What do you think will happen to the UK bike retail industry?

[Andy in Germany]

We've got a message saying Winora/Accentry, who are part of the group that also own Raleigh, are now delivering as normal again. This is the wholesaler that sells XLC parts and tools, apart from anything else.

 

[wafter]

Once had to represent one of those job titles as a Union rep. Behind all the ballocks of her title, her job was to organise parties/events for the ‘socially disadvantaged’ on our local sink estate - and getting paid a managerial rate to do it. Classic.

Yeah, it's the money and self-marketing that really irritate me; the core role might be otherwise legit but the "earnings" hard to justify once you cut through the pretentious, self-aggrandising rubbish.

A sad reflection of the British employment landscape where worthless, self-promoting spivs and chancers are often rewarded handsomely while those with real value are treated with disdain.

 

[Mike Ayling]

Yeah, it's the money and self-marketing that really irritate me; the core role might be otherwise legit but the "earnings" hard to justify once you cut through the pretentious, self-aggrandising rubbish.

A sad reflection of the British employment landscape where worthless, self-promoting spivs and chancers are often rewarded handsomely while those with real value are treated with disdain.

Cue plaintive violin music!

 

[ivegotabike]

A quick look at the Rapha Racing Ltd Companies House filings shows two things happened fairly recently

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04849594/filing-history

1. An allotment of shares, on 18 June 2026, raised £15m. All the shares are owned by Carpegna

2. Nick Evans, who has been involved with the company since 2006, ceased to be a Director on 12 June 2026

 

[rogerzilla]

In the dibble HR were affefitonely known as Human Remains. They might be "HR professionals" in the outside world, but police regulations apply there and its incredible how few had ever bothered to read them.

Dirty Harry got it right about Personnel (NSFW).

https://share.google/4TC5ayASrdMwWkSxf

 

[Punkawallah]

Yeah, it's the money and self-marketing that really irritate me; the core role might be otherwise legit but the "earnings" hard to justify once you cut through the pretentious, self-aggrandising rubbish.

A sad reflection of the British employment landscape where worthless, self-promoting spivs and chancers are often rewarded handsomely while those with real value are treated with disdain.

You saw it during the ‘pandemic’. The drones were ‘furloughed’, while the ‘expendable workers’ got to carry on regardless. Got them nothing come the next pay negotiations, though.

 

[Milzy]

I don’t really care, they have brought it on them selves. There’s thousands of brilliant cheap second hand bikes out there. Mugs will keep on paying good motorbike/car money for a pedal cycle though.

 

[Happy_Days]

An allotment of shares, on 18 June 2026, raised £15m. All the shares are owned by Carpegna

Isn’t that Rapha’s holding company?

BikeRadar’s published an opinion piece on the Rapha situation, but it’s sheer speculation…

https://www.bikeradar.com/features/...so-whats-next-for-the-troubled-clothing-brand

 

[VinSumRox]

It seems that Rapha considers itself more than just another cycle clothing supplier, without anything substantive to back it up. Bottom line - they aren't selling enough clobber to make a profit.

 

[wafter]

I don’t really care, they have brought it on them selves. There’s thousands of brilliant cheap second hand bikes out there. Mugs will keep on paying good motorbike/car money for a pedal cycle though.

I agree to an extent; many noses in a long-term-unsustainable trough.

 

[ivegotabike]

Isn’t that Rapha’s holding company?

BikeRadar’s published an opinion piece on the Rapha situation, but it’s sheer speculation…

https://www.bikeradar.com/features/...so-whats-next-for-the-troubled-clothing-brand

Yes, Carpegena is the holding company. It has bought £15m of new shares in Rapha Racing in order, one presumes, to give the subsidiary sufficient cash for its short term future requirements.

 

[rogerzilla]

You can run a business at a loss for ever, provided someone is wiling to make frequent injections of capital. There are many quite old IT startups that have never made a profit.

 

[rydabent]

Being in the UK recently I was able to visit a few retailers to buy a few things and get an idea of how they were doing.
It wasn't a very hopeful scene.
I visited Evans, J E James and Halfords, all in Sheffield.
While James had a few customers while I was there the other sites were very quiet. I was in Evans in a Saturday which should be their busiest day and just one other person was there besides me. The shop was stocked to the ceiling and offers abounded but it seems no one was buying. Halfords was very quiet too and nobody looking at bikes besides me.
So can the industry ride out this hiatus and survive or will more retailers and distributors go to the wall or will the way bikes are sold radically change.
What do you think?

I see this thread was posted in Nov. The 4 hard winter months are traditionally slow for bike shops. It may pop up around Christmas, other wise it will be slow. Starting in Mar tho, business always picks up.

 

[classic33]

I see this thread was posted in Nov. The 4 hard winter months are traditionally slow for bike shops. It may pop up around Christmas, other wise it will be slow. Starting in Mar tho, business always picks up.

And nigh on three years ago.

 

[Rusty Nails]

I see this thread was posted in Nov. The 4 hard winter months are traditionally slow for bike shops. It may pop up around Christmas, other wise it will be slow. Starting in Mar tho, business always picks up.

Seeing that post from Cycleops was a blast from the past. A prolific poster and resident of Ghana, he died last year in "interesting" circumstances.