There Really is lots to DO in Sheffield City Centre

We see a lot of commentary online, on social media and in response to our posts or those of others, from individuals about how rubbish our town centre is now (since Cole Brothers closed, seemingly). In fact on our walks around the city to promote the new hub we also hear people say that there isn’t anything to go into the city for now. Well we whole heartedly disagree! Not only is your city busy all the time but there is so much to do here that you’d probably find it hard to not come into town everyday if you look hard enough.

Let’s begin with the shops, it feels like some people define our city by how many big name stores we have here and now that Cole Brothers (John Lewis to others) and Debenhams have closed it feels like some people think that our city is now closed, the reason they closed their doors was because they could make more money selling online, let’s be honest. Sheffield shops are varied and different, there are independents galore from Bookshops like La Biblioteka, Juno Books and Forbidden Planet to everyday food stores like Iceland, Sainsbury’s and Lidl. Yes there are plenty of coffee shops, they are all very different, there is the hustle and bustle of Cambridge Street Collective, Sheffield Plate and Kommune (soon to become Department). There is H&M, M&S and TK Maxx. If you are into your sports and outdoors there is Blacks (soon becoming Go Outdoors), Up and Running and Decathlon. Buying music too from HMV, yes it is still there at the bottom of Fargate.

Then we have the entertainment, whether it be by day or by night, its amazing how many live venues putting on shows and music are in your city centre. The City Hall & Memorial Hall we all know and love. The Crucible and Lyceum and the smaller Playhouse attached to the Crucible. There is the Library theatre that puts on some occasional racy burlesque and amateur plays. The newly refurbished Montgomery Theatre can be found opposite the Town Hall. With 4 prominent Cinemas in our town centre you’ll be spoilt for choice, The Light and Odeon showing all the big blockbusters and the Curzon and Showroom show more specialist titles including opera and the Showroom is home to ShAFF the film festival.

There are art galleries, the Millennium Gallery, the Greaves at the top of the Central Library is still going strong, the Site Gallery and smaller unique galleries like Pete McKee gallery on Cambridge Street. Events are happening all the time in the City Centre, this month and every March it’s the Festival of the Outdoors, there is the Food Festival in May, the Sheffield Grand Prix cycle race in July. The Half Marathon and Sheffield 10k all start in the City Centre.

Live music cannot be forgotten too, with the iconic Leadmill, Sydney & Matilda and Corporation all playing a varied mix of live bands. Hoping to be joined once again by the O2 soon. Notwithstanding all the unique smaller gigs going off all over our city centre.

For a night out our City is home to a multitude of restaurants and bars, there are so many it’s difficult to pick out some but to name a few here include the local names like Cambridge Street Collective, Mamas & Leonies, Ego and Streetfood Chef. But for chain restaurants that don’t include McDonalds or Burger King you can find The Botanist, Piccolinos, Pizza Express and the restaurants in Leopold Square like Zizi’s. If you are looking for games to play Roxy Bar, Boom Bar, Common Room and Arrowsmiths at Bungalow & Bears offer entertainment that requires a pool cue or sheaf of darts. The classic pubs still exist in the town centre too it’s not all fancy young discotheques (tongue firmly in cheek) The Roebuck, Globe, Red Lion and Howard can still be found on Charles Street and Howard Street, the Red Deer is still behind the University and the institution that is Fagans still stands overlooking Broad Lane. The Rutland Arms still maintains that prominent position on the corner of Brown Street.

“Well I’m not interested in all that”, sigh, I hear the chorus from those un-social-media types. Well that is just scratching the surface! Get fit and feel good at Ponds Forge, The Gym, Hotpod Yoga and The Turkish Baths all available so you can sweat it out or chillout. There are also loads of Churches to cleanse your spirit, Sheffield is home to two Cathedrals, a grand Methodist Hall and a multitude of smaller venues where you can contemplate life, being and all things peaceful in the world.

What about taking in a breathe of fresh air or getting the kids entertained with a trip to Pounds Park, the Peace Gardens fountain is always fun in summer and then there are pocket parks to discover like Nursery Street, Matilda Street and not forgetting the Frisbee playing zone on Devonshire Green that happens to also be home to the skate park in the city. How can we forget the iconic Winter Gardens too, it’s all in the name.

If you stopped visiting the City Centre during the pandemic and you feel there is nothing to tempt you back I challenge you to try, you'll be amazed at what is right here in your City and the varied and exciting small local businesses making your City come alive.

