Derby firms gear up Greg James for cycling challenge

Two Derby businesses have supplied specialist kit and a custom-built tandem bike to help BBC Radio 1's Greg James on his upcoming Comic Relief cycling challenge.

The breakfast presenter is due to cycle 1,000km (621m) from Weymouth to Edinburgh on a tandem between 13 and 20 March to raise money as part of Red Nose Day.

Sportswear brand HUUB is kitting out James from head to toe while Little Eaton-based Mercian Cycles has hand-built a one-off custom bike specifically for the event.

On social media, James hailed the bike as a "beautiful thing" that will "hopefully help me raise a huge sum of money for Comic Relief".

Comic Relief said James's challenge would help support vital projects providing food, shelter, and safety, with "every mile pedalled helping to put food on tables, secure safe places to sleep, and protect those at risk of harm".

The eight-day journey will see him joined on the tandem by a series of surprise guests.

HUUB has supplied James with kit to withstand the physical demands of the challenge, including special cycling shorts and waterproof outerwear.

Mercian Cycles, which has been making bikes since 1946 and was rescued from liquidation in 2024, has built a lightweight steel-framed, hand-painted red tandem to James's exact dimensions, along with a blue back-up bike.

The company has also provided four standard bikes of "various sizes" to be used by those joining James on the challenge.

Dean Jackson, founder and chief executive of HUUB, said: "We're incredibly proud to support Greg and Comic Relief. It's fantastic to see a national charity challenge backed by Derby businesses.

"Events like this show what can be achieved when local expertise meets a brilliant cause."

James Knowles of Mercian Cycles, said: "We're hugely proud to see a Mercian tandem at the centre of such an incredible national fundraising challenge.

"To create something bespoke for Greg and Comic Relief is a real honour.

"Derby has a proud cycling and manufacturing heritage and it's fantastic to see that expertise playing a role in raising money for such an important cause."

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