Down with the kids

It's not just us adults who want to look good on our bikes, the kids have got to look cool too...Now they can with Bern's fantastic Nina and Nino helmets. The boys helmets, Nino comes in red and black racing stripe and the girls, Nina, in white with butterfly graphic and good old fashioned pink.
They are made with Bern's zipmould technology which make them both lightweight and 100% certified as a safety helmet. What better way to get your kids excited about wearing a helmet on the school run and only £39.99 at cyclechic.co.uk

We know it's stylish, but is it safe?

This month sustainable transport charity Sustrans launches its petition for women cyclists.
We all know cycling in London is one of the quickest and most stylish ways to get around. But is it safe? Sadly many women think not. Statistics from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents do show that men are far more likely to be involved in cycling accidents than women. But this could simply be because most cyclists are male. Whatever the statistics show, it is vital women feel safe on the roads. At the moment, most women say they do not.
According to the team at Sustrans most British women just don't believe the roads are safe enough for them to cycle on. A survey of more than 1,000 women found 79 per cent do not cycle at all, and road safety was the biggest factor putting them off. A total of 67 per cent of respondents said there should be more dedicated cycle lanes separate from other traffic.
The petition will call for the government to swing into action and make cycling in Britain safer for women. The Motion for Women petition will be live until the end of November and has the backing of organisations Mind and the WI.
Melissa Henry, comms director at Sustrans, says: 'Women are telling us in no uncertain terms they don't feel the roads are safe enough for them to cycle on. 79 per cent of women do not cycle at all. But women are also telling us they desperately want that situation to change. The desire to cycle, and enjoy all the benefits that cycling brings, is becoming a priority.'
You can add your support to the petition at Sustrans' site for women, Bike Belles.
Although it is not essential, a helmet can help you feel safer on the roads. Wearing a helmet is very much a matter of personal choice, but for those who do choose to wear one, we can recommend the wonderful range from Bern which are designed to cushion the head against small impacts more effectively than ordinary helmets. It helps that they look fantastic too! Our current favourite is this Muse Hard Hat with Graphic.

And the winner is...

We ran a competition with the London Paper last month to kit out a lucky lady in full CycleChic attire. The prize up for grabs was a fabulous Velorbis Danneborg bicycle, a Yakkay helmet, satchel pannier & frog lights. Helen Fox, pictured above was our winner and she carries it off rather nicely I think.
We are delighted that winning the competition has got Helen back in the saddle after of number of years, following a nasty cycling accident. Helen had been umming and ahhing whether to give cycling another go so winning this beautiful bike made up her mind well and truly.
Hear from the girl herself on her blog Beautiful Brainy Music

Ding day - hurray!

Fancy showing some cycling solidarity? On Wednesday September 9 London will celebrate ‘Ding Day’, to build up a sense of community among the capital’s cyclists.
On the day, cyclists are asked to greet each other with a ‘ding ding’ of the bell, turning the city into a veritable symphony of bicycle bells. If you are greeted, you must ‘ding’ back.
Ding Day is now in its second year and its organisers hope the idea will help celebrate cycling in the city and create a fun experience for cyclists and residents.
The day has backing from the London Cycling Campaign, Olympic cyclist Chris Hoy and the Mayor of London. Organisers are also hoping to sign up cycling companies to get them involved and persuade them to donate prizes.
We think it’s a great idea and a fantastic way to celebrate cycling in the city. We also love the idea of greeting fellow cyclists in a polite and ladylike fashion and bringing some old-fashioned manners to the roads.
Most importantly there is a real opportunity to build a feeling of camaraderie and community among cyclists in London.
Although bells come in all shapes, sizes and pitches, we love a big, vintage bicycle bell like this ding dong bell and this is a great way to show yours off.

Cyclechic Convoy at The London Skyride

This years London Skyride (formerly called the Freewheel)takes place on Sunday 20th September. The roads around central London will be closed off to cars and thousands of cyclists will take over the city streets

This year we thought we would bring some cycling style to this wonderful event in the form of a Cyclechic Convoy. So if you fancy showing off your Cycle Chic finery and sharing a G & T with like minded folk, come and join the Cyclechic Elite.. THE RULES:

1. Register for free through the Skyrides official website.

2. Start planning your outfit - items of clothing we would like to see of the day.
Ladies: Vintage dresses, Floral frocks, swishy skirts, wicker baskets & pretty panniers.
Gents: Tweed, blazers, boaters, breeches, brogues & Bern Helmets

3. Join the Cycle Chic facebook group and we will be in touch with more details nearer the time, meeting point etc. or email us at caz@cyclechic.co.uk

Let's hear it for Cycle Fridays

Studies have shown a lack of confidence on the roads is one of the main barriers stopping women from cycling. So let's hear it for the lovely people at Transport for London and the London Cycling Campaign who have come up with Cycle Fridays.
Experienced cycling marshals will shepherd cyclists into town every Friday morning between now and October. There are six routes to choose from, all heading into central London, and the idea is to encourage more people to cycle to work.
Meeting points include Brixton, Finsbury Park, Mile End, Ravenscourt Park, Swiss Cottage and Greenwich. Each ride will depart at 8am and take around an hour.
Cycling to work isn't just fun and quicker than public transport - it's great for your figure, your pocket and the environment.
For our top tips on how to arrive at work fresh as a daisy, not pouring with sweat, click here.

