is so over priced that honestly it feels like the store is just taking the piss or ripping off its customers. For that reason, I would never buy anything from this place not unless absolutely necessary as I would probably feel like such a snob if I even put one JD down at this place and the employees over there make you feel as if they are using you.
On a positive note, you are probably best to use their services if you want to arrange a long training ride as their fleet of cars are of the best quality at the moment but obviously at a price that no one but diplomats can afford.
Pros:-
- High end bikes can be found.
- Support cars available.
Cons:-
- Way too expensive.
- The attitude that you get is annoying (funny to see that they have a 4.9 average rating. I wonder how he worked his way through it).
My personal rating 3.5 stars vs 4.9 on google.
Olympiad Sports
This is a three floor place that stocks everything you can think of related to sports including gym equipment such as benches, weights, kettlebells etc… to swim suits, swim skins wetsuits, to bikes and many more. In terms of bikes your not going to find the best bike but sometimes you can find some entry level Chinese brands that are not so bad (Java). In fact most of the stuff that they stock is Chinese of ok quality. My favorite thing about this place is you can find nice accessories at times such a helmets (with built in lites), lights, pumps etc.. that are roughly of ok quality that does the job.
Pros:-
- Wide range of bike accessories that are affordable.
- If you’r looking for very basic low quality bikes.
Cons:-
- They need a crash course on how to deal with their customers in store.
My personal rating 4 stars vs 4.1 stars on google.
North Cycling
This store is a relatively new store located in Irbid. I have never been there but I guess it will be a basic store that provides fun amateur tours and basic maintenance needs. I don’t have much to say about it other than the owner used to be a University student who spent most his time working at the maintenance station in Cycling Jordan back in the old days and he was a fun good chap that knew what he was doing.
