Capital Cycles
Suit your Commute with your Capital Companion

“Last year, Courvoisir, in partnership with The Observer, led a search for the UK’s most innovative business brains and creative talent. The results of the search led to the creation of Courvoisier The Future 500 - a vibrant network of 500 of the UK’s most dynamic individuals.”

In The Observer newspaper today, the 500 new members of this network were listed, and it is with immense joy that we can annouce that we are one of them. In fact, we have been placed in the Top 100 of the 500 members picked out of the thousands that applied. We are immensely proud of this achievement and believe that this sort of belief from others will be our inspiration to grow.

‘Generation Next’ Magasine, pg 30:

“Freddie Bourne, Director, Capital Cycles Ltd
For Freddie Bourne, inspiration came while waiting for a bus in Brixton: what London needed was cheap, reliable bicycles. He set up Capital Cycles to provide bikes for under £100 delivered and, within 10 weeks, his turnover had hit £25,000, providing commuters with an affordable, environmentally friendly, healthy and convenient way to get around town.”

Capital Cycles is unique and we know that. We genuinely are the first bicycle brand that has focused purely on simplicity, reliability and above all else - affordability.

We at Capital Cycles don’t generally do things by the book. If we did, our bikes would cost twice as much and they would be covered in brash colours and too many gears.

So in accordance with our custom, we just want to help introduce you to the new Hybrid bicycle - The Capital ‘Modern Dutch/Hybrid’ bike range. By all intents and purposes they are the same as a hybrid or city bicycle - they have large qlloy wheels, lightweight steel trekking frames, mudguards and even come with a free carry rack and centre stand. They are purpose built to withstand the onslaught that everyday use gives a bicycle. Only here is where ours are different, and why:

Our bicycles cost a fraction of what any other hybrid/city bike will cost because the Capital Cycles brand is a new and unique bicycle brand. it was created, inspired and launched by one person who wanted to make cycling affordable for everybody. He was not profit driven, but instead angered by the rising cost of living and the extortionate price of fuel and public transport. He put onto paper what he felt a city/commuting bicycle needs, sourced Asian and European manufacturers and got them to build the bikes.

They are built to withstand abuse, priced to withstand thieves and equipped to keep you satisfied from the word go.  From £140 - they are even delivered free to any UK mainland address.

While trying to prise my eyes open this morning, I was watching the BBC news when i watched a report about the fears and concerns women have when it comes to cycling to work.

Their concerns are completely fair; up to 50% of women interviewed said they were reluctant to ride to work because they did not like the idea of arriving sweaty and they feel unsafe on the road.

I think that if you look at the Spandex brigade then sure, these are real and fair worries. But what about a journey to work on a Classic ‘Sit Up and Beg’ Dutch style bike? They encourage such elegance and gentleness that you would be hard pressed to work up a sweat at all! As for the fear of being squashed, I personally believe even this issue is dealt with, even if only because a) your bike is built like a tank and b) you are riding so high up that everyone can see you.

Cycling around town can of course be dangerous, and in many cases you must be aware that it won’t necessarily be your fault if you get into trouble. But, ride a nice large bike, wear a little yellow strip, have your lights on and just keep your eyes open around you.

If cycling carefully and gently means you need to set off 10 minutes earlier, so what? You are still a) going to get there faster than the bus and b) you are abiding by your own regime and not having your journey dictated to you by traffic jams or strikes.

This is a bulletin for any of my customers who may have had an eye on the Capital City Ladies Clearance bike (£99 delivered). I regret to inform you that these bikes are now all gone. So, if you are still looking for a good, simple, cheap bike to take you to the station in the morning or to dump outside the office, i would recommend you take the Gents City Clearance Bike - £90 delivered.

Thanks!

