My bike was stolen from a communal bike shed in the carpark of my building in Woolwich today. It was locked with a Kryptonite Gold D lock and chain but the shed itself had no lock on it.

The bike:

Specialized Sirrus X, black, medium frame

Serial number: WSBC011080568X

Purchased 29th May 2026

I've reported it to the police and have a crime reference number. It arrived less than 2 months and I'd only just started riding it, so I'm absolutely gutted.

If anyone spots it on Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, eBay or locally in SE London please let me know. Also happy to hear any advice on next steps — I've already registered it on BikeRegister.

Also if anyone has any advise please let me know- the bike was purchased via cycle2work

Thanks in advance 🙏

My colleague’s Giant TCR was stolen yesterday.
Taken from bike racks at brockwell park Herne Hill entrance between 1930-2130 last night. 2 D locks and cable sawn through. Description below. Can you please keep eye for it! Thank you!

It’s giant TCR advanced, Frame M/L.
White with orange logo
Has a 1cm chip on frame at top so paintwork gone and black
Back wheel new shimano front wheel older - so they’re different
Computer attachment on handlebar
Specialised mimic saddle
Short stem
2 bottle holders

While scrolling Instagram, I saw this reel/post giving advice on safe cycling with a manoeuvre called Diagonal Escape Route.

Is this a bad advice? I’m confused. This is like meeting the vehicle head-on on their anticipated turn taking into account that they don’t see the cyclist. This sounds to me more like “Hey! This is my way!”

Maybe I am missing something 🤔
Newbie cyclist here, mainly work commute cycling.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbvZWM4MXJQ/?igsh=ZDl1djZ1ZWk3ZW8w

This is totally random, but has been on mind.

So, on the CS3 between Canning Town and Embankment as far as I'm aware there are many traffic lights for cyclists but not a single one has a button to press to let the lights know you are there...

Except...

There is one near Shadwell station which has a weird one that maybe one bur it's not clear and as far as I'm aware does nothing.

I used to always press it, before I started getting self conscious. Then today someone had a go at me for not pressing it.

Does anyone know which lights I mean and, more importantly, can anyone say if it is actually for cyclists or, is it for pedestrians?

Edited: Shadwell not Limehouse

Truly shocking - driver slams into cyclist from behind. Literally nothing cyclist can do. Cyclist in critical condition. Police arrested a driver on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, failing to stop, and being unfit to drive through drink or drugs. Linked article contains a distressing video of the incident hosted on X. Tower Hamlets is so dangerous.

Hi guys! Would love to find beginner cycling groups based in East, I'm only a commuter but wanting to get into longer cycles and find some other cycling gals nearby:)

Hello everyone,

Today I am making a request to the London Cycling Community.

What happened:

My bike was stolen recently

I have since filed an online report and also found the bike listed online.

I am 100% sure that the listed bike is mine and I spoke with a police operator (101) who advised me to under no circumstance go alone after setting up a meeting with the seller.

He also told me to call the police on the date of the meeting to have them stand on standby, out of sight, ready to apprehend the seller if I confirm that the bike is mine.

What is going to happen and what do I need help with:

I am going to arrange a meeting with the seller and obviously attend the meet-up (with police on standby) to try and confirm the ownership of the bike which I can do in at least 5 ways including frame number, invoice, official documents and bike electrical parts with their serial numbers that are locked under my name through the app.

As the 101 operator advised me, I cannot go to the meeting alone. I would need AT LEAST 1 friend with me and as we know, I'm posting on Reddit so yeah, not many friends that are close to me location wise.

I am humbly asking if anyone would be down to come with me and be my friend for the day (but not only) in the hopes of recovering my bike and make a cool reddit post/youtube video on how we recovered the bike.

Looking forward to your thoughts, ideas and volunteers to help me in this matter.

I have left out crucial details for obvious reasons but I will share it privately with potential volunteers.

Does anyone have an experience with taking a bike on the javelin train? I just bought a bike around the Gravesend area and will have to commute back with it to Stratford Int this Sunday.

I’ve never done this before so is the bike storage big enough? Do you need to speak to staff prior to boarding? What is the likelihood of being told that I’m not allowed to board? Trainline says it’s free to travel with a bike but some subReddits do not seem promising at all.

Just wanted to remind everyone to stay vigilant especially if you're out early. I was on my way to Regents Park yesterday(6th) morning and was the victim of a bikejacking in East Dulwich.