Dashing Tweeds Summer Cycling Suit

And very Dashing it is too. Dashing Tweeds are the experts in debonair cycling wear. We love their Summer cycling suit. The military style jacket is made of jacquared woven cotton and has a reversible reflective belt and a reflective fabric under the collar. I particularly love the Breeches, why don't more chaps wear breeches? a fabulous garment in my view.

A girls' day out?

As if further proof were needed that women on wheels are spearheading a growing movement, this year's Cycle Show, to be held in London in October, will have a distinctly girly theme.
Organisers have cottoned on to the increase in female cyclists and the day will see leading fashion brands and celebrity experts offering help and advice on cycling chic.
A series of women's sessions will be held through the day and leading industry experts will discuss the issues facing women who cycle.
Show director Andrew Brabazon says: 'We've known for years that female cyclists are just as passionate about cycling as their male counterparts, but it is encouraging to see that so many new cyclists are women.'
And so say all of us!
Our friends at Cyclodelic will present the Girls Guide to Cycling which will cover nutrition, fashion and make-up, training kits and much more.
A series of women-only maintenance sessions will also be held throughout the day.
Its likely there will be much more for the girls by the time the show rolls round so keep checking cyclechic.co.uk for updates.

Your bum looks damp in that...here let us help

We will be distributing Cyclechic saddle covers to bikes we like in around London over the next month. We know how these pesky summer showers can leave you with a soggy saddle, resulting in a damp derriere. We hope our saddle covers will help you avoid the damp patch and enjoy your summertime cycling. We will be working our way around various parts of town but if you need our protection, suggestions for bike parking areas, stations etc. are welcome.

A basket fit for a Poppy....

Since we blogged about the gorgeous Pashley Poppy we've been inundated with feedback about how stunning the bike is. All of you Poppy-lovers out there are very satisfied customers.
But there's a pertinent question that needs answering - is there a basket available that will fit the Poppy, with its distinctive handlebars?
A product is literally being developed as we write, and more information will be available soon on price. Keep checking cyclechic.co.uk for some more basket news very soon.
Meanwhile proving that cycling can be stylish at the very top level, here's Olympic gold medallist and top cyclist Victoria Pendleton posing with a home-grown Poppy in grass green.
The photoshoot, with the Daily Mirror, was to promote Green Britain Day and there's no disputing that Victoria looks utterly stunning in her green Union Jack dress, made using recycled materials by British designer Wayne Hemingway.
But we can't get over the new shade - what do you think of the green Poppy? It looks like the bike is a one-off, but do you think Pashley should expand the colour palette? What colour Poppy would you like to see?

Cylechic.co.uk makes front page of the Observer Review

I stumbled into the News Agents on Sunday morning with a slightly sore head, feeling a little sorry for myself (I was at a very good friends wedding on Saturday and perhaps had one too many glasses of bubbly!)In my hazy state I manged to purchase The Observer and a cold can of Iron Bru... my mood suddenly lifted. What a treat to see a picture of my business partner, Lavinia and myself gracing the front cover of the Review!
We were part of The Observers Cycling special, celebrating the 'New two wheeled tribes'. It was a smashing Review that really captured the wonderful diversity of cyclists on the streets today and we felt very privileged to be a part of it.

New Product! The Minnehaha Utility Pannier

They don't make them like they used to.. But now they do with these marvelous Minnehaha Utility Panniers! I have always been a big fan of traditional, classic panniers.
I bought a fabulous second hand number from a shop in East London about 2 years ago. Despite it looking the part, it was was not terribly practical as the attachments had broken. After failed attempts to strap it on with bungees, it now has a second life as a magazine holder.
Any hoo, the Minnehaha's are ruggedly handsome and eminently practical and available now at cyclechic.co.uk for the respectable price of £67.95.

Bike Couture

The Love affair between Cycling and high Fashion continues. Fabulous Pictures from US Vogue and Australian Vogue proving that the bicycle can be the ultimate fashion accessory. And our very own Queen of fashion, Vivienne Westwood arriving at the premiere of 'The age of stupid' by bicycle.


