The joy of having such a brilliant community is that we all find and share so many resources that we find
online. Naturally, the clever thing to do would be to compile a list and stick it on the website so they need not get lost in the
depths of our forum. So we did.
General Interest
Bike Radar -
online resource site and community for all bike magazines in the Future publishing portfolio.
Singletrack World
- website for independant MTB mag Singltrack Mountain Bike Magazine.
The Fat Cyclist
- topical comedy biking blog centring around the life and times of Elden "Fatty" Nelson - well worth a daily read
with your morning Cuppa.
Retro Bike
- site dedicated to vintage, retro and classic mountain bikes, road bikes & BMXs.
Weather
Metcheck
- many of us live by Metcheck and if nothing else, they're normally wrong in a good way when they are. Very detailed
forecast including rainfall predictions.
Great 14 day forecast - but would you really trust a 14 day forecast?
BBC Weather -
others find the BBC more accurate but it does offer a less detailed forecast.
The Weather Channel
- not many of us use it but it does provide the RSS feed that powers our dynamic weather widget (see top right).
Mechanics, Repairs and Maintenance
Park Tools Repair How-tos -
best known manufacturer for quality bike tools offers wealth of online service tips and how-tos.
Park Tools Derailleur Setup/Servicing -
If you know nothing else about servicing your bike, make sure you learn about gear and cable setup/servicing.
Park Tools Tyres and Tubes -
another trail-side basic, changing tyres and tubes. Note: Don't worry, you only get heckled for not knowing how to change them, or being slow at changing them, on fruity rides.
Sheldon Brown's Awesome Bike Miscellany - Sheldon Brown (1944-2008) was and will probably always be the ultimate bike geek.
His website is always the first port of call for any obscure bike problems and he has a great technique section. Legend!
Vizual Impact - usually decking out hatchbacks with loud
graphics and doing shop signage, they'll also do a reproduction of any bike graphics of any age!
Shimano Tech Docs -
technical resources for all Shimano products in one easy to use site.
Wiggle - on the whole
very good service, not always the cheapest but Gold and Platinum schemes, once you've earned them,
bring them inline with the cheapest online. Only place to get the bargainous and rather excellent Focus bikes.
Chain Reaction Cycles
- often the cheapest and a wide range of goods, but can be frustrating as there's an endless list of bargains not in your size or fitting though.
Customer service is generally good although some report slowness.
Merlin Cycles - renowned custom wheel builders
and often the cheapest for all componentry. Choice is sometimes limited compared to others but when they do a bargain, they do a bargain. Catch their site on
a good day and you can build a bespoke bike which makes buying off the peg look poor value for money. Their own brand Malt bikes are astonishing value for money and ride well
but looks might not be for everyone.
Customer service is fantastic!
Purely Custom -
personalised, annodised bike trinkets from the USA - get personalised bar cap, headset top caps, lock-on grip collars
and more.
Routes
Bike Radar Routes - user submitted road and off-road routes including google maps plotting.