Useful Links

West Berkshire Spokes > Useful Links

ROAD SAFETY FOR CYCLISTS

  • Some simple road safety advice about how to cycle in traffic | cyclinguk.org

LOCAL CYCLING INFORMATION

  • West Berkshire Council – Details of local cycling events, cycle maps of the main urban areas, leisure ride leaflets and details of the West Berkshire Cycle Forum | westberks.gov.uk

HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE

  • Love Clean Streets – Report any problems you find (e.g. potholes, drainage, defective street lights, overhanging vegetation, etc) via their website or smart phone apps | lovecleanstreets.com
  • Fill That Hole – Developed by Cycling UK, Fill That Hole is the easy way to report potholes and road defects. Report problems affecting roads, cycle routes, and public rights of way via the website or smart phone apps | fillthathole.org.uk

ONLINE CYCLING JOURNEY PLANNERS / RIDES / APPS

  • Cycle Streets – National cycling journey planner that uses OpenStreetMap. Provides routes based on ‘fastest’, ‘quietest’ or ‘balanced’ criteria, with journey times tailored to your cycling speed | cyclestreets.net
  • Komoot – Journey planner for on and off-road cycling, which includes information like surface, difficulty, distance and elevation profile.Provides turn-by-turn voice navigation and offline maps for when you are cycling in remote areas with poor mobile signal | komoot.com
  • Let’s Ride – British Cycling has also teamed up with HSBC UK to create Let’s Ride, a website that promotes HSBC UK City Rides / Breeze Rides, as well as providing a platform for Social Cycling Groups and Cycling Buddies to organise their own rides. (Check out the West Berkshire SPOKES rides!) Also includes over 1,000 free cycle routes chosen and risk-assessed by British Cycling | letsride.co.uk

NATIONAL CYCLING ORGANISATIONS

  • British Cycling – Inspiring participation in cycling as sport, recreation and transport through achieving worldwide success in cycle sport | britishcycling.org.uk
  • Cycling UK – Promoting all forms of cycling, protecting the interests of existing and would-be cyclists, and inspiring people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to discover the joys of cycling. | cyclinguk.org
  • Sustrans – A leading UK charity promoting and enabling smarter travel choices, including cycling | sustrans.org.uk

LOCAL CYCLING ORGANISATIONS

  • Newbury Road Club – Supports all forms of on-road riding, promoting competitive events. The club offers members the opportunity to take part in different cycling activities or just to talk with like minded people. There are regular Sunday club runs for a range of abilities from 20-60 miles. | newburyrc.co.uk
  • Newbury Velo – A fully inclusive club that believes in offering opportunities from total beginners through to those racing at elite level. From friendly no drop group rides to pitting yourself against the clock in a ten mile time trial; from children’s coaching and family days out to velodrome taster days. If you can do it on two wheels, they support it. They believe in equal opportunities regardless of age, sex, ethnic origin and disability | newburyvelo.cc
  • Buckled Wheel Cycle Club – A group of like-minded off road riders. They meet most Tuesdays and Thursdays and ride about 15/20 miles, over common land and bridleways. The existing ride members all share basic riding skills but nobody is a racer or aspiring to be competitive, therefore the attitude of the rides is one of enjoyment and socialising. | buckledwheel.webs.com

BIKEABILITY TRAINING

LOCAL BIKE SHOPS

  • *Banjo Cycles, 4 & 5, Norman House, Hambridge Rd, Newbury RG14 5XA. Tel: 01635 43186 | banjocycles.com
  • *Bikelux, Motorlux Mazda, Ampere Road, Newbury, RG14 2AE. Tel: 01635 48113 | bikelux.co.uk
  • Pankhurst Cycles, 10, Horseshoe Business Park, Pangbourne, RG8 7JW. Tel: 0118 9842823 | pankhurstcycles.co.uk
  • *Specialized Concept Store, 3 & 7 Norman House, Hambridge Road, Newbury, RG14 5XA. Tel: 01635 33736 | specializedconceptstore.co.uk/newbury-store
  • Velospeed (e-bike retailer), Unit 10, Frilsham Home Farm,Yattendon, Reading RG18 0XT. Tel: 01635 579304 | velospeed.co.uk

(*Spokes members get 10% discount on bikes and parts at these bike shops.)

LOCAL BIKE SERVICING / REPAIR SPECIALISTS

  • Jim the Bike Guy – Cytech accredited, fully insured mobile bicycle technician, repairing and servicing bikes in the Newbury, Thatcham, Hungerford and Marlborough area. Tel: 07500 505175 | Email: jim@jimthebikeguy.com | jimthebikeguy.com
  • Meadvale-Bays – mobile bike servicing with free local collection and delivery. Tel: 07818 400440 | Email: john@meadvale-bays.com | meadvale-bays.com
  • Rokit Cyclery – mobile bike servicing with free local collection and delivery. Tel: 07920 578296 | Email: Cristian@RokitCyclery.co.uk | rokitcyclery.co.uk

CYCLE MAINTENANCE TIPS

  • Made Good – This excellent site proclaims itself to be the web’s best bicycle maintenance & repair resource. It certainly has a wealth of useful tutorials and videos that cover a huge range of bike maintenance tasks from the mundane and simple to the more unusual and complex. | madegood.org
  • Bike Doctor – Maintaining, servicing or fixing your bike can be daunting. Bike Doctor provides step-by-step instructions for fixing any sort of mechanical problem. It’s designed to be easy to use, with clear instructions that even a complete beginner can follow. Android and iPhone versions are available. | bikedoctorapp.com
  • Bike Repair – Detailed pictures and easy-to-follow guides make this app a great tool for those who want to take care of their own bicycle maintenance. All the instructions are explained in plain English, rather than nerdy bike speak. Android and iPhone versions are available. | bikerepairapp.com