Roots Cycle Works

**********************CLOSING DOWN SALE*************************

It is with the deepest sadness and regret, that I announce the winding up and permanent closure of Roots Cycle Works ltd.

It seems almost impossible to imagine that this time last year we had a thriving business with over £30K in the bank and two stores. In 9 months of utter economic devastation we are now at the point where I have no choice but to permanently close the business I took over a decade to build.

Small and medium sized businesses really are on the economic front line in all this. Our situation is simple, as soon as people stop walking through our front doors, our business starts failing.
It became very clear to myself and my business partner that the middle and bottom had dropped out of the market in May last year. Whilst high end customers are still there its clear that the cost of living rises have taken huge swathes of middle and low income earners, disposable incomes. Those people (who I am myself). have had to make tough decisions for their families and things like, getting and occasional use bike serviced, has not been a priority (understandably).

In July of last year, our business, turned over more than we ever have on a like for like basis. But we did it on an 8% margin, which is supermarket margins and no SME can survive on those number.
Why?
It's simple. If you buy a product from me that costs £100 then I earn about £10 in profit. Where as if you get a bike serviced by me then I keep more like £58 0f £65.
So, with fewer people spending more money on products, the Roots Cycleworks business model no longer works. The margins are just too slim.
And of course, that's without mentioning other factors like our insurance increasing by over £1.5k even though we have never made a claim. Inflation, import duties, Brexit, an abject out of touch government, supply shortages and of course the cost of living crisis have all contributed to make it simply impossible to continue trading.

********************Schedule of closure******************************

No further servicing or mechanical work will be booked in after the 15th of Jan. If you want a bike serviced before I go, you have about a week to get it in. Once I am fully booked to the 15th I will accept no further work.

Sat 21st we will close our doors to the public and start clearing out the workshop.
From now until then we will be having a closing down sale with all current stock at at least 30% off rrp. We have hire bikes and equipment, pumps, helmets l***s and cleaners, all of it needs to go, but please don't be daft, I am not going to let a £500 bike go for £100. However, that £500 bike is now £290, so, you get the picture.

By Sat the 30th the doors will have closed for good.

Finally, it just remains for me to thank you all so much for supporting us all these years.
It has been a privilege and a pleasure to serve all our customers and the Exmouth community.

Thank you all and good luck!

Autumn/Winter opening
It's October so it's back to being closed on a Sunday.
We will resume Sunday opening again in April 2023.

It is with a heavy heart that we have to announce the closure of our Ebford branch on October the 16th.
Circumstances beyond our control have played a large part in this decision.
I am personally, gutted, to be losing my business partner and partner in crime Ryan Stiling. Ryan did an absolutely fantastic job setting up and running the Ebford branch of the business for the past three years and I want to take this opportunity to thank him personally for his council and support over the time we spent "being" Roots Cycleworks.
Nothing is written in stone and there is nothing to say that in a couple of years, when this mess has settled down a bit, that we may once again join forces.

I am going to keep running the Exmouth store so please continue to be the most amazing bunch of customers a business owner could ever wish for and I will keep throwing spanners at your bikes.

OBVIOUSLY Tamzin Curry and I would like to wish Ryan and Rosie well for their future escapades.
Ryan and I have been friends for many years now and I can't see that changing anytime soon, so I'm sure we will join them both in many future adventures.

Special thanks go to the Conservative party of Great Britain who have been abject as a government for quite some time now, seemingly more interested in successive vanity projects than actually running the country. Whilst the French re-nationalised EDF energy ensuring the French population have only seen an 8% rise in energy prices the governing party of this country were engrossed in "Project save Big Dog". Believe you me, there is a special place in hell waiting..........

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=8306473426060405&id=100000934907506&post_id=100000934907506_8306473426060405¬if_id=1664355621416685¬if_t=nf_photo_story&ref=notif

We are closed on Monday the 19th as a mark of respect for her Majesty's funeral.

End of season Hire equipment sale now on at our Ebford store. Bikes, trailers, child seats, helmets etc. Limited stock so grab a bargain while you can!
https://www.facebook.com/ryan.stiling/posts/pfbid0SrUFh3utudQYUUHRwsYDRDYyxUHs3vFT9DwZLoBSuDyjLcfEqTVAYQAoooKocXJTl?__cft__[0]=AZWl1fhPGwqovU57S20fVFlQBnVR7OWHyDcHIfpCLimcxskXkfLgnL7Lbk869fRqlukujEml5gB70u9ZrBZo4t61EI9te0MFP0kCgR-jbWxFGt_qvQwWyunekw8-7Q73X0LAw6VzUcs6QI5RaUNnTZRcc88InrmXeVxk2Z1gRK_LoDkdayH4iCGYk6ONMvHvkGY&__tn__=-UK-R

We have some truly amazing customers. Chapeau to Fin on his national title and his smart new Jersey! Top work Fin!

