After repairing as many bikes as we do and taking the time to give customers a good service/advice, we need a break.
We will be CLOSED from Saturday, 24th December 2011 to Sunday, 1st January 2012 inclusive.
Bank Holiday (29th August 2011)
We will be open as usual (10am to 6pm) on Monday, 29th August 2011.
We’ll be open on Friday, 29th April 2011
It pains us to even acknowledge the presence of this treasonous, corrupt and parasitic family. It’s also bewildering to accept the idea millions of unknowing ‘subjects’ will wasting electricity by following the farce on tv. Why do we, the taxpayers, have to foot any of the bill for the security. Why? Their clan is one of the richest in the world.
The whole family should be imprisoned in The Tower of London until they can justify or prove that they have any legitimacy ‘over’ us. The Head has already broken her Coronation Oath many, many times – technically, she has renounced her ‘sovereignty’.
Ho hum.
The Sheeple will continue to pay for them, the corrupt politicians, the unconstitutional EU, their fraudster banks, the exploitative, fat-cat international corporates and almost anyone who threatens them with a fine.
Although we would like to shut up shop for the day in protest, the shop will be open as usual on Friday, 29th April (10am to 6pm). We’ll be here for cyclists.
We’ll give the couple 6 months!
We’re neither anarchists nor ne’re-do-wells. We just want to fairly taxed, fairly legislated and fairly represented. We ALL deserve and need a good representative (local and national) government, good local services, a fair application of justice and a Britain that we can all be proud of.
Anyone else feel the same?
Rant over!.
We hope that you will all have a good couple of weekends. Be good to your family, friends, neighbours and all people. Live with dignity and Honour.
PS Happy Birthday Your Majesty
PPS Sod the Census
Easter Opening Times
We will be open on Easter Friday (22nd, 10am to 6pm), Saturday (23rd, 10am to 5pm) and Monday (10am to 6pm).
PS Sod the Census.
Just so that you know where we stand
We are offering my pal, Julian Assange, ANY bicycle of his choice from us FOR FREE.
Julian, when you see this, pop into the shop and we’ll measure you up for a bike and bits (helmet, pump, reflective vest, etc.).
Hope to see you soon!
PS I got some gossip for you!
Nowt (much) to do with bicycles
Wikileaks
Following yesterday’s arrest of WikiLeaks‘ founder Julian Assange, you may glad to know that the farce continues.
Check out “U.S. to Host World Press Freedom Day in 2011” and the the associated Facebook entry on “World Press Freedom Day 2011” (see also the ‘User Guidelines’).
We’ve been up most of the night looking at the allegations, reactions and facts of the non-case. You may already know that Amazon, Paypal, Mastercard (and others) have taken a stance to deny Wikileaks the access the internet and to their legitimate funds.
We’re not sure how to proceed – if we boycott these companies, do then also boycott all dodgy companies and, where do we draw the line. We live in interesting times.
We will continue to ponder and report back.
Stolen Bikes
When a cyclist has had his/her bike stolen, there are several options available:
- do nothing – “bicycle theft is an eventuality of cycling, I’ll do without”.
- buy a cheaper bike – “because that one will be stolen as well”.
- buy a brand new one – “I can afford it”.
- contact the insurance company (in the rare occasion that the bikes IS insured) – “they will sort me out a new one!”.
In just a few cases the victim will contact local bike shops hoping that the thief has tried to sell it to them or is having it repaired by them and the shop will (hopefully) call them back. Most are disappointed when the bike shop takes a tacit interest in their plea. Some are astonished when the bike shop tries to sell them a replacement!
At Re-cycle Engineering, we do things differently – we are not like other bike shops. We actually care about their plight and do something about it. We keep written records and advise accordingly. We may be the only shop in Leeds who does – because we don’t want to buy, sell or repair looted cycles!
Although “why bother to keep records – no one ever does anything about it!” may be valid response, we think differently:
- doing nothing and doing without a bike means that the thieves have won and you have lost out on a cheap, convenient, environmentally-sound and healthy form of personal transport.