We have noticed that one of the most commonly ‘Googled’ questions is related to the difference between the layout and benefits of a Dutch bike and a Hybrid bike. Well, we are not really techy professionals and that means we cannot bore you with dimensions and angles, but here is what we think:

Hybrid bikes are generally lighter, faster and have more gears. Whilst they do not force you into a racing crouch, neither do they generate the ’sit up and beg’ position that you might be looking for. They have fairly large diameter, thin walled wheels and around 21 gears, ideal for just about anything, except heavy offroading. The reason i emphasise the ‘heavy’ is because i once rode a Dawes Discovery 301 hybrid bike across the Himalayas from the Gobi Desert to Nepal and i kept up with, and in fact had an easier time, than my three friends on mountain bikes.
They are no good for deep sand or mud, but other than that they are great bikes. Good for city commuting and trips over 10 miles.

So what about the Dutch bikes? You don’t buy a Dutch bike if you are planning a fast commute or a sweaty journey. The moment you straddle a Dutch Bike, you rise above it all. You are above the traffic, away from the fumes and somehow, from somewhere, a mysterious smile will inevitably wend its way onto your face. While you are confined to the fact that you are not going to be going anywhere fast, there is something addictively enjoyable about riding a classic Dutch bike. You are comfortable as if riding an arm chair. The wheels are SO large that just one revolution of the pedals feels like enough to get you from Putney to Hyde Park. Our Dutch Style bikes (£165) have three Sturmey Archer gears, not a lot you might think but let me tell you - they are more than enough. I am used to 21 gears but here I only use 2 of the 3 i am given. Even though the bikes are heavier than the hybrids, something about them makes them SO easy to ride. Perhaps its because you know you’re not going to be going anywhere fast and therefore don’t use the energy. Saying that, my girlfriend and i cycled from Wandsworth to Hyde Park two week ends ago and the journey only took about 50 minutes.

Classic Dutch bikes are about pleasure, head turning beauty, rising above smells and sounds and riding for the simple sake of riding something beautiful and eye catching. Their purpose is of course to get you from A-B, but it is not about speed or efficiency, it is about looks and love.

Hybrid bikes serve a very different, but equally important purpose. They are about efficiency, speed, comfort and convenience.

The saying ‘horses for courses’ would come out here, but i fear that might make people think they should only one style or the other. But this is not true. Just like you may own a good, solid everyday car, you may also have a vintage Austin sitting under a dust sheet, for those spectacular sunny days when it is about the journey, not the destination. To have both is not an extravagence; it is merely a privilege - a privilege which we make affordable.

One of the reasons why we exist is because we want to help people who either:
a) Cannot afford an expensive bike
OR
b) Quite simply do not want to spend a lot of money on a bicycle

Either way, if you fall into one or other of these categories, we are your specialists, your Ikea of the bicycle industry - simple, affordable, reliable, unassuming and nothing special. If you simply need a pair wheels to get you from A-B we are here for you. Do you need all the gadgets and carbon fibre frames? Do you really need 24 gears? The reason i ask is because it is precisely these things that those git faced thieves want. Bicycle theft in London is chronic. Not only is it expensive and depressing have a valuable bike nicked; it is also very inconvenient. How the bloody hell are you supposed to get home now? One customer of mine even said
“you don’t buy a bike in London, you simply lease it from the thieves.”

No matter how much you spend on your lock or where you find to chain your bike, if someone wants it, they will get it. Now here’s the cool bit - we are trying to clear out stock of our Gents Hybrid bikes and for that reason they are now £90 - delivered! They do their job and in fact they do it really well - large 700c alloy wheels, full length steel mudgaurds, chaincover, bell, lights, side stand…If you really just need something that you buy with change, that costs as much as one month’s tube travel, come to us and we will not let you down.

You can either buy online, or just call us - 0208 2655586

See you soon!

One of our customers rides the Classic Dutch style bike (£165) to work, across SW London into Mayfair. Here is a brief account of her trip this morning that she very kindly sent by email:

“I loved my ride in (to work) this morning, The sun was shining and it was just lovely! There are certain parts of the city which I just love.  For example:- love, love, love Fulham and Chelsea because it’s where I would like to live, love the shops and love the houses, there is a bakery on the left just after the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital that bakes fresh bread and pastry’s and I always get hit by the smell as I ride past! Every morning, without fail.  Then, there is a set of traffic lights about 250 yards before I have to turn right into the west end and it feels and smells so Parisian, you could almost be there, people eating breakfast outside the café, the smell of breakfast and also the general smell, I can’t explain it, but it smells French.”

