Ribble Cycles

A Preston-based bike company, founded in 1897, that sells road, gravel, electric and other bikes that customers can customise.

About Ribble Cycles

Ribble Cycles sells road, mountain, electric, hybrid, track and cyclocross bikes, and its model is built around choice. Customers pick a bike type, then personalise it in an online tool called BikeBuilder and choose a paint finish through CustomColour (the company says there are millions of colour combinations). Its tagline is "Your Bike. Your Way." Every bike is built in Preston, and the Chorley Guardian reports that each is put together by a single mechanic start to finish. Named models include the 7005 Audax, the Endurance SL R, the Ultra TT and the Hybrid AL e-bike.

Ribble began in 1897 in Preston, when an enthusiast opened a workshop on Water Lane to make steel bicycle frames. The name comes from the River Ribble. By 1913 it was a family business, and in 1949 it passed to the Sandiford family, led by Hughie 'The Cycle King' Sandiford. Ribble was the official bike supplier to the British Olympic cycling team in 1956. In 1985 a new owner moved it from frame-making to direct mail-order sales, with customers ordering by phone from adverts in Cycling Weekly. It moved to its current site on the edge of Preston in the mid-1990s.

In its own words, Ribble aims to become the number one British premium bike brand and a global player, and it believes the best-performing bikes should be available at every price point. Andy Smallwood, born in Morecambe, became chief executive in 2017. The company has just under 200 employees, according to a Chorley Guardian article (dated, so it may have changed). Besides Preston, it has a flagship showroom in Clitheroe, Lancashire, which features Europe's largest indoor 4K video wall, and a Virtual Showroom where customers can talk to bike experts by video.

On culture, the company says its staff are passionate cyclists who like to challenge industry convention. The electric bike is an example: Ribble set out to build one of the lightest in the world instead of fitting a heavy battery to an existing frame. It sponsors Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling, which reached UCI Continental status in 2019, and it sponsors a women's team. Jamie Burrow, a former World Tour professional, is its Head of Product. Well-known riders such as Geraint Thomas, Chris Boardman and Sir Bradley Wiggins started on Ribble bikes.

Roles in a direct-to-customer bike company include bike builders and mechanics, product designers and engineers, online and ecommerce teams who run tools like BikeBuilder, customer service and showroom staff, marketing and sponsorship teams, and warehouse and logistics staff. If you ride or race and want to turn that interest into a job, Ribble shows how a long-established Lancashire business has kept changing with the market.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Road, gravel, mountain, hybrid and track bikes configured in BikeBuilder, with custom paint.', 'title': 'Customisable bikes'}
• {'desc': 'Lightweight e-bikes such as the Endurance SL e and Hybrid AL e.', 'title': 'Electric bikes'}
• {'desc': 'A Clitheroe flagship, a virtual showroom, and professional team sponsorship.', 'title': 'Showrooms and sponsorship'}

Key facts

• Founded 1897 in Preston, Lancashire; named after the River Ribble
• Official bike supplier to the British Olympic cycling team in 1956
• Just under 200 employees (Chorley Guardian; undated); Andy Smallwood CEO since 2017
• Flagship showroom in Clitheroe; sponsors Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling

Website: www.ribblecycles.co.uk