The Savile Row Effect: How BUBR Is Remaking Cycling's Tailored Tradition
- Toks Ajasa-Oluwa
- Mar 22
- 5 min read
Words: Toks Ajasa-Oluwa: Founder of the Black Unity Bike Ride (BUBR)
Photos: Mixed
There's a stretch of road in Mayfair that has defined British sartorial excellence for over two centuries. Savile Row: stiff, traditional and stubbornly magnificent. A world of chalk-stripe suiting, hushed fittings and a craft so deeply embedded in its own mythology, it simply didn't feel the need to evolve.
And then this six-foot-something, dark-skinned British-Ghanaian named Ozwald Boateng arrived.
He didn't ask permission. He didn't soften his palette to blend in. He rocked up, donning a sexy silk-lined violet suit and dared everyone to tell him he didn't belong. He brought colour, swagger and a perspective that Savile Row had never seen. Instead of diminishing what was already there, he enhanced it. He proved that tradition and disruption aren't opposites. Sometimes, tradition needs disrupting to survive.
That, to me, is exactly what the Black Unity Bike Ride is doing to cycling.
We Didn't Come to Fit In
My disclaimer is I own a couple of “Ozzie B” suits, so it’s only fair I declare my obvious bias from the get-go. Every time I wear either suit, I feel like a superhero – not like Kingsmen but one more likely to have a Wakandan passport!
When I founded BUBR in 2020, cycling in the U.K. had a Savile Row problem. The sport was extraordinarily good at what it does. World-class infrastructure and Olympic medals galore. But walk into almost any major cycling event in this country, and you would see a very particular portrait of who cycling was “for”. The sport had stitched itself a beautiful suit. My issue was that it just came in one cut and one colour.
Black communities are, by every available metric, the least physically active ethnic group in the UK. Not because we lack the joy of movement. Anyone who has ever experienced Notting Hill Carnival or a proper sound system at an all-dayer in any Black neighbourhood in this country knows that is emphatically not the case. The barriers were structural: a lack of trust, a lack of visible representation, a sport that had never really needed to see us.
We weren't on Savile Row. We weren't even invited to browse the shop windows in Mayfair.
So, what did we do? We just opened our own shop, of course.
What Happens When You Ride in Colour
Saturday 1st August 2020 was a historical moment – the first time over 1,000 of us rode through London in unison. Music was pumping, riders draped in colourful outfits, children weaved between adults, generations together on two wheels. Something had shifted…not just for us, but also for everyone watching this loud, large Black peloton cutting through the capital.
Here's what Boateng understood that Savile Row took decades to learn: when you introduce something genuinely different, you don't diminish what came before. You expand what's possible. You show the world a version of the thing they thought they knew and suddenly the thing is bigger than it was.
That's what BUBR does every single time we ride in unity.
We've had 12,000+ participants across 50+ activations since 2020. Our flagship events carry a 91% satisfaction rating. After riding with us, 90% of participants say they're inspired to cycle more regularly. We have a 44% female participation rate. Every £1 invested in BUBR generates £12.23 of social and community value. These aren't vanity metrics. They're proof that when you build something that speaks to people rather than at them, they show up feeling a sense of belonging, joy and pride.
Many cyclists would have experienced international tours, but hardly any like what BUBR Africa offers. It’s a unique cycling experience that has social impact and culture at its core. The tours are an ideal experience for anyone wanting to experience Africa but do not have the means to make it happen. In 2023 we made our way to Ghana, followed by Rwanda in 2024. In 2025, we cycled through Cape Town (South Africa)‚ in the city, along the coast and into the townships. To date we have fundraised nearly £40,000 for NGOs based across the continent, inspiring young Africans to fulfil their potential via cycling.
2025: The Year We Proved It Could Travel
Last year was our most significant year yet.
We marked six years of BUBR London, our original flagship ride ‚ starting in Leyton, riding through Shoreditch and Kennington Parks, finishing in Dulwich for BUBR Fest. London saw its highest rider registration numbers to date. A community that, six years ago, the cycling industry had largely written off as a non-audience.
But 2025 was also the year we proved that BUBR isn't just a London phenomenon. We launched BUBR Manchester, the first time we'd taken the ride outside the capital - starting and finishing at the iconic Alexandra Park in Moss Side. And it was electric. One rider described it as taking over the streets in a way Manchester had never seen before. Another reconnected with a childhood friend they hadn't seen in over twenty years. That doesn't happen at your average sportive.
Last year over 2,151 volunteer hours were donated by our community. People don't give that to any generic event. They invest that into movements.
2026: The Collection Expands
Boateng didn't stop at one cool suit. He built a house and then a legacy.
At BUBR I think we're attempting to do the same thing:
BUBR Africa - Senegal (May 2026)
This will be our biggest Africa trip yet. 45 of us are heading to Senegal and riding 500 kilometres across one of the most strikingly beautiful and culturally rich countries on the continent. We have a £10,000 fundraising target that we would value your support to hit!
BUBR Manchester (July 2026)
Manchester's award-winning debut last year proved the city was ready. Now we go deeper. July 2026 will see us build on everything that made the inaugural ride so special and then some. We even made it onto the national news, which is a great look for a tiny grassroots charity punching way above its weight.
BUBR London (August 2026)
Our annual homecoming. Six years in and it still gives me chills when we ride past some of London’s major landmarks. We are now an annual calendar fixture and I think London is richer for it. The route, the post-ride festival, the community‚ all of it returns this August, bigger and even more intentional.
Why This Matters Beyond Cycling
There's a broader conversation here that I want to name directly.
When Ozwald Boateng walked onto Savile Row, he wasn't just making a fashion statement. He was making a cultural argument: that excellence comes in many forms, that tradition is enriched by new voices and that belonging is not something you wait to be granted‚ it's something you create with courage.
The cycling industry is at a crossroads. The audiences it has historically served are ageing. The communities it has historically overlooked are here, we are active, we are passionate, and according to data we have a consumer value of at least £4.5 billion. Brands that understand this moment will be part of something genuinely historic. Brands that don't will find themselves, a decade from now, wondering how they missed it.
BUBR is not asking to be included in cycling's existing story. We're writing our own. And it’s reassuring to see the likes of Sport England, London Marathon Events, Rapha, Lime, Drip Water and Manchester City Council choosing to be part of it with us.
BUBR Manchester – 5th July 2026
BUBR London – 1st August 2026
Find out more and register at www.blackunitybikeride.com
The Black Unity Bike Ride is a registered charity dedicated to celebrating culture, improving health through cycling and building belonging across Black communities in the UK and beyond.
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