These bikes allow you to glide through Rush Hour. What is most people’s nightmare has become your highlight - and all because of a bicycle.

You wouldn’t get this on the Tube. 

BBC London news covered a story this evening (Thursday 26th), revealing that hens have the right to more space in a cage than human beings do on the London Underground. If hens were the size uf humans, only 28 would be allowed in a tube carriage. In reality, up to 89  human passengers are allowed!

If that is not enough, congestion on public transport is expected to rise by 30% over the next ten years. The Government has planned to spend £8 billion by 2025 - “a cold comfort” for those of us who have just come home through Rush Hour and will be getting up in it tomorrow.

Do you want to be a hen statistic? We don’t and that is why we created Capital Cycles. This is your affordable opportunity to get out of the sweat laden cess pit which is the Tube and to become an individual once again, in every sense.

Ciao!

As this week end prepares itself to be as warm as the last, we are desperately proud that we are in the business of helping get people out of the Underground trains and into the parks and open land. 
Imagine your commute; it can go one of two ways:

Option 1) You wake up to BBC morning breakfast only to be told that there are delays on the tube. You go anyway because you have no choice - as do 1 million other commuters. You share armpits with a couple of hundred people, stand up for an elderly passenger only to have the seat nicked by some yuppie on his Blackberry and finally, when you reach your destination, you are hot, tired and frankly want to go home. 

Option 2) You wake up to find that it is 14 degrees and there is barely a cloud in the sky. Not always likely in the UK, but let’s take the last week as a case study. You leave home, get on the bike and as you passs the queues for the Underground, the sun is on your face and no one can stop you. When you reach work, you have done your exercise, you have had some fresh air and for one little part of your day, you can say that it was yours.

Most of us don’t even want to go to work anyway. Why put the one part of the day you CAN control in someone else’s hands?

Just a thought, brought to you by the affordable bicycle company.

Why Cycle? Here’s a few good reasons, just in case you weren’t yet sold into the idea.  This list has been created with the help of the fantastic book ‘Cycling to Work’ by Rory McMullen:

1) People who cycle have to take fewer days off and are also more productive at work.

2) People who ride to work add on average over 2 years to their life expectancy!

3) They are also 50% less likely to experience work related depression.

4) Research has shown that car users are exposed to 2-3 times the level of pollution that a cyclist is. Cyclists ride ABOVE the most polluted air. The ventilation system inside the car can suck in the poisons, making them more concentrated.

5) Cycling will help you lose weight. Cycling at a moderate pace of about 10mph burns on average 400 caleries per hour. That is about the same as an aerobics work out. In fact, look at it this way too.  If you cycle 2 miles each way to work, 5 days a week, you will cycle around 1000 miles per year. That is taking into account holidays, the odd sick day and rain-offs.

6) Cycling save you money. The AA estimates that the average car costs about 41p per mile to run. You then have rising fuel prices, congestion charge, parking charges, insurance,  MOT and servicing.  Now imagine that a really decent bike, such as the Capital City will cost you £140, FULLY equipped and delivered to your door.

7) You are doing your bit to help combat climate change. As much as it is easy to say that it’s everyone else who is at fault, we can all try. Transport accounts for 20% of all CO2 emissions.

Think about your blood pressure.  When you are being cattle herded onto a train or through a traffic jam and see someone riding quietly and blissfully next to you, aren’t you envious?  The stress is gone and NO ONE can dictate your journey to you.

9) Feel-good factor.  Arrive at work without the conscience that you are about to spend the next 8 hours sitting down.  Chill out, you’ve already done your exercise!

10) There is nothing like stopping and sitting on a park bench for 5 minutes while you go in to work.  It is your moment.