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:

1. 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.
2. 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).
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Get some insurance – just in case (shop around, check your Home Contents Insurance Policy).
6. Make record of the bicycles frame number (usually located under the bottom bracket shell – the part of the frame between the pedal cranks).
7. 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).
8. 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!

 

Front or Rear Mini Racks

Mini Rack

Just arrived on Saturday – a mini rack . Handy for those who need to support a basket or carry small bags.

Features:

• Black
• Alloy
• 283gms
• For mounting at the brake pivots and fork crown, or seat stay bridge
• For 24″-28″ wheels
• Complete with all fittings and stainless steel bolts and Nyloc nuts
• 5kg capacity

£15 or £13.50 (if you use your discounts) from us.

 

Discounts for non-students

If anyone reads this blog, then they will be aware of our Students Discount (10% off on all new parts & …).

However, if you’ve found yourself here from anywhere other than our website (www.rceuk.co.uk), then you may not be aware that we’re trying to help all cyclists in the area. We have an advertisement in the ‘Cycle Shops & Repairs’ section of the Leeds Yellow Pages with a 10% off coupon at the back. You can cut it out and use it in the shop. Unfortunately, this discount excludes our (already very good) offers.

These are genuine discounts – prices have not been artificially raised!

Please use and get the benefit!

 

Student Discount

We just did a quick search on Leeds bicycle shops to find out which ones offer student discounts. We got quite a surprised!

Although Leeds has over 50,000 students, it appears that, other than us, not one (yeah, that’s right, NOT ONE) offer any support to them.

This is another reason why we can say that “we are not like other shops“.

So, just to reiterate,

Re-Cycle Engineering provides a 10% discount on new parts and accessories to all students – including A-levels, undergraduates and post-graduates – wherever they study!

Unfortunately, this discount excludes our (already very good) offers.

 

GPS Bicycle Tracker – at last

Spylamp Bicycle GPS Tracker

If we had a penny for every time a customer asked for one of these one of these, we would have £67.43! Seriously though, we do get a lot of enquires for a tracking device for, if your bike is stolen.

We should have these in stock very soon. Although it comes with an rrp of £159, we will be providing them to our customers at £145.00.

The manufacturer’s description:

“Disguised as a functioning tail light.

Easy to install. Fits any bicycle.

Recharge once per year.

Vibration Sensor.

Spylamp is a covert tracking device that is hidden inside a bicycle rear light. The rear light appears and functions as normal to avoid suspicion but inside it houses a complete GPS tracking device. Hold the on/off button down for 3 seconds and your trackers vibration sensor will activate. Any subsequent movement of your bicycle will mean you get an instant SMS message and the tracking function will activate so you can see where your bicycle was taken.

Free Online Tracking Service Should your bicycle be stolen, this vibration activated tracker will begin uploading its coordinates to our free online service. You can log into the WhereIsIt page and see where your bicycle was taken. This service is free for you to use.

Extremely cheap to run Using a typical UK SIM, each position upload costs approximately GBP 0.0006p. We do not charge you anything, this is just the SIM data charge.

SMS The tracker also transmits its coordinates to you via SMS. You can send the tracker a text message and it will reply with its GPS coordinates. You can also configure the tracker to send you its coordinates at regular intervals.

GSM fallback Should your bicycle be inside a building it may not be able to obtain a GPS lock. In this case it will fall back to GSM positioning. This is less accurate (approx 200 meters) but will give you an indication of where your bicycle is until it can obtain a better lock.

Vibration Activated When you must leave your bicycle in a high risk area (such as a public cycle rack), hold the on/off button down for 3 seconds and the light enters alarm mode. If it then detects excessive vibrations it will send you an SMS immediately and then start online tracking. You can log onto this website and see where your bicycle was taken.

Light trigger The light will act as a trigger. Any time a thief uses the bike, it will check if it is stolen and start sending you its coordinates. In this way your bicycle light will act as bait, should a thief try to use it they will give their location away. Bicycle tail lights are a legal requirement in the UK.

Battery The light contains a rechargeable lithium battery and comes with a charging cord. The light can go for > 1 year between charges. It does this by entering a sleep mode when it is not being used and only wakes an preset intervals. (ie 6 hours) to check if you have sent it a “stolen” text message. You can adjust these settings depending on your preference for longer battery life or faster response.

Covert The tracker is designed to look inconspicuous. It appears as a regular bicycle tail light and functions as a regular bicycle tail light.

Configuration All configuration is done by sending the unit SMS text messages. Once it is installed, you should not need to touch it again.

SIM Your tracker can come with a pre-installed TescoMobile PayAsYouGo SIM card with GBP10 credit. You can request your device location 200 times for £10 pounds. You can top your SIM card up online, over the phone or at your news-agent. We charge no on-going subscription fees and no fees are charged by us to view your trackers location via SMS text message. Ask for a SIM-only, Pay-As-You-Go plan if you decide to use a different mobile network.“

See the supplier’s website: http://www.gpstrackthis.com/GPSTrack/Products.jsp?target_item=SpyLamp.jsp