RETAILERS


Sandra and Paul Corcoran, owners of Pennine Cycles


PENNINE CYCLES: W


Rebecca Bland visits one of Yorkshire’s most iconic bike shops


hen you walk into Pennine Cycles, you can instantly sense the heritage, the passion, and the knowledge that oozes from within the walls. Not just because there are signed jerseys hung on the walls from ‘90s and early 2000s cycling superstars, or because of the masses of hand-built steel frames and wheels hanging from the ceiling, but because it feels like an old school bike shop


– and at the heart of that, is husband and wife duo Paul and Sandra Corcoran. Located on Thornton Road, in between Thornton and Bradford, Pennine Cycles has existed since the 1940s, although this location is somewhat newer. The shop began its life as Whitaker and Mapplebeck Cycles Ltd, named after the original owners, although in the 1950s they changed the name to Pennine Cycles. In 2000, Paul and Sandra took over the shop and have managed it through some boom and bust times, with highs including building a bike for Sir Gary Verity [former CEO of Welcome to Yorkshire] in 2014 to celebrate the Tour de France coming through Yorkshire.


Tour de France legacy “For us as a bike shop, an independent bike shop tucked away on Thornton Road in Bradford, which as a place doesn’t get all the good press, was really a super time with all the things that spun off that,” explained Sandra. “And I think cycling in Yorkshire was very much on a high at that time. I think there’s been a decline with Covid, and it has changed people’s shopping habits. Everybody’s habits have changed.


www.bikebiz.com June 2023 | 19


STANDING THE TEST OF TIME


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