Author: Andy Ryland

Buy a Real Bike For Christmas Not a Bike Shaped Object For a couple of years, I was a volunteer with a charity bike recycling project. Through our doors came hundreds of children's bikes. However, many of these were very heavy, manufactured from thick-walled steel tubing and with poor components, made from plastic or pressed steel.  We used to joke about these bikes and call them "Bike Shaped Objects". (BSOs) I.e., they had the shape or form of a bike but due to their poor quality couldn't really be described as a bike. The difficulty is that people will often see these "bike shaped objects" in the shops, they will have what appear attractive features such a design featuring cartoon characters such as princesses or super heroes. These make them attractive to children but often that is a far as their qualities go. Other “bike shaped objects” attempt to appeal to the adventurous young rider featuring front or even full suspension.  To be...

Replacement is better than a Spoilt Holiday Caused by a Broken Gear Cable O Several time during the summer of 2023 we had calls from cyclists with problems caused by snapped gear cables. Often the cyclists were shocked this had occurred, one even saying his bike had been serviced before his holidays. The problem seems to arise with Shimano shifter levers, where the cable goes around a sharp curve and with regular shifting of gears the cable starts to fray and then eventually snaps. Then the problems get worse as the frayed ends make it difficult to remove. So what might have been a quick replacement becomes more complex. With bikes with internally routed cables this can become a longer and more complex operation.  Fortunately in all cases this year we were able to get the cyclists back on the road and save the cyclists' holidays. For examples of how grateful people have been please see our Google Reviews. We do recommend, that if you are planning...

Prevention is Better than a Disaster on Holiday - With a Collapsed Wheel Rim As a bike shop in a popular cycle touring area, often get tourist cyclists coming in for emergency repairs; snapped cables, punctures and even collapsed wheel rims. This is a picture of collapsed wheel rim from a bike that came in during the summer. Fortunately we had a spare wheel in stock so were able to help the cyclist on their way and save his holiday. The collapsed rim was entirely preventable and was caused by the cyclist neglecting to check the wear on the bike rims caused by the rim brakes. The metal had worn so thin that when the day came the bike was loaded and the brakes applied the rim started to come apart. Fortunately the wheel didn't entirely collapse and the cyclist wasn't injured. If you are planning a cycle touring holiday, do make sure your get your bike professionally serviced by your local bike shop....

Ride out to Hubberholme Church to view a Remembrance Display of Poppies During this season of remembrance of the dead of two world wars and subsequent armed conflict, do plan a bike in Wharfedale to the Saint Michael's Church in Hubberholme. Here local people have knitted poppies as an act of remembrance. The display is very moving especially when you read about the local families who lost sons. It's well worth the ride out this autumn. We presume the poppies will be on display until at least the 11th of November.    ...

Is Purchasing a Bike online a Good Idea? Assembled Bike It might seem an attractive option to purchase a bike online, however in our experience this can not only end up being more expensive, it can also be a dangerous strategy. Recently we were approached by a lady who had purchased the above bike, which arrived partially assembled. However, she lacked the corrected tools, and it was left in bits until she brought it to the shop for us to put together. Once I came across a child’s bike belonging to one of my son’s friends. The bike’s brake and gear cables were incorrectly routed, the wheel on back to front and the handlebars so loose, they would turn around when the bike was ridden over rough ground. My son’s friend told me his dad had put it together and didn’t know what he was doing. When we get a new bike to assemble in the shop, not only do we make sure...

Do your bike's brakes need a bleed? Dirty brake fluid Like many staff in bike shops we like our coffee and cakes but what we don't like to see is brake fluid looking like a good mug of black coffee. We much prefer the fluid in a Shimano system to look like Ribena. That one of the jobs that people often forget to do is get their local bike shop to bleed the brake and replace the brake flued. New clean brake fluid after a brake bleed....

Grassington Bike Shop on Dales Radio As part of raising the profile of the Yorkshire Bike Company's Grassington bike shop we are running a series of adverts on Yorkshire Dales Radio. You can listen to the advertisement below We are also appearing as part of the station's focus on local businesses listen below. If you want to listen to Dales Radio follow this web link. How To Listen To Dales Radio - Dales Radio | Local Radio For The Yorkshire Dales Dales Radio has a vision to serve Yorkshire Dales Dales Communities just like the Yorkshire Bike Company so this is a great partnership for us....

Crank with stripped pedal threads Rescue of Crank with Stripped Pedal Thread One of things that is a heart sinker for a cyclist is to have their pedal drop off due to a stripped thread. This can be caused by over tightening or cross threading or even trying to put a pedal on the wrong crank. What ever has caused this is a heart sinker for a cyclist who may fear they will have to go to the expense of fitting a whole new crank set.The good news for this cyclist, is that he brought his bike to the Yorkshire Bike Company's bike shop in Grassington near Skipton. Here our skilled mechanics weere able to cut out the old thread and insert a new thread, fix it in place with Loctite and leave it to harden before re fixing the cranks and the pedals. As you can imagine our customer was delighted to have his bike back with a renewed...

Peter With Cardiff to Edenborough Cycle Rider at Wharfedale Club It is not unusual for one of the mechanics from the Yorkshire Bike Companies Grassington Bike shop to support a rider with a mechanical. This Friday was no different, however the rider was taking part in the Doddie Aid challenge cycling from Cardiff to Edenborough. Peter one of our mechanics reports, that he helped the rider free up the front mech on the Pinarello Wiggins. He then returned to the shop with a grin on his face having helped support such a worthwhile event....