I'm shocked that there are shops in Manchester that know about Nudie jeans, let alone a single shop…read morethat carries them. Are there Mancunians with that large a wad of cash burning a whole through their purses? Impressive! A chill, hipster-y gent sold the boy a super cute pair of Vans (casual shoes that aren't a shade of brown: success!) and explained the origins of the noteworthy bicycle saddles hanging up behind the till. Luxury skinny jeans and posh gear for your fixie... I mean, what else could a Williamsburg-wannabe desire, right?

Good style never comes cheap. This is especially true if you're a man. Most clothing boutiques and…read morehigh street stores cater for women and it's rare you find a store like this that offers so many unique quality items for the discerning young gentleman. This is the only store my boyfriend comes to for his trousers (in particular he Edwin brand of jeans) simply because you can't find them anywhere else. From Barbour to Oliver Spencer, Levis to YMC, they have such a well selected collection of labels that convey the best in British understated style.

In my ongoing quest for a buff beefcake body I thought it was about time I fixed myself up with…read moresome super fly trainers to match my swanky new gym membership... seeing as the previous shoes I had really were not made for anything more than fashion and my ankles were buckling badly! So the good news is that with my wife's direction I made the visit down to Up&Running to go on their in house treadmill and video set up to get a full analysis of what sort of shoes I need for the way my legs move. Wow - what service, after trying about 5 different shoes on and being filmed each time - I found the perfect pair. Maybe slightly more than I was hoping to pay at £80 but they did throw in a free shirt, shorts and socks which was cool so at least I'm now Up&Running (if you excuse the pun...) A really friendly bunch of guys who were helping me and a very professional service. This is one thing I was pleased to not just do online as they really measured me properly and made sure I had the right ones before leaving the store. Definitely check them out if you're needing new kicks for the gymnasium!

Have been meaning to review these guys for a while ever since I bought my trainers here…read more Unfortunately due to having size 8.5 feet I'm pretty constrained when it comes to shoe choice in general and I in particular had very limited colour options which means I now have some horrible 'raspberry' coloured trainers. On the plus side they are good quality ASICS which the helpful staff member dug out of the sale rack - says a lot that they would point me in the direction of discounted shoes to ensure I had the best fit (8.5 being in scarce supply on the full price options). Overall there's limited stock here and I was a bit disappointed I didn't get more advice and use of the running machine to identify a suitable pair, which was basically because there was only one staff member on duty on a quiet afternoon when several people unexpectedly turned up at once (contrast my experience with Jonny's - it might be worth going back another time if you turn up and it's busy). Still you can't go too wrong with ASICS and I noticed when I popped back recently to get a sports bra that of the limited selection they have of bras they also basically just stock the best brands. So while the stock they offer is limited they do seem to have selected the best available, as far as I can make out. Again the (different) staff were extremely helpful and friendly and not at all intimidating to the beginner/intermediate level runner. It's also a very convenient location on Deansgate so easy to drop by if you're in town.

Lab sports is a pretty handy place if you are a sports hobbiest and recurring customer. They offer…read morean advantage card free that entitles you to year round discounts and 25% off every £250 you spend at the store. They are also the only unofficial store to carry Cardiff City's footballing merchandise, from Kits to training wear as far as I'm aware. And no Liverpool/Man Utd gear, great! They also do running gear, shoes, Rugby and other footballing goods from what I can remember. The store is brightly lit and you can actually navigate between the products unlike other sporting goods shops. It's not as cheap as discount sports stores but this is for someone who is serious about their sport.

It can and is often the case that with chain stores, of any nature, you lose identity. The brand…read morename just becomes the same old same old store and you get a bog standard experience, whether you like it or not, that you come to expect. Well Lululemon is different! Much different in fact, because although you are still shopping with a vastly successful Canadian athletic apparel company, you gain a sense of connection to the place. They do an unbeatable job of community engagement and offer loads of free activities and educational classes for people, not bad from a shop that sells Yoga pants. They do have a fantastic range of athletic wear and it is by far the best quality products I have ever worn. I've had a pair of their shorts for 3 years and they look and feel brand new. What I love most about this place though is the social vibe the staff exert. Whether you're going in looking to spend £1000 on leggings or just fancy a chat with a friendly face, they are welcoming and will invite you back for a coffee and a natter whilst you are amazed by the excellent products on offer!

This is one of the many shops like these in the UK and one which specialises in running…read more It has a massive selection of different styles of running trainers, clothing for men and women. I like going to this place for my sportswear because it is a lot cheaper than other sports stores like JD or JJB. They have major sports brands here like Adidas, Nike and Reebok so you know you are getting good quality stuff. This shop has been running for over 36 years so you know it is a good place. The staff are excellent here and will help you in whatever you are looking for. In particular running shoes to suit your shape etc. Take a look at their website for more information and to order goods too.