By far the best way to enjoy all this is to either cycle or take the bus into your City, don’t worry about finding a parking space and have a wander through your City and discover what it truly has to offer. Our Sheffield City Centre Cycle Hub is open 24/7 so it doesn’t matter what time the gig finishes you’ll still be able to collect your bike in a well lit safe environment and if you get caught short there are even toilets too! Get more from your City enjoy it!

If you do want the shops, Meadowhall Shopping Centre is there with all the big names and you can even park your bicycle securely there too in our hub at the interchange all included in the price of a monthly pass of £5.

Sign up by clicking the banner.

The Festival of the Outdoors

March is Sheffield’s annual Festival of the Outdoors in the Outdoor City and events are going off all month around the City, many in the City Centre including ShAFF the adventure Film Festival, the Climbing Works International Festival and Pollen Market.

If you are visiting the city centre for some of the Festival of the Outdoors events this year why not pay £5 to use our secure cycle hub in the heart of the city for an entire month and keep your bicycle safe and dry while you enjoy yourself.

https://www.welcometosheffield.co.uk/visit/headline-events/festival-of-the-outdoors/

Image from Welcome to Sheffield Website, Parkwood Springs overlooking the city.

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Top tips for a Dry Saddle

If you cycle in Britain be prepared, be a boy scout, make sure your wet weather gear is to hand and is dry, make sure your shoes are sturdy and waterproof because as we all know Britain is a wet country.

A wet saddle is a forgone conclusion parking outside in Britain.

If you need to leave your bicycle out in the rain you know you’ll have a wet bum when you get back on your saddle.

Not only the inconvenience and slight humorous embarrassment of having a wet stain in a location that could suggest another type of incident the weather isn't helping your bike either. Water and steel mean rust, the longer your bike is left to get wet and dry the more likely your bike will rust and no matter how well intentioned we are constant oiling and protecting the bike with products isn't happening let’s be honest.

So what to do?

Well you could cover your bike everywhere you park it, carry a bicycle cover with you everywhere on the off chance of rain, and when it does rain we’ll you then have a wet cover to deal with, pack in your bag and take home to dry. The trusty old supermarket plastic bag can be a more convenient saddle cover but the rest of your bicycle will always be exposed.

Or

The more obvious idea is to park your bike indoors, let’s be honest there aren’t many covered cycle racks around so why not park your bike in one of our Cycle Hubs. Yes, they aren’t located everywhere but where they are located it seems silly not take advantage. A dry, indoor, secured space, well lit and with added extras you won’t find at your local on street bike rack like CCTV, bicycle pumps, some even have toilets.

Avoid the embarrassment of the British bicycle wet bum this year and sign up to use Russell's Bicycle Shed located in the City Centre and Meadowhall.

Meadowhall Hub connecting you to the rest of the country.

Meadowhall isn't just a shopping centre there is so much more to the area of Meadowhall than that. Our Cycle Hub is located at the junction of two National Cycle Network routes and is just steps away from rail, tram, bus and coach connections to places all over the country.

It opened in September 2023 and was opened by Ed Clancy the South Yorkshire Active Travel Commissioner.

Located Next to Platform 2 in The Meadowhall Interchange Car Park at the end of the Blackburn Valley Trail.

With bus prices increasing and a single fare from Ecclesfield to Sheffield City Centre costing £2.80 each way and a journey time of potentially 50+ mins have you considered using multi-modal travel?

It's a peaceful traffic free 16min cycle ride along the flat Blackburn Valley trail from Morrisons in Ecclesfield Park cycle right to the front door of our Cycle Hub and 5 minutes later (if you time it to perfection) you can be sat on a train on your way to Sheffield City Centre taking 9 mins and costing as little as £1.90.

Travelling each way

Time saved = 40+ minutes

Money saved = £1.80

Doing it 3 times a week each way:

Time saved = 120+ minutes

Money saved = £5.40

Doing it 3 times a week 48 weeks a year each way

Time Saved = 4 days

Money saved = £249.20

Even with the £5 per month cost of our high security hub included you can save nearly £190 per year.

If you drive well just imagine what you can save.

The driving journey takes about the same amount of time if the traffic is low but the cost savings go through the roof.

Cost of travel at 50p per mile over 6 miles = £3.00 each way.

Cost of parking in the City Centre if you get there early enough and grab a cheaper car parking space could be around £7.50 per day.

