Small Business Saturday Blog

We caught up with Gary and Fiona Ewing, the husband and wife team behind the business, to discuss the journey they’ve been on over the past decade and how their attitude to customer service has powered their success.

Based in Bishop Auckland in County Durham, Inspiral Cycles prides itself on being a good, honest, proper local bike shop for servicing and fixing all manner of cycles, as well as selling new bikes, parts, accessories, and clothing.

Since Gary and Fiona established the business in 2014, both their high-street store and their online sales have grown in size and reputation, and they now lead a team of expert Cytech-qualified mechanics.

Their success has been very much a case of ‘team work makes the dream work’. Whilst it’s Gary’s life-long cycling skill, knowledge, and enthusiasm which pedals the bicycle side of the business, it is Fiona’s passionate community engagement which has firmly fixed Inspiral Cycles into the local consciousness.

Fiona told us, “We’re not simply a shop: we are primarily a service. Inspiral Cycles is well established in our local community as a trusted, family-run local business where we help our customers get out and ride bikes, not try to sell them things regardless.”

Between 2019 and 2022, Fiona managed ambitious building plans, quadrupling the size of the shop while simultaneously reducing their carbon footprint by installing solar panels. This sustainable step complemented Inspiral Cycles’ policy of recycling 100% of waste from inner tubes, tyres, and scrap metal. The team’s hard work paid off when they were awarded the coveted national BikeBiz Independent Bike Dealer of the Year title in 2022.

Gary added, “Bringing our workshop to the front shop window has confirmed how proud we are of our team’s skills, which brings customers back again and again.”

And there’s no need to take his word for it: just check out their 5-star Facebook, Trustpilot and Google reviews.

Local issues have always been important to the business, and they continue to partner with local charities, including supporting kids’ coaching and trail building through Hamsterley Trailblazers, and raising money for Great North Air Ambulance Service through events such as The Hamsterley Beast mountain bike challenge.

As you’d expect, they’re also big fans of shopping locally. Gary told us, “Inspiral Cycles embraces any encouragement for customers to shop locally and to remember to check out their local independent shops. American Express’ Shop Small campaign is a great way of highlighting this.”

Congrats again to Gary and Fiona and the team – and here’s hoping the next ten years are smooth riding.