Colchester area bike repairers

All the shops with links, below, plus these specialists:

Glen runs Bickles Mobile Bike Services which covers all of Colchester. He is Cytech-qualified. Prices on his website. 07984 462 015

Rough and Road Cycles — The Crescent, West Bergholt. Free pick-up and drop off. Call Kazo Rees on 07870 658 355.

Ed Brennan  Complete Cycle Solutions — mobile maintenance and repair; discount for military personnel, www.completecycles.co.uk 07702 583 350.

Duncan Adkinson — Stour Valley Cycles of Nayland (a village five miles north of Colchester), 07518 183 017

Bicycle Doctor — Bartholomew St, Ipswich. (20 miles north of Colchester but owner Kevin Ablitt will travel). Mobile workshop for cycle tours and events; also good for hard-to-find or obsolete bike parts. Ring Kevin on 01473 259 853

You may also like to visit Wivenhoe Bike Kitchen or Colchester Bike Kitchen to learn to repair your own bike or to borrow specialist tools.

Colchester area bike shops (local independents)

NB: These are bike shops as opposed to shops that sell bikes. Inclusion does not indicate endorsement.

Colchester Cycle Stores 50 St John's Street, Colchester (city centre). Sales and repairs. Dealer for Orbea, Brompton, Pashley, Dahon, Batavus. Brian and Annouk Lewes, 01206 563890.

Thomas's Cycle Revolution Peartree Business Centre, Colchester. Sales and repairs. Dealer for Specialized, Trek, Giant. Family-run business. 01206 764545.

Interbike London Rd, Marks Tey (behind petrol station). Sales and repairs. Patrick Schils and family. 01206 213730

Re-Cycle (Bikes to Africa): Not a shop, but this is Wormingford-based charity sends unwanted bikes in the UK to their partners in Africa. They sell a limited number of second-hand bikes to fund their running costs. Open Monday to Friday 8.30am to 4.30pm.

Colchester Cattle Market (Saturday mornings only), Severalls Industrial Estate, Colchester. Up to 400 secondhand bikes sold each week. Always ask the seller about provenance!

Colchester area bike shops (nationals and franchises)

Globe G Sports 56 Military Road, Colchester (city centre), 01206 502502, Sales and repairs. Raleigh, Diamondback Claud Butler, GT and Felt.

Cycle King 46a East Street, Colchester, 01206 867756, National chain. Sales and repairs.

Halfords Colne Retail Park, Cowdray Ave, Colchester. 01206 763725. National chain. Sales and repairs. Brands include Boardman, Carerra and Apollo. Worth comparing the range with Dutch Halfords, an entirely separate company with no local links, but only a short hop across the North Sea.

Go Outdoors Turner Rise retail park (next to Asda), Colchester, CO4 5TU. 0845 155 2036. National chain. Sales and repairs. Brands include Diamondback and Raleigh.

Colchester area bicycle makers

Burls of Harwich (14 miles east of Colchester, good rail link!), specialist in steel and titanium custom-built cycles.