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Bike storage facilities

Canterbury is a city where cycling is growing more and more popular. Our bike shop is situated in the Whitfriars development by the bus station. There’s ample bike racks at the store and even a bike storage facility where you can securely leave your bike inside with lockers available for your cycling gear too.

Bike shop, bike hire

Another great feature of Cycles UK Canterbury is their new fleet of hire bikes. You can hire a Specialized Globe at the store which is extremely useful for students and tourists in the city.

Where are they? When are they open? What do they stock?

Cycles UK Canterbury
Whitefriars
St George Lane
Canterbury
Kent
CT1 2SY

Opening times:
Monday: 9.30am - 5.30pm
Tuesday - Saturday: 9.00am - 5.30pm

Brands:
Marin, GT, Specialized, Mongoose, Wilier, Whyte, Wethepeople, Haro, Dawes and Raleigh

Cycles UK are a finalist in the High Street Chain Category

We are very pleased to announce we’ve been selected as a finalist in the 2010 Bike Biz Awards for the High Street Chain category for the second year running!

The Bike Biz Awards are an annual event recognising the great work from across the cycling industry. There’s a lot of good, exciting businesses in the cycling world so recognition like this is more than nice to have.

The awards are being held in London on the 6th October ahead of the Cycle Show.

Jamie Staff helps out with the sprint challenge

On the 16/17/18th of July we attended the Kent county show, a massive event with many thousands of visitors. Cycles UK were on the KCC stand in a large marquee along with British Cycling and Cyclo Park a massive cycling complex which is to be built in the Gravesend area.

British Cycling brought along three Wattbikes and a large plasma screen and special guest was Jamie Staff British Olympic Sprint gold medalist and pro BMX rider. Jamie was with us for the first two days and set a time on the Wattbike for a 250 meter sprint which the public could then try to beat.The fastest time would win a £1000 Raleigh Airlite 400 Donated by Cycles Uk along with various other prizes and giveaways. The competition created a massive amount of interest with hundreds of people trying their luck from all walks of life, young children to OAP’s!

Jamie Staff sets the time to beat

On the first day Jamie who had flown in from California where he now lives and works as a coach set a fantastic time of 12.44 seconds for the 250 meter sprint and the competition was on! The sprint requires an explosive effort where you go all out for 15 to 20 seconds and some very fast times were being set in the 13 to 15 second bracket, then came along Fireman Mike Piper who had a blistering sprint and set a time of 12.71 seconds with Jamie cheering him on, a fantastic time and one that stood until the last day!

On day three along came Pat Sykes a rugby player from Dover, over six feet tall and looking very fit. We new he would post a good time but we were in for a shock! After a massive effort with the whole crowd cheering him on he recorded a time of 12.22 seconds beating Olympic champion Jamies time and surely the winner? Another shock was to come, our very own Carl Alexandre from Maidstone who wandered in with his family and was persuaded to have a go. Carl put a massive effort in and recorded a stunning time of 12.33 again beating Olympic champion Jamies time but not quite taking top spot (he wouldn’t have been allowed to win the bike) well done Carl!

Jamie Staff's time of 12.44 seconds is beaten by Pat Sykes

The YMCA approached us at Cycles UK to see if we could supply four tandem cycles that they could hire out to their members and the public.
They had looked at many companies and settled with us as we were the most helpful and professional with all their enquiries.

The tandems were ordered and Bob at head office did a great job of getting them built in time for us to deliver them to the Hawker centre in Kingston along with helmets, locks, pumps, repair kits, handle bar bags and safety pad sets.

On Monday 12.07.10 we loaded four shiny new tandems into the sprinter and area manager Mark and Karl from Grays made the long drive to Kingston.

As part of the service Mark and Karl gave a presentation to the the staff that are to look after the bikes on maintenance, safety, and how to check the bikes over/what to look out for when they return from hire. We also gave some advice on security, how to lock the bikes and recording of frame numbers. They were all very grateful for the experience we passed on, having successfully offered a bike hire service in our stores for many years

If the project proves to be a success they are looking at offering the tandem hire service at other YMCA sites so we may be seeing lot’s more tandems on the roads

All in all a great day!

This Sunday 20th June is the London to Brighton bike ride in aid of the British Heart Foundation.

If you’re getting ready for the bike ride and are in the maidstone area, you could certainly benefit from a visit to our Maidstone store who are offering FREE safety checks this week.

“It’s important to make sure your bike is safe and ready for a ride like the London to Brighton. We’re also stocking plenty of tyres and recommend swapping any mountain bike tyres for semi slick or slick ones to give you a better ride on the roads down to Brighton.”

Cycles UKs Maidstone manager Dean

Check out our stores page for more info on our Maidstone store and visit them for your free safety check before the London to Brighton starts this Sunday.

Bill Griffin, from Watling Road, Norwich will be getting in the saddle alongside hundreds of participants at this year’s Norwich 50/100 mile ride on Sunday 6th June to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.

Bill, 45, works for Cycles UK and is a keen cyclist; he is also a heart patient and has survived three heart attacks in as many years. It was 2007 when Bill suffered his first heart attack at only 43, he recalls:

”I had been suffering from a virus which turned into pneumonia and brought on a heart attack. When the doctors investigated they told me I needed 2 stents fitted. Within just a few weeks I suffered another heart attack and had to have another stent implanted. I was doing ok and by 2008 my wife and I were off on holiday to Antigua. But three weeks after our holiday in November 2008 I had my 3rd heart attack. This time the damage meant I needed open heart surgery and I underwent a double bypass.”

