Sutcliffe Cycles to close on Christmas Eve after serving Preston’s cyclists for over 60 years

Martin Sutcliffe will be enjoying his well-deserved retirement

Sutcliffe Cycles, Preston’s much-loved independent cycling shop, will close permanently on Christmas Eve after serving the local community for over 60 years.

Since opening in 1957, the shop has provided thousands of people across Preston and the North West with high-quality bikes and servicing.

Despite unprecedented demand for cycling during the Coronavirus pandemic, the shop’s owner, Martin Sutcliffe has taken the decision to enjoy a well-earned retirement.

The closure comes 105 years after Sam Williams, the Sutcliffes’ maternal grandfather, opened his first bicycle repair shop in 1915.

Sutcliffe Cycles in Ribbleton Avenue has long been a proud dealer of Raleigh, one of the world’s oldest and most iconic bike brands.

Sutcliffe Cycles is closing its doors permanently

At one point buying over a thousand of their bikes a year, the shop is one of the original Raleigh 5 star and Cyclelife dealers and has provided generations of local riders with high-quality British bikes.

Looking back on the shop’s history, Sutcliffe Cycles’ owner Martin Sutcliffe said: “I have always considered I entered the trade at just the right moment; up to that point bikes had largely been a “beast of burden”; a mode of transport that got you to and from work, with the idea of a bicycle as a leisure item for adults still in its infancy.

“I took up my spanners and allen keys and watched all that change.

“Becoming an exclusive Raleigh dealer for over forty years from 1977 to 2017 we estimate that we’ve sold somewhere in the region of 45-50,000 Raleigh bikes, ranging from the humble play trike to top-end road and off-road lightweights.

“I consider myself privileged to have witnessed the swathe of Raleigh designs sweep through our shop over the years. Looking back I can see it all as one would see the ascent of man. The ascent of Bike.”

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Raleigh Area Account Manager, Mike Harrison, added: “Sutcliffe Cycles has been a cherished partner to Raleigh for over 60 years. With both British companies offering decades of knowledge and expertise to their customers, Sutcliffe Cycles will be sorely missed by both us and Preston’s cycling community.

“As displayed over the past year, we believe firmly that cycling has the potential to completely reshape lives for the better, and it’s local treasures like Sutcliffe Cycles that are at the heart of this.”

Have you ever bought a bike from Martin? Will you miss Sutcliffe Cycles? Let us know in the comments below