Minster Cycles

With the Tour de Yorkshire announced to be taking place in our area in May, Minster Cycles on Norwood is gearing up for a busy spring and summer season, as Beverley get on their bikes.

Minster Cycles opened in 1992 when Peter Goldthorpe, not long out of university, took over the shop space which had been renovated by a family friend. He had been working at a cycle shop in Hull - which he is has now taken over, as well - and put his knowledge to the test by opening his own in Beverley.

The large two-storey premises is a one-stop-shop for all cycling needs, whether you are a serious cyclist with all the latest gadgetry or a leisure cyclist who pops out for a ride with the family, or anywhere in between.

As well as bike sales, Minster Cycles sells all the equipment, accessories and clothing needed to fully equip you and your bike. But, it doesn’t stop there, with an onsite workshop facility providing servicing, repairs and upgrades. Plus, a bike fit service, which allows you to ensure that your bike is set up right for you. All people are different, so it is important to get it set up for your height, build, reach and ensure it is right for you. If you are going to be riding it for a number of hours, you need it to be comfortable and, perhaps more importantly, you want to be transferring your power into the bike to get the most out of it.

Peter likes to compare it to a tailored suit. “When you have bespoke tailoring, it is just so,” he said. “Not many bike shops do it. A comprehensive bike fit can take up to 3-4 hours. But, if you have a pain in your back, or shoulder, or left knee, or whatever, when you ride, we can normally help to put it right.”

And, that’s not all.

“We often get people coming in wanting advice about where to ride,” Peter added. “And we run maintenance classes so that people know how to fix punctures or what to do if the chain drops off when they are out and about. We don’t want people to be stranded for what is often a simple fix, if only they knew how. It is all about keeping it running and how to look after it.”

Looking after their customers is top of Minster Cycles’ priority list, according to Peter.

“That’s the bottom line. Most of our business comes from word of mouth and the only way to get that is to have a happy customer. This time of year is always going to be quiet, but in the summer we are all permanently buzzing around.”

It is hoped that interest in the Tour de Yorkshire in May will see more people in Beverley getting on their bikes for a cycle ride. There are many different types of cyclists, as Peter points out.

“I don’t think there is a definition of a ‘serious cyclist’,” he said. One chap might ride 100 miles a week on his road and mountain bikes, but you won’t see him clad in lycra and measuring his heart rate and counting calories. I reckon less than 10% of our business is serious cyclists. I’d say that 50% are what I would call keen, fine weather riders, with 5% being commuters who just want to keep their bike up and running as a form of transport. The remaining 35% have probably never walked through the door before. But there is a growing awareness of health and fitness, and if the wife gets a bike then the husband will often get one too, or if your neighbour buys one, you might decide you want one. It is a snowball effect.

“I would encourage people to come in and have a look. A lot of leisure cyclists are almost embarrassed that they only do a few miles, but that is still better than none. Often they wonder why their cycling buddy is going faster than they are. Often they decide to get a better bike, so one propels the other and they become keener because they are enjoying it more.

“Cycling is the new golf. The kind of folk who you used to get on a golf course are now cycling and plotting charts on computers and sharing their routes and times over the internet. It is the social side of things. And, much like with their golf clubs, they are likely to have better equipment than their ability. It is all an incentive.”

So, why has there been such an increase in cycling, and is it set to continue, particularly in Beverley?

“There are more categories of bike than ever before, which means people can find the right bike for what they want to use it for, be it mountain or road,” Peter added. “If the bug bites, you want to be prepared and, in relative terms to a weekly wage, bikes have never been cheaper. In the 1960s, it would take a month’s wage to buy a bike. Even the high-end carbon fibre frames and hydraulic brake bikes don’t cost that much nowadays.”

It is fair to say that Peter certainly knows his stuff, and that is something which he thinks puts Minster Cycles ahead of non-specialist shops and the internet.

“I hope that when people come in here they see that we are well-stocked and have educated staff. They can trust us to guide them onto the right bike. It isn’t just a case of asking ‘what size do I need?’, and then turning to the internet. It is not consistent from one brand to another and it is our job to set up your chosen bike correctly, so it fits just nicely, like a made-to-measure suit. All bikes are adjustable within that size and it can be hard work to ride if it isn’t set up properly, and then they just lose interest. Having the right tool for the job you want it to do is more important than just going for an expensive bike. We are here to help with all that.”

So, for proper advice, excellent service and a huge choice of both bikes and accessories, head for Minster Cycles and get set for cycling this spring.