Rollapaluza racing. Pic: Rollapazula.com

Brick Lane’s Old Truman Brewery will host the SPIN LDN festival in the first week of May, an event described by organizers as the “world’s first urban focused bicycle consumer show & festival”.

The event is predicted to attract over 10,000 cycling enthusiasts from all over London and will include Hackney-based bike builders and traders among the many exhibits, which is likely to reinforce East London’s growing reputation as a centre for urban cycling.

Alex Dow the Event Director describes it as being more of an “art exhibition” than a trade fair. He said that it will be “a good day out, you can have some good food, go to the pedal powered cinema, listen to some live music and… it will be an education too”.  The event is unique as it only features independent exhibitors and will focus on the role of bicycles in an urban environment like East London.

Dow chose Brick Lane to host the event for personal reasons. He said: “I’ve had my bike stolen a number of times and they have all ended up being sold in Brick lane… (the area) reflects the reality of urban cycling .“

Quirky things to look out for include the ‘Invisible bike helmet’ by Hovding, ‘Frame Lab’ demonstration on how to build your bike and ‘Rollapaluza racing’ where you can race your mate on static custom bikes (see image above). The event promises to be an “authentic experience” which will attract bicycle enthusiasts from all backgrounds in an effort to cement East London’s claim to being a cycle friendly place.

Tickets for SPIN LDN will be £10 on the door and early birds can get them for £5 at http://spinldn.com/tickets/

By Taku Dzimwasha