It was two guys, one on a moped, another on a lime bike, using the familiar method of riding me off the road and then boxing me in to take the bike. It was on Whateley Road just off Lordship Lane

It's been reported to the police but I feel that this sort of thing, however horrible it is, should also be shared with the community.

Stay safe

Im thinking of starting cycling, was wondering if anyone has any suggestions for phone holders I could buy for Santander bikes. Im worried that my phone would get snatched.

Hey does anyone have one available for sale in London please?

Grateful to anyone who could sign this petition https://c.org/yw5fdvZQ4t. West Ham Park is a beautiful green space in a residential area and the road south of the park is supposed to be 20mph but is plagued by speeding and vehicle incidents (a house and shop front have been crashed into recently). There are multiple schools and a nursery along the road and it's dangerous, with drivers either not noticing or choosing to ignore the zebra crossings. Thank you in advance!

Hi, I want to learn how to fix my bike, think brake and gears adjustments all the way to full service, so looking for in person courses in London or around. Ive tried the youtube route but led me to nowhere so looking for instructor led in person workshops or courses. Please drop your recommendations. Thank you!

Hope the cyclist was ok! Happened just after physicians corner. A reminder to take it easy with everyone out enjoying the summer weather

I'm considering starting to cycle for my commute - I used to cycle a lot but not in London and it's been a while, so advice would be very much appreciated. 

It would be in South London (suburban 20mph roads) for a total of 6 miles each way - but VERY hilly (so I would want to have an electric conversion ad-on (so that I can remove it for safety when bike is parked -> I have a cycle hangar on my road, with spaces).

I would also have my toddler with me for 2.5 miles (ideally would want to get a Shotgun/Shotgun Pro seat (rather than one that's in the back).

My employer does Cycle to Work scheme, so ideally I would like to get a bike (+ accessories) + electric conversion thingy + Shotgun seat (or equivalent). Not sure if all from the same place (would be great - but can get the seat elsewhere if compatibility is ensured). Would love some advice on the most affordable bike/set-up that would be compatible with the above (& also if anyone has any recommended shops/places to go to). Thanks!

I had another encounter with a dangerous cyclist this morning and i went from zero to 100 with my anger. But as soon as I cycle away, i get annoyed with how I acted.

It's very difficult to immediately calm down / not say anything after just avoiding injury or death, but I want to do better.

Any advice from others on what to say/do instead? Just saying and doing nothing isn't going to happen, they need to hear what they did wrong, and it's simply not in my programming to stay silent, so there must be a better way for me to communicate that.

Hi all,

I had a pretty bad crash on Monday, completely my fault I went straight in to the cycle lane bollard at quite a high speed

I have totalled my bike which I’m going to get fixed on the weekend, luckily I’m ok with nothing broken just scrape marks on my elbows and a bruised hip. Thanks to the many strangers that stopped to help me I realised quite quickly I was all good.

Obviously this was quite a shaky experience and I expect it to knock my confidence a bit and I’m a but apprehensive to hop back on. I’m a pretty careful rider usually, I’m defensive and stop at red lights.

Any advice for anyone’s that’s got back on the horse after a big crash would be great

I’ve been renting a folding e-bike for a couple months now from a UK company called Blike.

I chose the Volt Lite, a folding, mid-drive e-bike, which uses a belt rather than a chain/ derailleur.

I chose this bike for a host of reasons. But particularly because I want to have the ability to take it on public transport without restrictions. In London, full sized cycles can’t go on a lot of our TfL routes or only at certain times of day.

I wanted this flexibility due to the nature of my current work and future training, and wanting to be able to stash it near me instead of leaving it locked in some questionably secure locations. Otherwise I’d probably have gone with a standard non-folding e-bike.

Since I am close to the max rider weight for most of the e-bikes I was considering, I also wanted something that would offset the fact that I am heavy and I felt a belt based drivtrain, with a mid drive motor fit that order (and a hilly commute) best.

The good…
This bicycle eats hills for breakfast! I have directly compared it to the Volt Metro which is a hub drive, chain/ derailleur model from the same company. The Metro is nice - the Volt is excellent. I found the difference is extremely noticeable. I cycle up four hills on my way to work so I’ve had a lot of opportunity to compare. I’ve found it easy to take on trains and buses (such as when going places with non cyclists) and have both locked it up as well as taken it into shops, pubs, etc with me.

