Cycleshack's Blog

Cycleshack Christmas Day Swim

cycleshack — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 03:10:27 +0000

On Christmas Day morning it’s traditional for Steve Ranger, one of the Cycleshack Directors, to go for a dip in the sea wherever he is. This year it was Seaford beach.. and it was pretty chilly – although that’s the general idea. This was the brainchild of his father in law who also came in as he has been doing for 40 years in Exmouth, Devon. 73 year old Ken Cunningham is a legend in Exmouth for starting the idea, originally as a New Year’s Day swim – he’s been in every year since.

Why not do your own repairs?

cycleshack — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 10:26:47 +0000

Obviously we’d love you to come into the Cycleshack to get your bike repaired, but often there are simple things you can do at home. You just need a few basic tools, and this can often save you a lot of hassle.

For those happy to give it a try there are various websites. Park Tool are one of the biggest bike tool manufacturers in the US, and they have a great site which even features a bike map at http://www.parktool.com/repair/bikemap.asp – navigate around your bike for advice on repairing and maintaining the various sections.

Bicycle Tutor have a video for everything you need on your bike – for example how to clean a chain: http://bicycletutor.com/chain-lubrication/

Don’t get your bike stolen

cycleshack — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 10:02:47 +0000

We often think we won’t get our bikes stolen; so did David Cameron a couple of years ago. The advice is obvious; avoid dark alleys, always lock your bike and so on. Here’s a video outlining the basics for you just as a reminder.

Take your kids on a bike party!

cycleshack — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:17:33 +0000

At Cycleshack we are keen for kids to get out on bikes, get healthy and enjoy themselves in the countryside. We are associated with The Trekking Company, a local outdoor pursuits company who are one of the biggest in the counry. They own Deers Leap Bikes, a 240 acre mountain bike park in East Grinstead. Check out www.deersleapbikes.co.uk

One great way to do this is to organise a biking birthday party – you can include other activities too, such as the ‘Rock and Ride’ package which also includes scrambling around the local rocks. These days are great fun and are suitable for all ages from about 7 upwards. Give it a try!

Improve your MTB skills

cycleshack — Sat, 22 May 2010 14:52:18 +0000

Improve your mountain biking skills

We found this website with a whole series of mountain biking skills videos: http://www.bikeskills.com/blog/?page_id=422

Here’s an example:

The Guardian Cycling Blog

cycleshack — Sat, 22 May 2010 14:42:23 +0000

Check out the Guardian’s cycling blog – there’s a wealth of information on it and we wouldn’t want to steal any..

try: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/series/bike-blog

The Bike Tree

cycleshack — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 12:11:09 +0000

Spotted a great idea courtesy of The Guardian (guess which paper we read at The Cycleshack!) – for storing bikes for commuters in Japan..

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/video/2009/nov/05/bicycles-japan-bike-tree

Some great MTB videos

cycleshack — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:14:22 +0000

Just perusing the newspapers online today when I noticed the following link to some good mountain bike videos from The Guardian; check out: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/mar/08/mountain-biking-youtube-video

Live Long and Cycle

cycleshack — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:48:28 +0000

We just came across this article at www.roadbikerider.com – basically discussing the recent articles in most papers about research regarding the length of your telomeres:

How long are your telomeres? The longer, the better — and your cycling lifestyle is probably keeping them lengthy.

Not sure what a telomere is? I wasn’t either, but I was happy to find out. Here’s the deal: German researchers found that 50-year-old men who ran 50 miles (80 km) per week had telomeres that were almost the same length as those of much younger national-team runners, and more than 40% longer than those of inactive men in their 50s.
“This is astounding because shortened telomeres represent aging,” says cycling physician Gabe Mirkin. He explains that the active ends of the genetic material (chromosomes) in cells are covered with a layer of proteins called telomeres.
For more of this related to cycling, visit: http://www.roadbikerider.com/

Low Cost servicing

cycleshack — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:04:52 +0000

We’re offering £25 servicing for January and February if anyone’s interested… check out http://www.lewescycleshack.co.uk/cycle-repairs-and-servicing/special-service-offer.aspx

Ideal if you’re thinking you’ll get the bike ready just before spring – at exactly the same time as everyone else… beat the rush!