It’s my birthday! To celebrate, I’d like to give you a sneak preview of a new app I’ve been working on for London’s cyclists.

Update! The app is now available here: http://bit.ly/ldncyclistapp

I know you’re going to love it but I need your help to make it a reality. Read on!

The app will list all of London’s:

Bike shops – currently 239 of them!

Cycle cafes – including Look Mum No Hands, Rapha Cycle Club and FullCity.

Community initiatives – including London Bike Kitchen and 56a Bikespace

Rentals – for when your friend visits town or for when you need a road bike for an event!

Mobile repair services – let the puncture repair man come to you!

It’ll be perfect for when you are looking for a well recommended bike shop, a cycle cafe to rest your legs or a great place to get a reliable second hand bike.

There are many places in London that few cyclists know about, so I’d like to bring these great shops, cafes and services the attention they deserve.

We created a similar app back in 2010 but it was missing some key features, such as allowing people to rate their favourite bike shops. Plus, the app was paid and this one will be free!

I’m also hoping it will be a good way to bring bike shop discounts to readers of London Cyclist – thus saving you money whilst helping you keep your bike well serviced.

Help: Spread the word

If you think this is a good idea, please copy and paste the link to this post and share it on Facebook and Twitter. Thank you!

Help: Pictures of bike shops

Is there a bike shop you pass every day? One really near your office or home? Please take a landscape picture to be used in the app and send it over to me. You’ll be given credit in the listing page and help me make the app more useful for everyone.

Help: Reviews of bike shops

Have a bike shop you love? Help me make the app immediately useful – write your review in a comment below or send it to me! I’ll make sure we include your words in the app.

When?

Apple is predicted to release the new iPhone and iOS 7 on September 10th. Rather than create an app for the old version of iOS, I’ll be focusing on 7, so we can use the latest features such as AirDrop, which allows you to wireless send information to other iPhones near you. The downside is I have to wait for Apple to release the update.

Help: Let’s bring this to Android

73% of mobile visitors on London Cyclist arrive on Apple devices, that’s why I’m starting there.

However, I don’t want to leave out Android users.

The problem is, I don’t know a good Android developer.

Do you?

Please put me in touch with them.

Alternatively, if you’d like to develop this app, then I’d be happy to support you by making the database open source and giving you access to integrate it into an app.

For Android users, I’m also planning on creating a mobile version of the site, so you’ll be able to see the results on your browser.

The database: Could you improve it? / Could you use it?

I want to open source the database for anyone who may wish to freely use it. Just drop me a message via contact page to let me know what you’ll be needing it for. A lot of hours (20+) have gone in to making this the most accurate and useful listing out there of London’s bike services and I’d like to see it well used.

How to download the app

The app is called London Cyclist and can be downloaded for free here.