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news
Bike Shack Leyton Christmas Makeover YouTube still.JPGVideo: London commuters' bikes get surprise Christmas makeover
A pair of London commuters got a pleasant surprise before Christmas when they returned to where they had parked their bikes to find them gift-wrapped, serviced, cleaned and with some brand new accessories.
Tom Preedy and Joe Bullock from Bike Shack Leyton turned Christmas elves to pimp up the unsuspecting owners’ bikes while they were off at their jobs, filming their handiwork, and the cyclists’ reactions when they returned, on hidden cameras.
Preedy told ITV London News: “We know that feeling when you are returning to your bike, hoping it is still there, hoping it still has it wheels, or a saddle to sit on. So we thought it would be cool if we could turn that apprehension into Christmas joy.”
If the video is anything to go by, the two owners welcomed the surprise – though knowing how attached cyclists get to their bike, and the familiarity that builds up over the years with the saddle, handlebar and pedals that are your physical connection with it, we can’t help wondering if others might have been less thrilled?
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- BIRMINGHAMisaDUMP 1 sec ago
So the collective noun for a group of cyclists is 'a hoard'?
- BIRMINGHAMisaDUMP 8 min 16 sec ago
Bro needs to be in primary position.
- Mathemagician 9 min 37 sec ago
To answer your question, yes you can sometimes feel the difference. Built a set of wheels for a friend and he installed them with new lightweight...
- Geordiepeddeler 6 hours 48 min ago
Cycling infrastructure does not force drivers to break the law, drivers are the reason they break the law, no one else.
- chrisonabike 7 hours 1 min ago
Ah but taking pictures of things to defy the man (avoid a fine) is righteous. Taking pictures of people to grass on them to the cops (perhaps...
- jaysa 10 hours 11 min ago
As a woman, this works great for me! My chain broke once, and a kind guy stopped with a chain breaker and sorted it all out for me. We stopped at a...
- andystow 11 hours 3 min ago
Same. I also have gone through a bunch of their tyres, and only the extralight disappointed (torn sidewall) but the standards are fantastic....
- chrisonabike 13 hours 27 sec ago
Indeed - but it's no more inconsistent than our current road design - very often UK high streets are "for shopping" and also a busy through route....
- mike the bike 14 hours 30 min ago
If you ask the world's leading economic commentators how many people have been rescued from abject poverty by capitalism the average answer would...
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4 comments
Love the care and attention when dumping bike on floor resting on rear derailleur and front crank.
I don't believe it's kosher and that those "commuters" aren't out of work actors. How can you swap a saddle for a totally different one and keep the saddle height and slope close enough for someone to ride six or seven miles home without having to stop and take spanners to it a dozen times? Unpossible.
If any "generous" person swapped my Brookes for a piece of plastic then it would be their last act of charity.
They changed the grips! That's just wrong!
Lol I think they looked bemused more than anything!