Regulars at London Fields may not have noticed the reserved grey balding one situated near the parks front gates at the Broadway Market entrance. He sits on the left in a deck chair quietly reading his paper, though just a few feet away he normally has with him a couple of rescued and restored vintage bikes.
These are all sorts of shapes, sizes and colours. He is extremely friendly and genuine, these bikes are not stolen from anyone as he will tell you. He searches for unusable bikes and fixes them up so they can bring joy to someone new.
Selling at reasonable rates you can haggle him down if you dare, although once that old man grins I’m sure you won’t have the heart to. Especially when he tells you that if there are any problems or you simply don’t like the bike bring it back the next week and he will give you your money back (minus £5). A weeks guarantee! He also does repair jobs and can replace anything you need, so if you’re ever in trouble bikewise, go see the man.
I bought my bike for £50 and haven’t had any problems after 2 months of using it, considering its 30 years old that’s pretty good going. Get there early (10am)as he usually sells out by 1pm.
Make sure you give him a nod and a smile next time you pass.
Ben