Notwithstanding the gym membership you can save a lot of time and money by mixing up your transport to work.

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The power of Active Travel and Public Transport is huge and it will make a massive difference to how you feel just try it, what have you got to loose. Click the banner below for more information.

What is Russell's Bicycle Club

For several years we’ve been offering Russell’s Bicycle Club to our customers. If you haven’t come across it yet and you are a regular rider it may be of interest to you.

So what is Russell’s Bicycle Club? It’s a cost efficient way of getting your bicycle serviced is the simplest answer. Basically, you pay a fixed monthly amount and every 6 months your bicycle gets a service provided by our experienced mechanics. But also any of those annoying little jobs that can’t quite wait until a service like break pad replacement and puncture repair are free of labour costs.

Why does that matter? Well essentially every time you use your bicycle it wears out a little bit. The more you use it the more it wears out. Every moving part on the bicycle, which is most of them, experiences a significant amount of wear and tear during a years worth of use. To make sure that wear and tear doesn’t result in a failure of a part while you are riding, which could be dangerous and painful, getting your bike regularly serviced is essential.

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I don’t have time to repair my bike so I don’t use it when it breaks. That’s where Russell’s Bicycle Club comes in. We know that fixing your bike is one of the last things you want to do after a long day at work, you have enough to do and you also need your rest time too. So that is why we try to set up workshops close to you, like in the City Centre where you may work. When your bike doesn’t feel just right as a Club member you can just drop it off and we’ll try to get it fixed and tuned ready for the end of the working day.

We are here to help you stay cycling and if you have a bicycle that is well maintained then you are more likely to choose that over the car to travel short distances or commute to work. Getting into the routine of little and often helps and by spreading the cost of bigger services it helps you to manage how much your bicycle costs to keep running.

Want to know more or to sign up click the banner below:

Here be Peregrines!

When we opened the City Centre Cycle Hub we noticed a strange thing happening and eagle eyed pedestrians walking passed the shop probably have seen this too: lots of dead birds on the pavement, not just dead but decapitated, barely recognisable apart from the wings and occasional head.

Now it could be considered a bit gory but we were intrigued to know what was happening so we started watching the building and amazingly one day we spot something perched on top of the Vita Student sign. Looking closer through a friend’s telescope we see a peregrine, like the ones that live in the bell tower of St George’s Church on Mappin Street.

This bird and it’s partner appear to be catching other birds bringing them to the sign to feast and then discarding the remains to the pavement below. It’s amazing to think this is happening right in the city centre of Sheffield and most of us wouldn’t know.

The Natural World is amazing and when given the opportunity to adapt it will.

If you visit the hub look out for the feathers a sure sign of a feast for the peregrine earlier.

Delivering in the snow

Even in the snow and icy conditions we have been out delivering office furniture on our cargo bike, it's difficult on side roads still and so the decision to ride on dual carriage ways was necessary. It helps that most drivers give you space but there are a few who don't and many who are trade people doing the same as us; working.

We aren't holding you up we aren't 'too slow' we are just doing a job in difficult conditions so if you drive, for work or commuting, think about whether it's the speed of the journey or the safety of the other road users, just ease off the accelerator and give at least 1.5m between you and the cyclist or pedestrian walking on the road because the paths are unsafe. This weather happens infrequently in Britain and everyone understands if you are a few seconds late because you did the right thing for your fellow worker and traveller.

Drive and ride safely.

Our Cycle Hubs - Your Questions Answered.

The response to our opening of the first network of Cycle Hubs in Sheffield has been amazing thank you all who have been positive and who have already signed up.

Quite rightly we’ve had a lot of questions about the hubs, the facilities and the pricing model in particular. So understanding that there will be other people out there who may have the same questions we thought we would try to answer as many as we can here.

Q. Will there be a space for me to park my bike?

We don’t guarantee a parking space but our hubs have lots of parking spaces for different types of bicycles and because they are managed when the places do start to get full we can find investment to expand them.

Sheffield City Centre Cycle Hub

Q. Can I park my fat tyre bike in the stands?

We try to provide different options for parking your bicycle so wherever possible we will offer two tier stands for standard bicycles and Sheffield Stands for those that may not fit in the two tier stands.

