It's midday in Central London on August 17, 2024, and 4,000+ young Londoners are wheelying their way from Southwark Park to Battersea Park and back, to the deafening beat of EDM that transforms the city streets into an urban festival.
The bikes, the music, the tricks – and the electric atmosphere – are the creation of Jake O'Neill, co-founder of the revolutionary East London collective Bikestormz. This carnival-like celebration is a rare sight in central London—and enough to make anyone wish they'd mastered the art of riding one-wheeled before adulthood claimed them.
O'Neill, known on the scene – and to his 330,000 Instagram followers – as 'Jake 100', is a born and bred East Londoner who established Bikestormz alongside Mac Ferrari in 2015. Their paths crossed in North London during the earliest days of the UK's 'Bikelife' movement, a term describing the growing phenomenon of group cycling. Together, they shared a powerful vision: providing young Londoners with an alternative to crime and violence.
Nearly a decade later, after countless ride-outs and an ever-expanding community of cycle-obsessed, trick-performing participants, Bikestormz's bi-annual events—cycling's answer to Notting Hill Carnival—have reached unprecedented popularity. The August 17th event attracted thousands of riders, with momentum still building.
"Cycling is complete freedom," O'Neill explains. "It's roaming without a care. It's riding for as long as you want with no one telling you otherwise. It's a tool to escape for most of us."
Each Bikestormz gathering transcends the typical ride-out. While the main ride remains the highlight, the full-day celebration features food trucks, music, and exhilarating trick competitions.
"For me, Bikestormz is about bringing as many people from our city together under the shared passion of riding bikes and doing wheelies," O'Neill says. "We were becoming friends with people that, if it wasn't for bikes, we'd have never been friends with. Being from East London there's no way I would've hung out with people from South [London] if it wasn't for riding bikes."
Bikestormz, now Europe's largest ride-out of its kind, empowers young Londoners with a sense of ownership over their city, even if temporarily.
"As a kid in the city, all the odds are stacked against you," says O'Neill. "You feel helpless, not listened to, and like you have no power in your own city. But what we're doing gives that back to the people for an hour. Suddenly they aren't helpless, they are listened to and they have power. It's a really magical thing."
Beyond the freedom of two wheels, Bikestormz has maintained a vital mission since its inception. The movement rallies around the powerful slogan 'Bikes Up, Knives Down'—directly addressing London's ongoing knife crime epidemic. The 2024 events come at a critical time, as knife crime in London surpassed 15,000 incidents in 2023/24 according to Statista—reaching the highest levels since before the pandemic.
Today, participants proudly wear 'Bikes Up, Knives Down' merchandise during every ride-out—gear that has been co-created with major brands including Nike, adidas, and Drake's Nocta.
"Stabbing has always been a problem here [in London], but we know now that we can bring young people together in a positive manner," explains O'Neill, whose commitment to fighting knife crime intensified after his best friend's older brother was fatally stabbed. "Now [we want to] take it outside of London. How can we get more young people together in a positive way?"
"At Bikestormz's first official ride-out in 2015 there were 200, maybe 300, people," O'Neill remembers. Now, riders travel from across the UK for the twice-yearly event. As participation has skyrocketed, so has support from authorities—particularly the Metropolitan Police and local councils.
"When we started riding back in the day, all the public were seeing was young people in tracksuits riding bikes around central [London]. When there was no culture and no community behind us, it's understandable why people would look at us negatively. We never had a problem with it. It was a shame, sure, but it just meant we had to change that perspective. That's life in London."
Today, both police and city officials actively support Bikestormz. "We used to get stopped and chased by the police week in, week out. They said we were dealers or thieves – or anything they wanted us to be. Now they're fully involved. They help us, rather than hinder us. They understand it more. They understand we're doing this for a reason."
O'Neill's vision continues to expand. Following Bikestormz London's success, he's determined to bring the collective to other "major European cities." The formula is powerful yet simple: creating an escape for young people, a community for friendship, and an alternative to crime in challenging urban environments.
"When we first started Bikestormz it was just about mates riding together," O'Neill reflects. "But now, after seeing how much of a positive effect it can have not just on individuals, but on communities as a whole, our goal is to continue to grow and help as many people as possible across the world. Bikestormz really is limitless."
Want to join the next Bikestormz event or support their mission? Follow Jake 100 on Instagram and watch for upcoming ride-out announcements.
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