About Us

Rutland Cycling is a multi award-winning company that boasts over 30 years in the cycling industry. We began life as a small, family-operated hire centre located on the North Shore of Rutland Water, at Whitwell.

Rutland Water Cycling, as it was then known, launched in Spring 1981 with a fleet of just 80 hire bikes. The Whitwell centre soon grew into a busy, thriving store, hiring, repairing and selling bikes and a growing range of cycling parts and accessories. To cope with the ever-growing demand, in 1986 we opened a second centre, located across on the opposite shore of Rutland Water, at Normanton.

The business continued to grow over the next few years and in 1991 we added a third centre at Grafham Water in 

Cambridgeshire, an SSSI nature reserve. 

The most recent addition to our family is our Forestry Commission Trail Centre at Fineshade Wood, which opened in 2010.

Today, Whitwell continues to be our flagship store and is Britain’s biggest bike shop, with over 13,000 square feet of retail space and 350 bikes on display. We stock all the main brands across our four shops, including Specialized, Trek, Giant, Kona, Marin, Scott, Orange, Giant and many, many more. We have a large fleet of Demo bikes available to test ride, enabling you to try before you buy.

In 2005, we launched www.rutlandcycling.com, initially to enable us to sell higher-end bikes to customers who didn’t live close to our stores. The website was an instant hit and we then branched out into selling parts and accessories online also. The site underwent major revamps in 2010 and summer 2012 and now processes hundreds of orders every week. Our sister company, Rutland Outdoor, soon followed our cycling business online, and in 2010 we launched www.rutlandoutdoor.com to accommodate the growing number of outdoor enthusiasts who were looking to purchase outdoor and camping products online.

So whether you fancy hiring a bike and pedalling around our picturesque lakes and woods, or indulging in some retail therapy, we like to think we offer the best value and experience you will find. But don’t just take our word for it – we’ve been voted the UK’s best independent cycle retailer two years in a row.

Here are just some examples of the great feedback we receive from our loyal and valued customers.

If you would like any assistance with choosing the right product, or would just like to speak to a fellow cycling enthusiast then please do not hesitate to get in touch – we’re here to help.

Our awards, memberships and accreditations

We are proud that our hard work over the years has been recognised by the following national and regional awards:

• 2012 BikeBiz Best UK independent bike retailer (finalist)
• 2011 BikeBiz Best UK independent bike retailer (winner)
• 2010 BikeBiz Best UK independent bike retailer (winner)
• 2009 Stamford Mercury business of the year

We are members of the following cycle industry schemes and bodies:

• Association of Cycle Traders
• CycleScheme

Our workshops offer the following accreditations:

• Cytech
• DT Swiss (wheel building)
• Hope Tech Shop
• Mavic Service Centre
• Shimano Premium Service Centre
• Avid Service Centre

Timeline