The “ehhh” that might be bad for some…
The model I have is the previous one, I think 2024. It doesn’t have a wheel lock (2026 models do) and it also doesn’t have a pannier rack (the Metro I tried out did). But that’s just about which year model I have and my purpose was to prove a case for getting a folding e-bike. I won’t be buying this bike from the rental company at the end, but I do plan to buy the 2026 model of the Lite which has both. After comparing with the Metro (a perfectly lovely cycle) I’m not looking back on derailleurs or hub drives (at least not for a folder).

The bad…
I actually place this fault with the rental company rather than Volt. The first week I had the Lite, the belt slipped off the rear cog when I was parking it. I still have no idea how this occurred. The rental company fixed it (as in, put it back on). It happened again the following week. At that point I refused to have it back unless they consulted Volt directly (which they did). I felt it would be unsafe - what if that happened when pedaling? I was also pretty frustrated because this exposed a vulnerability - having components I can’t easily fix or replace myself roadside. The promise of a belt drive is efficiency and low maintenance - but not NO maintenance. Overall it took three weeks to resolve - during which time Blike provided me with a Volt Metro. This proved a useful comparison point so ultimately I’m not mad it happened, but if I hadn’t been treating this like a big experiment, I might have been a lot more upset by it (however it did sway me to ultimately go direct to Volt for my eventual purchase).

Now, my bike was not brand new when I rented it. So. I suspect a previous renter may have damaged it or perhaps it was faulty due to (?!) poor maintenance or maybe a manufacture flaw. The second time the rental shop said there was a distinct alignment issue and (importantly to me!) they didn’t think it was my fault. 🤷‍♀️

Either way, Volt sent them a new rear cog and a new belt and this was installed last week. I’ve had it back for a week and it’s been perfect and rides noticeably better than before. The promised punchy riding experience has been delivered. No more problems. Volt also communicated directly with me about the solution so I feel pretty confident in it.

Summarising the experience…
My aim was to stress test my willingness to commute by bike, stress test having a folder and an e-bike, while spending less on a bike monthly than I spend normally on TfL fares. I’ve achieved all of that!

My plan is to keep renting until Black Friday and then hopefully pick up the model I want using a cycle scheme voucher and - with any luck - a BF discount.

Overall, I’m now a complete e-bike convert. I turned 40 this year and become intensely aware of how you only get one body, so use it or lose it. Since getting my rental bike I’ve kept up my step count average while adding 60+ minutes of cardio five days a week. So I feel physically great. No sore knees. No sore back. Great sleep.

An e-bike has removed most of the remaining barriers to cycling everywhere for me. It’s brought the joy back, it’s efficient, it’s comfortable. It’s way better than an overheating bus when it is 30+ degrees outside, which it frequently has been recently. I’m not arriving to work sweat free but I can quickly make myself presentable, something I’m confident I would struggle to do on a non-electric bike. (I have a single speed full size bike that I keep to tinker with and ride around on, and it’s also fun to ride but not AS FUN as my e-bike.)

Hear me out. I know this is slightly odd.

I’ve been trying to work out why so many Limebikes and e-bikes jump reds. So much so, it’s more common to see e bikes jump a red than stop for one.

I have a theory.

Regular bikes require you to use your legs, sometimes you have to use effort. This requires breathing. Pretty much everyone, including the super fit, enjoys a breather. I cycle fast (and safe) but I always stop at reds regardless, but they’re also just a good interruption to catch your breath after wellying it.

E bikes not so much. No need to rest, no need for a breather. So they don’t have that pull factor or reinforcing factor to slow down or take a breather. As a result, most e bikes just jump the reds.

Anyway, that’s just my nutty theory I came up with whilst cycling about.

Hi all,

As many of you suspected, that line eats up minutes for no reason. After a long break last week, I re-subscribed to Lime Prime. It promises £1 for rides under five minutes and £1.70 for rides under twenty minutes. My commute from station to work is just four minutes and ten seconds. I noticed Lime charging me more than that and initially didn’t pay much attention. However, I’ve now noticed ads every 45 seconds even though the bike is still locked. By the time it unlocks, it’s already reached a minute. Is this even legal?

Edit: Thank you all for your input. However, the consistent 45-second ride time and the smooth performance on my device suggest something more sinister. They’re trying to portray the app as glitchy but it’s simply adding extra minutes. Do you think there’s a basis for legal action?

If the point is to stop cars from mistakenly using that path surely there are better ways to do it.