Has anyone been to one? What would you want a bike cafe to have aside from the best coffee and bike help in town?

Asking cause I’m investigating the feasibility of setting up a community bike cafe in my local area. Something practical rather than a cafe with a few rusty bike frames hanging on the walls.

A bike cafe for me is somewhere that serves good quality reasonably priced food and has somewhere to lock up a bike. Outdoor sheltered seating would be good in case riders are particularly filthy. If you were really pulling out all the stops then a few simple spares, tubes, batteries etc, maybe a notice board for local club rides and wotnot.

Wouldn’t really want much more than that. Certainly anything too themed would probably put me off.

http://www.bike-zone.co.uk/

has this above it

http://zappisbikecafe.com/

They have special bits around the stairs so that you can run your bike upstairs and stuff like that. It’s pretty ace.

I’d want somewhere that can repair my bike whilst I wait and that showed live races on a big screen.
Organised nights with guest speakers from the world of cycling. Have a look at Look mum, no hands in London for an idea….

http://www.dalesbikecentre.co.uk/

I like the idea of a cafe with a bike shop too.
We are hoping the shop next door to us comes available as we want to extend our shop and use the space as a cafe, but would be interested in any ideas also for a cafe.

it must sell the best homemade cake with squidgy icing and nuts.

bikebeans.co.uk is a good set up, still new and evolving slowly.

I’d like secure bike parking (ideally with a view of the bike from the cafe). Having locks available to borrow would be nice but not sure how practical that is. And then tea / coffee with free / discounted refills, and easy place to refill water bottles (perhaps sell refills of sports drink or cordials)….

Yes, look mum no hands!. Very good food, nice ambience, nice decor and a decent shop/workshop too. Probably dismissed as excessively **** by some, I like it. 🙂

coin operated cable locks (like i saw on a spanish train) would be good for improptu/longer/bog visits. if someone could get it to work with five pound notes it would keep the weight weenies happy too 😀

Depends where you are and what your target / passing punter looks like. eg Roll for the Soul in Bristol city centre will be very different to something one might open in the Quantocks.

I think we might be thinking about different sorts of places. I was thinking along the lines of a cafe that you’d pop into either to meet people pre ride, or pop into mid ride for a bit of luxury refuelling.

I’ve been to LMKH and I would have put that firmly in the cycling themed cafe rather than a cafe for cyclists. Both have there place and there is certainly a market for each. I guess the location is probably the biggest factor in deciding which approach to take.

I was hoping for the road lads to start their rides from the shop with an espresso and a pain chocolat, the mtb lads to come in for some local riding and night rides maybe have some laminated local “cheeky” routes available.
TV live feeds home made cakes and local made croissants, Italian coffee, mugs of tea and bacon/sausage sarnies from the local butchers.

nothing flash but somewhere to hang out, bike wash, secure parking covered seating outside and car parking.

mW – every time i’ve been to LMNH there seem to be plenty of actual cyclists there. Seems very popular.

nothing flash

Nothing like Cafe Ronde then? Lots of super sexy, expensive bikes and wheels, lots of nice expensive clothing from Rapha, Castelli, Assos etc as well as some nice big benches and nice coffee, pasrtys etc. I like it in an uber expensive, hipster sort of way.

TV live feeds home made cakes and local made croissants, Italian coffee, mugs of tea and bacon/sausage sarnies from the local butchers.

That sounds ace but can you turn a profit from just cyclists?
Would too much dedication to one type of customer make others think twice about going in?

My take on that type of set up would be to create a great cafe first and foremost and add a few simple extras to make it convenient for cyclists. If Im shattered after a long ride I would rather have good cake than good decor.

There’s a place local to me exactly like that…
http://polocini.com/coffee-shop/

Little cafe with a big garage behind it which he’s currently fitting out as a workshop, some covered outdoor seating, bike racks outside (free use of locks), TV showing race coverage and a few special themed evenings – guest speakers, that kind of thing.

Really popular, he’s doing well with it and it’s not just cyclists that use it, the place seems pretty well frequented by the locals too.

I almost forgot about this one: Big Maggy’s it’s in St Helier, Jersey. Went there a few times whilst on holiday a little while back. Front of the shop was primarily a coffee shop with a few glass cabinets of bike related stuff, nothing too in your face. At the back were lockers, showers, washing machine, dryer, workshop etc.. Not quite the same as you’re looking at, as it was very much aimed at commuters, but might be worth a look.

Thanks for the feedback btw. Some good stuff there.

Like the look of this one

http://www.lock-7.com/

and someone was telling me about Skinny Erics in Hackney that sounds good.

If it happens I’ll post here first!

I’ve been to LMKH and I would have put that firmly in the cycling themed cafe rather than a cafe for cyclists

???? so there’s a bike mechanic there, locks to borrow, outside seating, a pump, tubes etc and you think it’s not for cyclists?

There’s also the http://www.thecyclehub.org/ in Newcastle

Has a library of bike magazines to browse whilst supping coffee and munching cake. They also show cycling events on TV and organise all sorts of events in evening and weekends.