Singletrack Premier Dealer WHEELBASE, the self-proclaimed ‘largest cycle store in the UK’ has successfully opened its first additional bike store last week in the North East market town of Darlington.
The team at WHEELBASE have purchased and re-branded the Bikesport store in the town which had been successfully run by Gary and Beverley Evans for the past eighteen years. WHEELBASE will bring their twenty-five years combined experience to Darlington, with the mission of being the North East’s premier store for mountain, road, electric, leisure, kids and commuter bikes. Toby Dalton, Wheelbase Director told us.
“Our Lake District store already gets many customers from the North East however our Darlington store brings the WHEELBASE shopping experience closer and more accessible. There is a booming cycling scene in the North East with quality trail centres in the region and an excellent network of roads. I’m personally looking forward to riding between our two stores in the summer time!”
From Darlington, the firm’s intent will be to continue to grow and develop Cannondale, while also acquiring Specialized and adding Cervelo and Whyte in the locality. Clothing will be provided by Castelli and Endura and wheels by Mavic. Discussions are also ongoing with other brands to further bolster the offering for all mountain bikers, roadies and leisure cyclists.
“Darlington is a bustling market town but we are here to service the whole of the North East. The location was selected as it has great access from the A1 and loads of car parking nearby” Chris Herd, Managing Director added. “We have been working on an expansion plan for a number of years now and have invested heavily in our infrastructure and procedures, to ensure that our business is scalable – watch this space for more store openings.”
The Darlington store has already experienced a soft re-opening from Tuesday 19th April and now re-fitting and re-stocking is taking place, as the new hand-picked staff team who are already in place, build towards the new store’s grand opening on this coming Bank Holiday Monday 30th May 2016.”
We’re made up for the team at Wheelbase and wish them all the best for 2016 and beyond. Stay in touch with all the developments on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Online.