Lovely pics from fellow Cycle Chic blog Riding Pretty

Can storage be stylish?

We love celebrating the inherent style in cycling but when it comes to storing your bike, things get more difficult. Anyone who lives in London will be familiar with the problem of bike storage - firstly there isn't enough of it, and secondly what there is, is pretty basic and hardly easy on the eye.
But things are changing and there are some fabulous storage solutions out there, including turning your bike into a work of art.
Rather than hiding your bike away in a garage or shed, or leaving it cluttering up your living room, mount it on your wall with one of these amazing bike racks. Perhaps not the most accessible of storage solutions but certainly a talking point at dinner parties...

This Cycloc storage rack isn't just practical - it has actually won awards for its design. Saving space and showing off your bike to its best advantage - what's not to love? Well, apart from the price. This little green number, which is available in the UK, will set you back nearly £60. But for an uncluttered living room and a bike rack which even ELLE Decoration has commended as looking like a sculpture in itself, it could be a small price to pay. And for those who don't want to shell out, everyone's favourite budget superstore Lidl is offering wall mounted bike racks for under £20 in selected stores.

For the more traditional out there who would rather not have a bike dripping oil and mud down their nice clean living room walls, there's always this good old-fashioned garden shed from Shedstore.

It's not just home storage that can be a challenge. If you cycle to work, you will be familiar with the rusting, aged and easily-moved bits of metal most employers call 'bike racks'. Get on your boss's case to replace them with one of these Cyclepods. Not only are they far more secure and easier on the eye than a traditional bike rack, but they are made of sustainable and recyclable materials. Some 12,500 aluminium cans go into each pod making them both chic and environmental, two of our very favourite things. Sadly, blue skies and beaches are not included.

A suitable lock for a lady

Despite being very happy with my new Pashley Poppy, I did suffer from a touch of bike envy when I passed this rather lovely cream shopper last week. What also took my fancy was the bright pink 80's style lock. It's made by Raleigh so as soon as I got home I phoned them up to see if they still stocked them, thinking they could be a perfect addition to our online shop Cyclechic.co.uk.
Unfortunately Raleigh no longer make them. It seems in this day and age when bike theft is rife, it is no longer acceptable to sell pink locks. They now have to be boringly black, tough and serious looking, no feminine or fun locks allowed. But as we girls know it is possible to be beautiful and strong so why are there no bike locks that encompass these two qualities. Would a liberty print look wrong on a D Lock or painted polka dots perhaps? I don't think do. If anyone has a stylish lock or knows where I can get one from please let me know?

Topshop launches in New York with the Bicycle Club

Topshop celebrate all things cycle Chic to launch their first store in New York. Topshop offered free bike rental to the trendy young things on NYC and gave out maps to various city hotspots.







They also ran competitions for best dressed cyclist, you could either go in store and be snapped by nickydigital or send your own photos in to Chictopia.com There are some sterling examples of Cycle Chic, proving the girls have NYC have very much embraced the trend.
Well done Topshop, we more than approve!

Introducing....

The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed there are now two of us blogging for cyclechic.co.uk.
So hello! My name is Cathy and I will be joining the lovely Caz in keeping you updated on the latest developments in the women’s cycling movement.
A little about me – I’m 28, a journalist and I live in South London. I started cycling to work and back about 18 months ago but until recently, was more of a boringly functional and practical cyclist than a two-wheeled style goddess.
Obviously I can’t now claim to be Agyness Deyn but it’s fair to say I’ve embraced the cyclechic.co.uk cause. In the last few months I’ve traded in my boy’s mountain bike for a super-girly Pashley Poppy, swapped gloomy grey panniers for this cute satchel, and started cycling dressed like a human being not a traffic cone.
And that’s just the start.
So, that’s me, and here are a few of my favourite things.

1. The towpath between Putney Bridge and Richmond. Love it in the spring, summer and autumn but tend to avoid it in the winter months as I’m not into extreme sports.

2. Roger and Me – this blog, from ‘wheeled Weenie’ Rachael, is a lovely little account of life as a London lady cyclist, and anyone who christens their bike ‘Roger’ has got to be worth reading about. Plus, I feature in it from time to time. Hurrah!

3. The London Freewheel. If you’ve never cycled in the city before, it’s the perfect way to get started, and if you’re a seasoned cyclist, it’s still a fantastic day celebrating cycling in the capital. This year we will be having a Cyclechic convoy so start organising your outfit now, more info to come on this soon.
4. Cropped camo-style shorts from New Look. Available in a range of colours, ideal for cycling in and cheap as chips – what’s not to love?

5. These Love and Hate gloves. I’ve got a pair on order already.

6. The leather accessories range from Pashley. A bit steeper than I can reasonably justify unfortunately, but nice to gaze longingly at from time to time.