- buying a cheaper bike “because that one will be stolen as well” will degrade your cycling fun.
- buying a brand new one because “I can afford it” is environmentally unnecessary.
- getting a replacement from the insurance company (if any) is again environmentally unnecessary.
We have successfully caught several thieves in the past. For example, a recently stolen bike came in for a repair. We got the thief’s details and called the police – they waited in a car outside (middle of winter) for the thief to return to pick up the bike. They ‘lifted’ him and was successfully prosecuted.
Of course, we put ourselves at risk – we’ve personally been threatened with violence and arson! That’s called “Taking Personal Responsibility”.
We also believe that notifying the Law is an essential because
- the statistics become more realistic and the Police can then justify appropriate resources, and
- you can be contacted if the bike is recovered.
In almost every instance the basic issues are not addressed:
- how did the bike get stolen in first instance and
- what can be done about it in the future.
To avoid having your bike stolen, our advice is:
- Get a good Sold Secure rated lock (nothing else will do) – in our experience, about 98% of these thefts are due to poor security (usually cheap cable & D-locks). The thieves are most likely to steal the bike with the least secure lock.
- If you leave your bike in the garage/shed, make sure it is locked up to something solid with a Sold Secure rated lock – about a third of all bikes are stolen from such places. Once the thieves are in there, they are out of sight and have all the time in the world (and quite often, the tools are already there too).
- If you have to leave your bike in a public space, don’t leave it in exactly the same place every day – the thieves will soon know your timetable & habits and will know when to bring the necessary equipment to relieve you of your pride-and-joy.
- Make sure that that your bicycle is security-marked with a recognised system (e.g. DataTag) – the thieves tend to stay clear of bikes which they can’t pass on.
Get some insurance – just in case (shop around, check your Home Contents Insurance Policy).- Make record of the bicycles frame number (usually located under the bottom bracket shell – the part of the frame between the pedal cranks).
- Have someone take a photograph of you and the bike – make sure that you are on the left hand side of the bike and that the photo is take from the right hand side (so that anyone can see the make & model, the chainset (front cogs) and the front & rear dérailleurs (gear shifters on the frame).
- Register your (new) bike on the supplier’s or manufacturer’s website (if they have the facilities).
IF you are interested, we do sell Sold-Secure rated locks and DataTag equipment – pop into the shop to see for yourself.
Remember most stolen bicycles will only be passed on for £10 or £20 to fund some sad ba£$%rd’s habit.
Happy, safe and secure cycling.
Where do our renovated bikes come from?
We are probably the last remaining bicycle shop in the north of England which provides renovated bicycles as a core activity.
Surprisingly only a few potential buyers will ask for their source of origin. Even fewer will be blunt enough ask if they are ‘dodgy’.
Those who suggest that our bikes are stolen are shown the door -we don’t take kindly to that! We’ve spent years trying to uphold our reputation as a honest business – all our bikes are guaranteed not to be stolen!
So, where do we get them from in the first place?
Well, we don’t do internet auction sites, we don’t do car boot sales, we don’t the local classified ads and we don’t do local markets (all being a good source of ‘iffy’ loot).
What we do do is:
- only buy directly from the public – face-to-face (so that we can gauge the seller’s demeanour, his/her knowledge of the bike and its history),
- only pay by cheque (keeps the ‘smack and crack-heads’ away),
- record the sellers’ identification (passport, driving license, etc.) and
- record the sellers residential address.
Alternatively, we need to see the original proof of purchase.
Although crime pays (just see what our politicians and big business get up to), we don’t want to play that game. Our reputation has taken years to achieve – we’re not going to jeopardise it for the sake of a few £££s!
To date, NOT ONE of our second-hand bikes has been found to be robbed. Be assured that, IF in the future we accidentally fall short of our promise, the buyer will get a full refund and the original owner’s details will be passed on the Law!
