Capital Cycles
Suit your Commute with your Capital Companion

Arriving this summer 2010, will be London’s first comprehensive cycle hire scheme. Following on the success of the bicycle hire concept in Paris, Londoners will be able to hire bicycles for a fee. You will be able to pick up a bicycle from any one of 400 stations across London, use it, then drop it off at any station you want.

 There are two different fees which every user will have to pay:

1) ACCESS FEE
1 day = £1
7 days = £5
Annual pass = £45 (+ one-off payment of £3 for membership key)

2) USAGE FEE
up to 30 minutes = free
up to 1 hour = £1
up to 1 and a half hours = £4
up to 2 hours = £6
up to 2 and a half hours = £10
up to 3 hours = £15
up to 6 hours = £35
up to 24 hours = £50

PENALTIES
late return = £150
damage = up to £300
non-return = £300

Well, while we are thrilled to see more of an effort to get people on a bicycle, here are our concerns:

• It is only really economical if you are a cycle hire member (£45/year) and use a bicycle for less than 30 minutes each time. Use it any other way and it will be no cheaper than an Oyster card.
• What if you use a bicycle for a 30 minute journey and there are no spaces in the docking station at your destination? You will have to find another station, pay for the extra time, park away from your intended destination and probably miss your meeting.
• London, sadly, is awash with vandalism and theft. What if someone (a non-member) either damages or steals a cycle hire bicycle which you have just used? You will have been the last registered user and you will receive the penalty.

It will be a great way for people to see if cycling is ‘for them’ and if it is, then I strongly recommend you buy your own bicycle.

If you are looking for a similar type of classic/vintage bicycle to the one they used in the BBC drama ‘Survivors’, look no further – click here.

Following our company’s application to win a British Airways Business Opportunity Grant, we are delighted and extremely proud to announce that Capital Cycles has won. As a winner, we will be able to take advantage of business travel for a year to help our business grow and thrive.

The judges at British Airways saw the direction we are taking our unique bicycle business in and recognised our massive potential for growth and development. They saw that with this grant we will be able to grow internationally, meet existing and new manufacturers face to face and expand & improve our already growing range of well built, reliable bicycles.

Willie Walsh, British Airways chief executive, said: “The competition attracted an array of very impressive entrants demonstrating real energy and innovative grass-roots enterprise. The 100 winning entries show how the benefits of face-to-face contact with overseas partners go to provide an engine for commercial success.”

In the 2 years we have been trading, we have completely redefined the meaning of reliable and affordable bicycles. We have already started selling our bicycles around the world, from Sidcup to Seattle and from Peckham to Portugal and with this grant we will see this side of our business expanding further and faster. But despite our rapid growth, we are still a deeply personal and service orientated business. If you telephone us today, you will get straight through to a real person, instantly.

The grant includes 12 Club World or Club Europe return flights to anywhere on the British Airways network, 5 containers of shipping space from British Airways World Cargo, 5 Regus businessworld gold memberships and a year’s subscription to The Daily Telegraph. To read more: click here.

It is with great pleasure that we introduce the first of our brand new 2010 collection of stunning Dutch bicycles. What you see here is the new Capital Jantar classic Dutch style bicycle. It ticks every single box you could ever wish for, including:

• comfortable ’sit upright’ riding position
• lightweight (only 16kg)
• 3 speed internal hub gears
• Dynamo lights, full length mudguards, rear carry rack, skirtguard, chain guard and side stand
• Stunning semi-leather brown seat and soft grips

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOURS TODAY

People are often under the impression that cycling at this time of year is a bad idea. Well, we want to help dispell that idea and give you a few simple reasons why cycling at this time of year is so great

• whilst it may be cold, it almost never rains and it is rain which is unpleasant. Plus, with the cold, once you are exercising you will not feel it. Instead, what you have is the feel of pure, fresh, clean air.
• cycling/exercising in the winter time is more rewarding and productive than in the summer time. Your body is using more enegry and is developing a stronger immune system as well.
• By being on your own form of transport, you are avoiding anyone who might have a cold or flu.

Basically, it is healthy, rewarding, perfectly comfortable and indeed more pleasant than the alternatives. Do not let the season put you off.

Provided you are wearing decent protection, a warm top, nice gloves and reflective gear, we guarantee that you will have a more pleasant journey compared to if you use the train or bus.

Give it a go.

It is this simple:

Avoid the stuffy crowded places, avoid the underground, avoid the buses – CYCLE.

The benefits are clear:

1) You avoid catching the winter viruses
2) You are starting your year the right way, by exercising and keeping fit
3) You are saving money

Your body is a very precious thing. Cycling just a few miles each week will help you keep your body in a good, all round condition.

As our reputation increases and we help make more lives easier and more pleasant, we have often found ourselves interested in expanding our involvement in helping get people about. While we are thrilled at how popular and successful our bicycles have been and shall continue to be, these last few months have seen our next big move - affordable, experienced travel planning.

Simply visit: www.travelhand.co.uk and you will see for yourself how great this is!

Put simply, Travel Hand is trip planning for people who simply do not have the time.
Our business is to research and organise your trip for you, ensuring that you get exactly what you want, make the most out of your trip and get the best possible prices, without you needing to put in a single minute of work, time or stress.

To help see you successfully into 2010, we are offering our bicycles at the lowest price we have ever done them for.

£20.00 OFF our ICONIC Modern Dutch ladies bicycle. Only £179.95

£40.00 OFF our NEW Modern Dutch Lightweight bicycle. Only £234.95

These offers are valid until Sunday 10th January and then the prices will change.

As Christmas approaches, people are chasing the perfect presents to give to their loved ones. If you are considering buying one of our bicycles, then it might comfort you to know that we have just had our 3rd magazine editorial this year, showcasing our bicycles as a brilliant, affordable and beautiful gift idea.

With our Christmas bike offers included, you can buy a brand new, fully equipped, beautifully made and affordable bicycle from just £179.95. Included in that price you get a full 2 year warranty, one to one customer service and all the accessories you need – lights, mudguards, carry rack, chain guard and more…

To see our bicycles – click here

With only weeks to go until Christmas, it is important to know when buying a bicycle online that you are not going to be disappointed either by the delivery service, the customer service and of course the quality of the bicycle.

We take deep pride in exactly these areas:

• DELIVERY: All orders are sent using a secure, reliable and polite next day courier company
• CUSTOMER SUPPORT: We are available by phone all day and by email 24 hours a day. All emails are responded to within 2 working hours
• PRODUCT QUALITY: Our bicycles are designed and built in accordance with the strictest standards. Thanks to this, we are one of the only bicycle company’s who offer a TWO YEAR warranty. If you want more assurance, please feel free to leaf through our many customer reviews.

If you want to chat first, please do drop us a line – 0845 303 8685

Thanks.