Westminster Wheels serves the local community. Lisson Grove and the wider area had suffered a bike shop desert prior to our launch. No one to advice, fix, or encourage cycling. In 2020 we opened our doors, developing the shop in direct response to the needs expressed by our customers.
Affordable refurbished bikes? You got it. A range of accessories? Here they are. You want higher-quality locks? OK. Advice on gaining cycle skills? Our pleasure. A full menu of bike services? OK, we’ll do it. Recycle old inner tubes? Yes. The charity evolved to deliver what the street requested.
Maintaining your bike can be prohibitively expensive, we consistently charge less than other stores and run a program donating bikes and servicing free of charge to local community groups and charities. We advise on DIY repairs and lend out basic tools and a pump is stationed outside the store.
Our number one “product” is training previously unemployed Westminster Residents. These trainee mechanics gain an industry-recognised certificate in bicycle repair and benefit from a 6-month placement working at Westminster Wheels. That puncture repair we sorted for you! The brakes made safe! An apprentice most likely honed their skills under supervision on your bike. Before their time with us ends we polish their CVs and put them in front of prospective employers.
Many have gone on to work in the bike industry, others into higher education. Their success is our success. It’s a really rewarding project for the full-time staff. Seeing someone grow in confidence, regaining the soft skills lockdown denied them, mastering the hard skills the bike industry now demands to get a foot on the ladder.
Kilos of old inner tubes have been returned to the manufacturer for recycling. Tons of old bikes have been diverted from landfill. Hundreds of bikes returned to life and gifted to help get people to that job interview/appointment/enjoy a family bike ride.
Our future plans include; bike maintenance classes, a children’s bike library, a designated recycle centre, e-cargo bike repair partnership, and of course training many more residents for a career in the bike industry.
We love our shop, we really enjoy our jobs and our mission. We hope you visit and enjoy it too, even just for some air and a chat.