I visited the fabulous Ribble Cycles in Clitheroe and was blown away by its high-tech showroom

Ribble Cycles is one of the oldest brands in cycling and has been a leading innovator in the evolution of the modern bicycle since 1897. 

The brand originated in Preston and, despite having showrooms across the UK as well as shipping worldwide, has always tried to stick by its Lancashire roots.

In the past 125 years the company has built itself to become a cutting-edge manufacturer of British-built, market-leading bicycles.

When I approached their showroom in Clitheroe I realised that this wasn’t your ordinary showroom where bikes are stacked on top of each other without care.

Despite the long and traditional history of the brand, this showroom embraced the more modern landscape of cycling with plenty of interactive screens and neon lights.

Join our new WhatsApp Community to get the latest news and top stories from across Lancashire directly to your phone.

The whole backdrop made for quite a spectacle when looking through the rows and rows of expertly crafted bikes.

I could tell that with the modern feel of the store, as well as the interactive elements, the bike buying experience would be hard to match from other showrooms.

Whilst some of the bikes may look intimidating to beginner riders, there were plenty of options to choose from that ranged from their super light racing bikes to their more leisurely e-bikes equipped with the latest technology.

It was at the store that I got to speak with Ribble Cycles CEO, Andy Smallwood who has had a deep-rooted connection to the brand since his early teens.

He spoke about how growing up, he always wanted a Ribble bike and had to work extra hard to save up and eventually buy one.

Sign up for our free newsletters now

Now, 30 years later, Andy is helping to lead the brand both in a business sense and through research and development as they try to make their products the best they possibly can.

He said: “We do road bikes that are the most aerodynamically advanced in the world worth up to £10,000 capable of winning the biggest races in the world.

“But equally we also do bikes that are very accessible which can be used in all walks of life.

“Our bikes cater for everyone, from your budding Tour de France winner to someone who is just riding for leisure.”