Q. Why can’t I just pay for a day visit?

We thought long and hard about pricing options and how it could be managed. We are a local company supporting the local community but to do that we have to have a consistency of cash flow throughout the year, by offering a smaller ad-hoc charge we may not be able to support you when the weather turns and the facilities may have to close thereby not providing any facility when you want it. We don’t believe our charges are exorbitant considering that a coffee on the high street now costs £3.50, a day bus ticket is £5.70 and a subscription to the Sheffield Tribune is £7.41 per month (paid annually at £89), and our facilities are managed with clean heated toilets, CCTV and lighting that all needs to be paid for whether you are using it daily or just occasionally. Our aim is to grow our network to make it more viable for you as a cyclist and provide facilities across the city whether you want to visit the or not you have that choice. We are not ruling out changes to our pricing model but we need to get established and grow our network before we implement any changes.

Q. Why is Sheffield Station different?

We used to manage Sheffield Station on behalf of EMT/EMR and we did that successfully for 10 years but their hub is part of their network and they decide how it is managed. At present the hub there uses a fob, on a computer system that is at least 20 years old, which can be passed around and used by anyone all for a one off fee, we feel our offer is much more secure, provides access to a local network not a national one and offers you piece of mind. You can also sign up on the day and have access to the hub in just a few minutes with no need to queue to buy a fob only to find out that they have run out.

Q. Where is the Meadowhall Hub

Our hub at Meadowhall is located in the car park behind the Railway Station next to platform 2. It is conveniently located at a junction in the National Cycle Network that links the route North to Ecclesfield with that of the route to Rotherham Town Centre and Sheffield City Centre. Trains and coaches from Meadowhall run to locations all over the country and it is only a 3 minute walk to the shopping centre.

Q. Some properties don’t allow e-bikes can I park mine here instead?

We are very happy to allow e-bikes to be parked in the hub. Although there has been lots of media about e-bike fires the risk of this is negligible.

Q. Do you provide charging for e-bikes?

Unfortunately we do not provide the facility for e-bike charging, there are several reasons for this which include; how we charge for this service, how we manage the multitude of charging cables for different bikes and how we protect those from being used or taken by others in the hub, but also there is the issue of e-bike fires which means we can’t risk someone leaving their bike charging overnight unaccompanied.

Q. How much space is available for Cargo Bikes?

There are currently 10 spaces available for Cargo Bikes and Tricycles at the City Centre and one at the Meadowhall Hub; they are the Sheffield Stands located along the wall as you walk in the City Centre and the low level Sheffield Stand directly inside the door of the hub at Meadowhall. We intend to increase the number of available spaces for these types of bike as demand increases.

Q. What time is the workshop open?

Our workshop in the City Centre is currently open Thursday and Friday only 10am - 6pm. We are hoping to expand those hours as the weather gets better and demand increases.

Q. How do I lock my bike to the 2 tier stands?

Locking your bicycle to the 2 tier stands is simple and very secure. Below are a series of pictures showing how best to lock your bicycle using a D-Lock which we do recommend using. In these pictures you’ll note that there are two different D-Locks used.

Please do keep your questions coming we will try to answer them as best we can. We feel our network is a positive addition to the infrastructure of the city and will help more people see cycling as a viable option. We look forward to opening more facilities soon.

Well here is to 2024

It’s been a weird year, what started with us closing our Sheffield Station shop after serving the users there for 12 years and we end it with a new venture, a new beginning in the Sheffield City Centre Cycle Hub.

After 2 years of false starts and what seemed like someone somewhere just not wanting the hub to open it finally opened in November. This Hub is added to our hub at Meadowhall Railway Station and access to both is a small charge of £5 per month with no commitment of any period length.

2024 has been hard work, while waiting for the City Centre to open we saw a change of staff and we have been joined by Elliot who has been a star these last few months.

We grew our ebike conversion business partnering with Swytch and did some amazing Brompton Refurbs.

Our relationship with the railway industry grew with Northern Railways and shrunk with EMR but we can see a future there everything just needs to settle down with the new government and a dedicated plan for the future.

Our delivery service grew a little and we now transport everything from desk equipment and confidential files, to beer, cider and bananas in fact lots of bananas. In the last year alone we’ve done 2500km of deliveries and this has prevented 350kg of CO2 emissions being produced. We can only hope for more being done.

We want 2025 to be an awesome year and we can only do that by providing services you want to support so if you believe in better infrastructure for bicycles, more deliveries on ecargo bike and more reliable cost effective maintenance services for you and your bicycle then we want to hear from you because we want to support you to start, and keep riding.

So here is to 2024 and we are signing off, enjoy your Christmas, fingers crossed for a new bike, and we'll see you in the new year.