Recently the borough's oldest surviving bike shop Daycocks in Roman Road closed. I'm not sure how long they have been trading in Roman Road but I think they opened in the 70s. No news why they closed but their other branch in Stoke Newington has also closed and I've not seen them in their usual spot in Brick Lane.

When Westfield opened in September 2011 a walk around the centre soon revealed that you could buy a car but not a bike. I talked with one of the centre's managers and he said that there was plenty of space if I wanted to open a bike retailer. Not the answer I was looking for from a location claiming green credentials. Just before the Olympics a bike shop opened called The Bike Rooms. It only sells the Italian Pinarello range of bikes which are quality but come with a hefty price tag and the Assos range of clothing. These were the bikes supplied to Team GB.

Sad news reaches us that Bicycle Magic on Greatorex Street is to close down this week.

Ex-Wheelers co-ordinater Gary Cummins remembers "When Magic first opened in the early 1990s I went and made contact with them, it was called 'Magic Bike' back then.  The owner Scott had a business partner and the shop was a specialist in high end MTBs.  They even had their own MTB team, and competed at national level.