E-bike conversion kits: what to check before you buy
A good kit turns an old steel bike into a useful commuter. A bad one turns it into an illegal moped with a mystery battery.
Est. 2026 · Workshop journal · UK
Bike talk from under the bench, not behind a till.
Cranky Bikes is a British home-mechanic journal for the person who rides every day and would rather fix their bike than replace it. New workshop pieces every week. No shop talk, no "best of" lists, no sponsored nonsense.
On the bench this month
Shared e-bike licensing: the consultation and how to respond
Hire bikes share our racks, lanes and reputation. The rules being drafted now will decide how that goes.
A child's bike for Christmas: sizing and checks
A bike that fits gets ridden. A bike to grow into gets left in the shed by February.
Charging an e-bike battery safely at home this winter
Winter is when e-bikes come indoors. That is exactly when charging habits start to matter.
The new dangerous cycling offences explained
Four new offences, a life maximum for the worst, and very little change for anyone who already rides with care.
Taking your bike on the train at Christmas
Book the bike space before the seat, check every leg for engineering works, and never trust a replacement bus with a full-size bike.
Why this journal
Most cycling writing is a shop window dressed as advice. We are not a shop. We do not have anything to sell, and we are not affiliated with any other site of a similar name. What we have is a workbench, a few decades of punctures between us, and an editorial preference for the plain answer.
If you can hold a 5 mm Allen key, you can look after a bike. Read the pieces in any order. If you spot a mistake, write in , our address is on the contact page.