7. London to Brighton – at night. Somehow I’ve been coerced into signing up for an overnight London to Brighton bike ride this Friday. We leave from Hyde Park at midnight. I cannot wait, there’s something almost romantic about the idea of an overnight cycle and leaving traffic-sodden London for the ride to the coast. I’ll keep you posted with how it went!

Hip Hip YAKKAY!

Cyclechic.co.uk are now selling the gorgeous YAKKAY cycling helmets

For all those style conscious cyclists who ‘don’t do helmets’ the YAKKAY could be your dream come true. Underneath is a fully certified helmet, you then choose from a variety of wonderful hat-covers depending on your style preferences.

The YAKKAYS have great designs for both ladies and Gents. We love the Trilby style Tokyo. Brighten up the streets with the Pink Jazz or, go for one of this summer’s big looks, with the Boater style beige. Or for a more casual look for you Cyclechic chaps the the Cap style Paris is a definite winner.



Worried about a sweaty head… don’t be. The helmet has a number of adhesive foam circles that circulate air. When you are riding your bicycle, air will be pushed into the helmet, pleasantly cooling down your head.



You can either buy online at cyclechic.co.uk or book an appointment at our East London office to try them on.

YAKKAYS website

Bike of the month - the Pashley Poppy

Firstly, a quick confession. I haven’t owned a ladies’ bike since I was eight and my parents bought me a Raleigh Bianca from a jumble sale.

I’ve always written off ladies’ bikes as impractical and a triumph of style over substance. Then I saw and fell in love with the Pashley Poppy. I don’t know whether it was the fabulous blush-pink shade, the elegant shape or those stunning creamy tyres that convinced me, but it didn’t take long before one was on order. After all, if a pink bike is good enough for Sarah Michelle Gellar, it's good enough for me.

Suddenly instead of hurtling into work feeling smug about my practical choice of boy’s mountain bicycle, I was resentfully slugging around counting down the days til my Poppy arrived.

At nearly £400 the Poppy isn’t cheap, but Pashley is a quality brand and you get what you pay for in workmanship. Depending on your views, it’s probably worth the £400 just for the immense amount of male attention a Poppy commands.

Even just picking my bike up, I was flirted with to within an inch of my life. Polite and uber-charming male assistants flocked around me, painstakingly talking me through every possible aspect of my new wheels.

Considering when I bought my mountain bike I was ignored for 20 minutes, then patronised so heavily I actually left the store and only came back when a female assistant was on duty, this was a definite improvement.

Pedalling home, I was conscious of all eyes on me. Apparently it’s not every day you see a bright pink bike on the streets of Streatham. Again, I’m taking this as a good thing if it can persuade motorists to occasionally allow me right of way and not simply try and push me and my fellow cyclists into the gutter.

The Poppy isn’t just a pretty face. The large, thin tyres mean it can pick up speed a good deal easier than a clunking mountain bike with wide, grippy tyres. It’s also exceptionally comfortable, largely thanks to the wonderful sprung saddle.

But the biggest surprise to me is how user-friendly the Poppy is.

I was a little apprehensive it would be too fragile to cope with the demands of a daily commute, especially as my journey to work takes me down a rather bumpy riverside towpath. In fact the Poppy is solidly put together, and it doesn’t just whizz down the towpath a treat, it actually gets me to work quicker than my old mountain bike.

And did I mention that it’s beautiful? It genuinely is a stunning looking bike, right down to the polished silver wheels and adorable matching silver pump.

There are a couple of negatives. Firstly, it’s a heavy bike, especially if you have a rack fitted for panniers. It’s not the kind of bike you can sling over your shoulder and haul up two flights of stairs, but on the plus side, it’s so pretty it’ll probably charm a nice strong man into carrying it for you.

But the biggest risk of the Poppy is the amount of money you’ll end up setting aside for accessories. Instead of bog-standard lights, I’ve got my eye on a set of Knog Frog lights in ice blue. My old grey panniers will have to make way for a far prettier cherry blossom pannier. The lovely curved silver handlebars are just begging for a traditional wicker basket to be fitted. And the idea of keeping my Poppy outside in the cold and the rain just doesn’t bear thinking about, so until the budget can stretch to this cute little garden shed, she’ll be kept indoors overnight. A bike this gorgeous deserves the best.  

Calling all Britsol's Bike Beauties

Cyclechic are going on the road and we will be at Bristols Biggest Bike Ride on Sunday 21st June. We will have a stall in Millennium square, selling all our lovely products so if you're Bristol based please come down and say hello!,
This event is part of bike week, this year there seems to be more bike events than ever... Bristol is officially Britain's first cycling demonstration city so we thought it would be a good place to go and shake our Cyclechic thang!