A London independent bike shop & framebuilder
In 1921, the first shop of F.W. Evans Cycles opened on the Kennington Road in south east London. Trading from this site for thirty years, F.W Evans Cycles built up a strong reputation as a quality cycle shop. It became particularly well known for building its own frames and bikes, earning an award from the Cyclists Touring Club (CTC) for ‘The greatest improvement in cycle design, construction or equipment during the year 1925’.
The business was purchased by Joseph Smith in the 1950s. At the time, the shop sold a range of cycles and toys, but during the seventies Joseph handed the business on to his son, Gary Smith, who developed the shop into a specialist cycle retailer.
After more than 50 years of trading at Kennington Road, re-development of the site saw the store relocated to The Cut in Waterloo in 1977 where trade continued for another 40 years.
During the 1990s the Evans Cycles Mail Order catalogue was launched, enabling Evans Cycles to supply a wider range of products to a much larger audience. This major innovation required the opening of a central distribution centre, which was established in Leatherhead, Surrey. Within a few years, the growth of a new type of retailing – eCommerce - led to the Evans Cycles website also being launched.
A national independent, specialist retailer
As the established stores began to go from strength to strength so did the popularity of cycling. This gave Evans Cycles the confidence to continue its expansion.
The business continued to prosper and soon out-grew its original distribution centre in Leatherhead, relocating to a 125,000 square feet distribution centre in Gatwick, Sussex.
With a large and modern distribution centre in place, the company was able to expand more rapidly and opening stores across the UK. Today we have over 50 stores located around the UK from Glasgow to Plymouth
The business invested in systems to grow its eCommerce operation, and now provides leading edge multi-channel services – including the ability to ‘Click and Collect’ in any store nationwide.
The business also operates a number of schemes relating to the government's Cycle to Work scheme, promoting cycling through tax incentives on the cost of a new bike and / or safety accessories. Learn more about that here
Launched in October 2006, our own Pinnacle brand offers a range of bikes which have proved extremely popular with our core customers. The FWE brand of accessories and parts was introduced in 2013.
Our Stores
Our award-winning stores are the heart and soul of our company - a haven for cyclists of all levels and disciplines. The majority of our store colleagues are enthusiastic cyclists themselves, and extensive training ensures the highest levels of technical ability and knowledge. We pride ourselves on giving customers the right information to make informed decisions about their cycle and accessory purchases.
A place where you can test ride any of our bikes and that offers a full range of service and repair facilities as well as a wide selection of bikes, parts, accessories and clothing.
Evanscycles.com
In 1999 Evans Cycles completed its transaction online, ready to adapt to the new world of e-commerce.
Since its inception, the Evans Cycles website has been in a state of constant evolution, adding features and functionality to keep pace with our customers' sophisticated online shopping needs, whilst at the same time expanding our range to have the most comprehensive selection of cycling goods on the internet.
Unlike other online only cycle retailers, we're able to combine our nationwide network of stores with our website to offer a Click & Collect service – savvy shoppers appreciate and, increasingly, expect this option as it provides the convenience and choice of online shopping with the service of dealing with cycling experts in-store.
Evans Cycles website is proud to serve hundreds of countries worldwide alongside our UK customers.
The next step
In 2018, Evans Cycles was acquired by Frasers Group PLC. With a significant increase in resources, opportunities and brand exposure available, Evans Cycles opens a new chapter in its proud history and one which embraces the ever-changing world our customers live in.