It's called Run North West now btw. Excellent service which…read moreyou just don't get off the internet. Went to the trouble of getting the right size for my daughter. Was £1 more expensive than the cheapest on eBay, no brainier really. Highly recommended

Simon One is a small store in the Middleton Shopping Centre, in the same store as ISL, but they…read moreremain different shops, despite sharing a space which you can just cut through. They are owned by Loofe's Clothing, who have 4 stores in the Manchester area, which all have different names, this includes two stores in Bury, one in Warrington and this store in Middleton. They have a small range of sports-wear including trainers and football shirts of Manchester's major club, and a club from Trafford, who just share the Manchester half of the name. This store is only quite small, and with the new addition of SportsDirect and a similar store across the way, Branded and an increased number of clothing/fashion shops in Middleton, including a relocated Daniel Christian Menswear, there isn't really a lot here to look at. The staff seem okay, but they don't seem as helpful and as knowledgeable as larger stores, such as Clarks in the shoes department for example. The branding of this store is also a little strange, with the company owning 4 stores but having them all under different names, meaning people probably wouldn't know they are visiting a store owned by Simon One, if the go to a different branch and despite being a well known name to Residents of Middleton, if you ask anyone else, they simply wouldn't have a clue and brand recognition is important to succeed, even if there is only 4 stores in 3 towns, this could increase sales and people wanting to go to stores in the whole brand. Overall, this store over time has been getting worse and worse as the competition has been growing in Middleton and getting better, and better. At one point in time, this store could have got 3 stars but as competition improves, sadly this store doesn't and now compared to the rest of Middleton, unless a major revamp happens it just is another unneeded shop, and sadly deserves a single one star.

Adidas on Market Street is a large store, the store looks fairly good and modern and has a decent…read moreselection of Adidas products, as you enter the store you can see a lot of Manchester United branding (As a City fan I'm going to ignore that), as well as a smaller selection from other Adidas elite teams including Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Arsenal. They have tried to make the store look as good as possible, in terms of facilities they have a printing area to customise football shirts and products in-store, the more popular players have been pre-printed. The worst part about this store for me is the service, I came in to do a return, dI originally asked for an exchange, however, the product was out of stock but the store made it as hard as possible to get my money back. Despite telling the employee that I did not want to swap for a different item, he kept proceeding to tell me about other similar items they had, even though I made it clear that this product was for a friend, and I would not be able to guess what they wanted. After asking for a refund, I was offered a gift card... twice. Why is Adidas so desperate to keep ahold of my money? Eventually, I was told I could not have a refund unless I presented the original payment card, they are unable to do a remote refund and the physical card MUST be present. I did not have this on me, and the colleague or the manager (unapologetic and rude), also refused to refund me in other methods such as onto a different card, or in cash. I had the item, I had the receipt. Why does it matter which card the refund goes onto? Surely in this day and age, it must be possible to refund a transaction without the payment card being there? 2* - The service SUCKS at this Adidas concept store, I wouldn't feel confident getting a refund if something goes wrong and prices are often higher than buying it from other retailers compared to Adidas direct.

Everyone knows that the place to get the best sneakers is New York…read more If you can't afford a ticket to the big apple however, this Adidas store has a fantastic range of sneakers, training shoes, baseball boots and hi-tops. My personal favourites are the Tokio Hi and Superskate boots - which both happen to be 50% off in the current sale. If you already have enough pairs to open your own sneaker store, this outlet also stocks a wide range of stylish tees, sweaters, hoodies and cardigans - all of which seem designed for casual, everyday wear more than exercise. Since I think the most interesting forms of exercise are breakdancing, rollerskating, trampolining and free-running - I'm down with that!

JD Sports is another one of those places, I've seemed to have forgotten to review, I've visited…read morethis store multiple times since it opened around this time last year, inside the former WHSmith unit of the Manchester Arndale, although the store is larger having used the previous JD Sports unit of the mall. An expanded, modern branch of JD Sports in Manchester, to fit in to the brands identity and reputation in terms of stores was definitely needed, with the previous branches in town being nothing short of disappointing, an old, oddly shaped store (where this one used to be), a depressing store below another sports shop (in Halle Mall which also has been vacated to make way for food units) and a pop-up shop you could barely move in on Market Street (which was built during the renovation of this store before it opened) The store is quite large, and is perhaps one of my favourite sports shops in town, competing with another large store in Sports Direct, but this store for me is better because it is brighter and modern. The staff here seem friendly enough, but sometimes they have seen a little rude, for example I've visited this store a few times now just to buy a bag, as I like the style of bags JD Sports have for carrying my items, most of the time there's been no problem, but around once or twice now they've just plain refused and awkwardly left me to carry a bag which had completely ripped into two, with no apology or sympathy as it's "against rules." The slightly confusing way of picking up orders also lets the store down, you have to go to a different queue in the sports section, which I also found out after queuing in the regular till which was annoying, this should be clearer and I don't understand why it isn't possible to do everything at the same, one and "main" checkout. Most items in the store are priced reasonably, and there is a decent selection on offer, especially of trainers which JD Sports of course pride themselves in with the slogan "King of Trainers" A much-needed improvement has been delivered with this branch of JD Sports, although it certainly isn't without its flaws it is a nice, modern, large store and deserving of a three-star rating, issues with bag gate, occasional price issues with non-sale items and picking up online orders do let this store down, I also sometimes find the choice of music to also be a little tacky and let the store down too, and make it a place to run the hell away from, rather than go in to shop and look at the sportswear, so I feel only a three-star rating is possible for Manchester's JD Sports.

Great one stop shop for pretty much all major out door activities. Good range of equiptment, well…read morepriced and helpful staff on hand to assist you. They have a cycle surgery for maintainance and repairs to bikes. Good range of footwear and kit for the snow. It's a good idea to call ahead should you be after something specific just to check it's in stock.