About us
The Winchester Bike Hub has changed managment in August 2024.
We are a team of people who love cycling and enjoy cycling around the area. We are dedicated to helping people realise how easy and fun cycling is, especially riding in a group. We have taught adults who have never ridden; we also have a great team of mechanics ready to fix, service or repair your bike.
We also take donated bikes, refurbish them and find them new homes.
Interested in riding with us or helping us?
Let's talk!
Our team
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Heather
Founder and Director
Heather started Bespoke Biking in 2012 with a vision to help everyone cycle more. Her own passion for cycling soon evolved into her dream of a cycling hub for Winchester, offering lessons, guided rides, servicing, hire and more. The wonderful Handlebar Cafe at St Catherine's Hill added a perfect social environment and meeting point for cyclists and other outdoor enthusiasts. Heather still loves riding and is often seen out and about around Winchester - her favourite rides are around Chilcomb and Easton.
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Alastair
Mechanic
Alastair has volunteered for us every Wednesday. During Covid he completed his Velotech Platinum Level instructor training. He now makes sure our Wednesday CoGS sessions run well. And that we have refurbished bikes ready for the good causes we support or for sale outside the shop.
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Paul
Mechanic
Paul joined the team as a part-time volunteer on our midweek COGS sessions and you’ll find him in our workshop every Tuesday and Wednesday. He has been an engineer all his working life, and worked previously at Basingstoke Cycles. He runs, cycles and supports various charity initiatives including, every summer, multiple group charity rides from Land’s End to John O'Groats.
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Volunteers
We have a fantastic and diverse team of volunteers of all ages. Volunteers work with us to help refurbish our donated bikes, learning and applying valuable skills along the way. Volunteer participation is highly flexible – from a few hours per week, on a weekly or fortnightly basis. We also offer a bike mechanic academy providing maintenance and repair training courses.
Our impact
Our mission is to help everyone cycle more for health and well-being.
During 2022:
2,757
We serviced and repaired 2,757 bikes. Not including all the bikes we repair every month at the University of Winchester.
240
We refurbished 240 bikes and sold them to those who needed them, also keeping them out of land fill.
14
We recycled 14kg of inner tubes that went to Cycle of Good to be re-purposed into something useful.
250
We hired bikes to 250 couples, groups or individuals.
10,000
At the Handlebar Cafe we served over 10,000 customers with coffee, cakes and ice creams. Buying coffee and cake at The Handlebar Cafe helps kids in need get free bikes.
40
Around 40 volunteers have worked with us in all sorts of ways. Learning how to do up donated bikes, working in the shop as a Duke of Edinburgh Volunteer, or helping lead rides around the city.