Cycling / Cycling News
Bristol-made bicycles at Jake’s Bikes
Bristol Bicycles launches this week with a brand new range of bicycles hand-built in the city.
Jake’s Bikes on Haymarket Walk near the bus station, will be stocking the range – called Park Street, Stokes Croft and Whiteladies – designed for commuting in Bristol. The launch event and prize draw – to win a new Bristol Bicycle – will be held at Roll for the Soul on Wednesday, March 25, with test rides and bike viewings throughout the day
is needed now More than ever
The bikes have been engineered to be as reliable and practical as possible, including a wide range of gears for our hilly Bristol terrain. Jake Voelcker of Jake’s Bikes, designer of the Bristol Bicycle, says: “For eight years we’ve been servicing and repairing bikes for commuters, so we know what makes a good city bike. When we wanted to stock new bikes we couldn’t find any brands we were happy with – so we decided to build them ourselves in our workshop here in Bristol.
Assembling our own bikes by hand means that, as well as being able to choose good quality parts, we can also build them with more care and attention than a mass produced bike form a large factory. For example, we add extra bearing grease to deal with winter weather, and handfinish the wheel truing for long-term reliability,” says Jake.
It is hoped that over the next few years Bristol Bicycles will once again give a boost to employment and the local economy from bicycle building. “We also want to help get more people onto bikes for a healthier, greener city,” says Jake. For this reason Bristol Bicycles are being launched to coincide with Bristol Green Capital.
Roll for the Soul will be hosting the launch event from 10am on Wednesday. The evening events will start at 7:30pm. See www.bristolbicycles.co.uk for details of how to enter the competition to win a Bristol Bicycle.