Eighteen months on and Bill is fighting fit again. He will be taking on the Norwich 100 mile ride on Sunday 6th June. He added:

”I was never scared, I have worked in first aid for many years so I knew when I was having a heart attack but I never felt I was going to die. I am back doing what I love best; I am cycling all the time, back on track and feeling fine. I cannot wait to take on the Norwich 100 miles and try and complete the ride in 5 hours.”

If anyone would like to support Bill they can sponsor him at www.justgiving.com/billgriffin Cycles UK will be supporting the event and you can visit the store to find out more and to get some further inspiration from Bill!

The Norwich 50/100 starts from Norwich City centre in the Cathedral grounds, participants can choose from two routes, both providing fantastic views of pretty Norfolk villages and quiet country roads. Both routes head north to Reepham, the 50 mile riders then loop back past Blickling Hall while the 100-milers head up to the coast and then east taking in the broads before returning to the finish in the Cathedral grounds.

By putting your pedal power into action and taking part in the Norwich Bike Ride, which aims to raise over £65,000 you will help the BHF save and improve the lives of the millions of men, women and children affected by heart disease.

Tacye Blest, Regional Events Organiser said:

“The Norwich Bike Ride is a challenging and popular event, which promises to be a truly memorable day for all who take part. We are urging the people of Norfolk to get on their bikes and sign up, all funds raised help ensure the BHF can continue its vital and lifesaving work.”
We strongly recommend you pre-register to avoid disappointment. The entry fee is £17, to register, visit www.bike-events.com or call the events hotline on 0808 100 2109 or eastevents@bhf.org.uk

Riders get kitted up for the ride

Last Sunday 16th May a record 147 riders set out from St Martins Square Basildon all taking part in a 40 mile bike ride in aid of Little Havens Hospice.

At Cycles UK we were keen to support the event and our Basildon store did a great job with getting the word out. The store took up residence in Basildons Eastgate shopping centre and encouraged entry by having posters and entry forms always on hand. Our other stores in the local area also supported the cause by displaying posters.

Cycles UK mechanics help a participant make sure his bike is ready to ride

On the day we set up camp in St Martins square to be on hand for any last minute problems the riders may have prior to riding 40 miles taking in Basildon, Billericay and Brentwood. Council chairman Mo Larkin set the riders on their way. Amongst these riders were some Cycles UK staff.

Mo Larkin listens to the pre-ride announcements

Basildon & Brentwood 40 mile bike ride

Only 4 weeks until 3rd Basildon Rotary Bike ride

There’s not much time left to sign up for this years Basildon & Brentwood 40 mile bike ride. The ride this year is in aid of Little Havens Children’s Hospice.

The guys from our Basildon Store will be setting up camp in Basildon’s Eastgate Shopping centre this weekend where we will have entry and sponsorship forms for you to pick up.

Sunday 16th May - St Martin’s Square, Basildon - 10.30am - £15 Entry fee

Other ways to enter the Basildon & Brentwood 40 mile bike ride:

• Via the Basildon Rotary website
• Download a sponsorship form here
• Pop into a local Cycles UK store and pick up an entry form

You can check out the route below. Cycles UK are proud to be sponsoring this years bike ride and we hope to see you there!

This had a total of 420 bikes on it.

Model pictured : Chamber - £309.99

The Models which have arrived are:
>Blaze Pink - £159.99
>Logo Gun metal - £169.99
>Logo Orange - £169.99
>Program Green - £199.99
>Program Rust - £199.99
>Culture blue - £229.99
>Culture prism - £229.99
>Thrive - £279.99
>Pitcrew 16″ - £199.99
>Subject Black - £179.99
>Subject White - £179.99
>Capture Maroon - £199.99
>Capture silver - £199.99
>Article - £229.99
>Chamber - £309.99

Were not expecting these to be around long so buy while you can.

In support of the Tour of the Weald, Cycles UK Maidstone are offering a free bike safety check (worth £20) to any rider who can present their entry form at the store, right up until the ride which starts on Sunday 4th April.

The safety check includes:

• Check all nuts and bolts for correct torque
• Check wheels spin freely
• Check condition of tyres and inflate to correct pressure
• Check bottom bracket for wear and movement
• Assess condition and any requirement of gear and braking systems
• Check headset for wear and movement
• Check transmission for wear
• List any recommendations

Velocity-events.co.uk have organized the Tour of the Weald bike ride to help raise money for The Prostate Cancer charity.

The 100km ride starts in the centre of Staplehurst on Sunday 4th April and travels through the heart of the Kentish Weald with some brand new climbs, fast descents, country lanes and picturesque scenery.

The entry fee for the event is £12 if pre-registered and £15 for on-the-day entries.

You can find more information on the event by clicking here.

You can register for the event either online or by printing a downloadable PDF and posting it.

There is a route map available HERE in a PDF format.

I have also created the route on Mapmyride.co.uk so you can also view the route interactively and if you wish, download the route data to your sat nav or phone.