As part of a regular monthly feature supported by 2XU (www.2xu.co.uk), Tri247 is going to be going up and down the country introducing you to the shops and staff that work hard to give you access to lots of triathlon goodies! So, if you haven’t been to your local shop this is the ideal opportunity to find out a bit more about them and pop in and say hello!

This month we are in North London. meeting the boys at Bike and Run.

Bike and Run have been established for a number of years and have been servicing the sport of triathlon since 2001 as it has grown from a minority sport that nobody had heard of to an Olympic sport being practiced by many thousands.They have experienced staff that compete at all levels and distances of the sport and will happily assist with any information and advice you require, you don't even have to buy anything!

Give them a call or drop into the shop in East Finchley.

Steve and Nick, see above, started the business in 2001 after getting fed up with working in the City and not being able to find any decent bike shops in the area. They have four staff; one mountain biker, two roadies/triathletes and one ice hockey player who also rides a bike!

Their most expensive bike to date was only £5,500 which was an off-the-peg Cannondale with Campagnolo Record and SRM cranks. The most expensive, and lightest, in the shop is a Bianchi 928 SL with SRAM Red and Zipp 202 wheels priced at £5,000 and weighing just 13.2lb.

Brands stocked include: 2XU, Altura, Asics, Avid, Bianchi, Blue70, Bontrager, Brooks saddles, Campagnolo, Cannondale, Cat Eye, Cervelo, Chris King, Cinelli, Continental, De Feet, De Marchi, DIDA, Dolan, Elite, Fizik, FSA, Fulcrum, Garmin, Giro, Gore, High5, Hilly, Hutchinson, Ironman, Isaac, ITM, Lightweight, Limar, Look, Mavic, Met, Michelin, Northwave, Nuun, Orbea, Orca, Polar, Powerbar, Powertap, Profile, San Marco, Saucony, Schwalbe, Selle Italia, Shimano, Sidi, SIS, Speedplay, SRAM, Time, Tufo, Vittoria, Zipp

Both the owners had competed in triathlon and decided that a combined triathlon and bike shop was the way forward, we think they made a good decision! The shop sponsors a few individual athletes in triathlon along with the Optima Racing Team and also Tri London, their local club. They also have their own racing team/club Bike and Run London, the elite riders of which competed in the 2007 UK Premier Calendar series of races.

Of particular note is Stuart McGowan who, at 54, is a world class athlete who won his category at the World Long Course Duathlon in 2007. The picture shows him in action at the Cambridge Triathlon.

For other shops in this series, see:

• Primera
• Sigma Sport

For other shops in this series, see:

• Southfork Cycles
• StrideUK
• TriSport Coaching UK
• Runaround Sports and Health
• Total Fitness Bath (TFB)
• Royles
• Total Fitness Nottingham (TFN)
• Bicycleworks
• Primera
• Sigma Sport