Impressed with the quality of these chainrings by absoluteBLACK this one is the Premium CX fitted to a Giant TCX, plenty of other variations available, distributed by and designed in the UK...lovely

A nice 'from the ground up' Pipedream Sirius build. Got to like the stance of this bike, it's of those steel hardtails that likes to be thrown around with its slack head angle and options to run 29" or 27.5" or mullet, it's got fun written all over it

Hi All, the Exmouth workshopwill be shut from 3pm Friday the 19th until 09.30 Monday the 22nd. We are going away for a short break. Many Thanks! Chaz

Sometimes we surprise ourselves.
As you all know, we don't sell bikes, BUT, we do, do custom builds.
One of our regulars set us a challenge. He wanted a gravel bike and was looking at a Di2 equipped bike at £2600.00, trouble was we weren't that keen so he set us a simple challenge, do better and he'd buy the bike from us.
For £2750.00 we built him this.
A Kenisis Tripster AT. SRAM E-tap Rival XPLR group, Pro bars, stem and handlebars, DT rims hand built with DT spokes on a hub set found on £1500.00 carbon wheel sets. Panaracer Gravel King TLC tubeless tyres (set up tubeless, no conversion needed).
Interested?........yeah course you are!

Bit of bike p**n for those of you that like that sort of thing ;-)

I know some of you lovely lot appreciate a bit of retro action. This little gem came in for a fork service (lockout not working, etc).
Born in 2006 this is one of the last production models of the more traditional, non-hydroformed M4 Stumpjumper frames.
When I was racing the NPS through the 90's and early noughties I used to lust after one of these frames.
Highlights have to include those paralellagram XT V-brakes and the XT rear derailleur with the boot over the barrel adjuster, that in reality, just held the dirt and water in place rather than guarding against anything much!
Enjoy all my retro 'wonk' friends!

Couple of upcoming changes to opening times over the next week or so.
The Exmouth workshop will be closed tomorrow, Tuesday July the 12th and on Monday the 18th of July for meetings and a family engagement.
I will be working on Wednesday the 13th to make up the day as it were.
Sorry for any inconvenience, all the best.

Nowadays we are all looking to save a penny or three, prices of of tyres (like anything else), have gone through the roof increasing by an average of £20 per tyre for a top notch offering from Schwalbe or Continental, due to our long standing trade deal with Japan Panracer tyres have remained a reasonable price. Want a top notch tyre with puncture protection? That will cost you £69.99 for a Continental Terra-Trail OR £54.99 for a Panracer Gravel King. With tubeless Gravel Kings starting at £49.99, it really is a no-brainer. Pop into either of our workshops and find out at how you can start saving money while never down grading your pride and joy.

Fox Float X2 2021 in for a strip down rebuild before a thrashing in Morzine

Hi All, the Exmouth workshop will be closed this weekend while my wife and I celebrate our wedding anniversary.
The Exmouth workshop will be closed from 3pm on Friday the 1st until normal open time on Tuesday morning (09:30).
Sorry for any inconvenience.

Bike Fit Talk Where The Beach Pub (Function Room) Date Thursday 23rd June Time 7pm until 8pm Cost £5 inc tea/coffee 1/ intro 2/ cleat set up 3/ bike fitting and common causes of pain 4/ crank length, bar width, saddle types, q-factor 5/ Cycling fashion and physiology. 6/ Q&A 30 mins About Chaz.. Bikes have b...

I'll be giving a talk on bike fitting/ sizing, cleat position, how physiology affects you and your set up and demystifying cycling fashions and trends on the 23rd of June in Exmouth if you are interested.
Follow the link below for details.
Thanks so much to Shelly and the Tri-Hards for putting this one on.

Bike Fit Talk Where The Beach Pub (Function Room) Date Thursday 23rd June Time 7pm until 8pm Cost £5 inc tea/coffee 1/ intro 2/ cleat set up 3/ bike fitting and common causes of pain 4/ crank length, bar width, saddle types, q-factor 5/ Cycling fashion and physiology. 6/ Q&A 30 mins About Chaz.. Bikes have b...

A bit of mountain biking history. Original Specialized S-Works Team frame signed by Edmund 'Ned' Overend the first ever UCI world cross country champion (1990) and Silvia Furst who completed in the women's cross country mountain bike event at the 1996 Summer Olympics...love a bit of biking history.

It's party time so grab that glitter and chuck it in your tyre sealant (just enough, not too much) works a treat for helping your sealant block the bigger bigger cuts in your tyre, even if it just gets you home it's worth it!

We are open for spares, repairs and bicycle hire Easter Sunday and Monday. So don't let a flat tyre ruin your Easter plans, we are open and here to help.

It's Good Friday! Seems like a perfect time to introduce https://www.rootscyclehire.co.uk/.
We are now hiring adults bikes children's bikes, bikes equipped with child seats, tandem and trailers. Hire is available from our Exmouth store as from today and we will be open all over the bank holiday weekend. To hire you can book online (just follow above link) or come in store and we will walk you through. You will need a valid piece of photo ID (so, passport or driving license) and a debit or credit card whose details match your photo ID, then you are all set! Currently, hire is available from our Exmouth store with Ebford coming online in a couple of weeks, but we'll keep you up to date.

Ineos team bike build.......no, not for one of the team riders.......still genuine team frame.