BIG INTERVIEW


Pennine cycles director and co-owner Sandra Corcoran EVOLVING INDUSTRY


As the iconic Pennine Cycles celebrates its 23rd birthday, director and co-owner Sandra Corcorcan spoke with Alex Ballinger to share how she has seen the industry change


T


he story of Pennine Cycles is a long and remarkable tale that dates back to the second world war.


Sandra Corcoran, director of the bike retailer and frame


builder along with her husband Paul, has been involved in the business for more than 20 years, and sat down with BikeBiz to tell me how the business evolved.


Origin story In 1946, the original founders Johnny Mapplebeck and Geoff Whitaker returned from the war to their home city of Bradford and wanted nothing less than to return to their old pre-war jobs.


28 | February 2023


Mapplebeck and Whitaker had fallen in love with cycling and Italian bicycles, and founding their own bike shop, Whitaker and Mapplebeck (cycles) Limited, was a natural step. Then in the 1950s, Mapplebeck and Whitaker delved into the world of framebuilding, as the company developed over time into Pennine Cycles. In 2003, Mapplebeck retired at the age of 80 (Whitaker


had already left the business many years before), and Pennine Cycles was bought by Paul Corcoran, a Pennine Cycles employee with plenty of experience managing the store for Mapplebeck. Enter Paul and Sandra Corcoran, the owners of Pennine Cycles for the past two decades, celebrating their 23rd


www.bikebiz.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68