We are proud to announce the shortlisted nominees for the 2025 BikeBiz Awards, in association with Bikedesk.

It’s been a pleasure to read supporting statements and see nominations come in across all categories. The awards provide an opportunity to come together and celebrate the industry. So, thank you to everyone for taking the time to nominate. And a big thank you to our award sponsors, Bikedesk and the Bikeability Trust.

This year, we have 17 awards, split across five categories: brands, distributors, retailers, diversity and industry life.

Ten of these awards will be decided by you, the industry. Six will be decided by our panel of judges, and the Diversity Champion award will be decided by the BikeBiz team. 

Voting is now open and will close at midnight on Friday, 29 August!

VOTE NOW

The winners will be announced on the night at The Button Factory in Birmingham on the 16th of October.

These will be shared online at BikeBiz.com and across our social platforms, followed by a feature in the December edition of BikeBiz magazine.

BikeBiz Awards 2025 Finalists

Retailers

IBD of the Year:

• Aztecs Bikes
• A & S Cycles
• Pauls Cycles
• Leeli Cycles
• Cycle Works Yorkshire Ltd
• Pedal Power West Calder

Omnichannel Retailer:

• Cykel House Ltd
• JE James Cycles
• Balfe’s Bikes
• Specialized UK
• Tredz
• Leisure Lakes Bikes

Retailer Services:

• Workshop by BikeBook
• Madison B2B
• Saledock
• Bike Matrix
• Green Commute Initiative

Specialist Retailer:

• E-Bikeshop (The UK Electric Bike Company Ltd)
• Backyard Bike Shop
• Outspoken Cycles
• Electric Life
• Fully Charged
• VOLT Bikes & Café VOLT

Distributors

Bike Distributor: 

• Sportline
• Tandem Group Cycles
• Accell UK & Ireland (Previously Raleigh UK)
• Silverfish UK
• Ison Distribution
• Saddleback

P&A Distributor

• The Cycle Division Ltd
• Upgrade Bikes
• Bob Elliot & Co Ltd
• Madison
• Extra UK
• Oxford Products
• ZyroFisher

Specialist Distributor

• Jorvik Tricycles
• AlsoBikes Ltd
• Adaptive DCS
• Wildoo Limited
• Pinpoint Consumer Electronics

Brands

Bike Brand

• Saracen
• Inspired Cycle Engineering (ICE Trikes)
• UTO Folding Electric Bikes (Ex Eovolt)
• Synch Go Ltd
• OGA – Tern Bicycles UK
• The Pearson Bicycle Company
• Reid Bikes Limited

P&A Brand

• Madison Clothing
• Sinter
• Lake Cycling
• Muc-Off
• Restrap
• Fidlock
• Mavic

Innovation of the Year

• Afternoon Pro
• FiftyOne Sika
• Buffalo Bicycle Utility S2
• CycleSaver
• NightBlazr 2.0
• E*thirteen Sidekick

Diversity

Cycle Advocacy 

• Fusion Media
• FEL Scotland
• The Bikes College CIC/smilingchainlink
• The E-Bike Positive campaign
• Stolen Ride

Diversity Champion

• Miles Baker-Clarke
• Joy Riders Britain
• Reframing MTB
• Wheels for Wellbeing
• Uplift
• LDN Riders

Woman of the Year

• Rachael Burnside
• Charmian Beedie
• Shameem Vesamia
• Jo Penny
• Emily Childs
• Sandra Corcoran
• Charlie Kingswood

Industry Life

Event of the Year

• Cycling Electric Demo Days
• Fireride Festival
• iceBike*
• Global Bike Bus Summit 2025
• The Gralloch (a Red On Sports event)
• Brompton World Championships
• COREbike

Mechanic of the Year

• Glen Whittington
• Marco Garcia
• Nic Vieri
• Connor Mooney
• Ray Yeomans
• Anthony Foy

Unsung Hero of the Year

• Peter Eland
• Andy Bray
• Paul Hewitt
• John Russell
• Dave & Helen Quinn
• Dr Fiona Spotswood

Cycling Media of the Year

• Cade Media
• Cycling Electric
• Cycle Sprog
• Commuter Films
• Road.cc
• Guy KesTV

For information about sponsorship opportunities for the BikeBiz Awards 2025, in association with Bikedesk, contact Richard Setters – richard.setters@biz-media.co.uk

This piece first appeared in the May edition of BikeBiz magazine – not subscribed? Get a free subscription.

By Rebecca Bland

According to recent data from National Travel Surveys, one in four children between the ages of 5 and 10 do not have access to their own bicycle. I’m sure many of us reading this, as people who work in the bicycle industry, can remember how important a bike was during our childhoods. Not just for fun and exercise, but for the freedom they gave us to ride to our friends’ houses or to go to school without needing a lift. 

This troubling statistic isn’t necessarily representative of children not enjoying cycling as much as previous generations; it’s just about access to bikes. And without access, children are less likely to show interest or develop what many of us would define as a crucial skill of learning to ride a bike. 

That’s where Bikeability is stepping in with their 2035 plan. Bikeability has long been in schools as an educational programme teaching children how to ride, providing road safety knowledge and giving them the confidence to adopt transport independence. 

I spoke to Emily Cherry, Chief Executive of the Bikeability Trust, about their new strategy and how they plan to improve access to bikes for kids alongside continuing their work in schools.

Taking over in 2020, Cherry hasn’t had the easiest start to her tenure in charge of the Bikeability Trust, but has been instrumental in transforming different facets of the programme. 

“We’ve gone through this big period of transformation and made sure that the product we’ve got out there is as robust and as great as it can be for children in this space. 

“So now it’s time for us to think longer term, what are the big issues that prevent more children and families from being able to take up cycling and active travel as an everyday choice, and transport independence as their first choice?

“And that’s where the strategy has kind of come from. We know that what we’re doing is working, but how do we address some of the other wider issues that sit in and around it?”

Some of those issues include things like access to cycles, but there are also other social factors at play. The cost-of-living crisis for one, with rising costs for parents, but equally, the culture wars we’ve seen in recent years between motorists and cyclists can and does indirectly impact children. 

“The culture wars have had quite a significant impact on parents’ views and fears about allowing their children to go out onto the road. And our new strategy is really about saying we can give children the confidence to cycle. 

“We’re working at scale to make sure that no child leaves primary school without one of our training courses to get out there. We know that parents are much more likely to allow their children to cycle once they’ve come through Bikeability, as their confidence improves in their child’s cycling ability in this space.”

The Bikeability Trust won a BikeBiz Cycle Advocacy Award in 2024 for their work with the Fleet Cycles project. This project helps to provide bicycles to schools to make sure pupils without access to a cycle can still take part in Bikeability, and it remains an aim of the trust to continue to expand this project, but they also want to do more. 

“In 2023, we bought just shy of 1,000 cycles for a quite high number of local authorities to use within training. Those 1,000 bikes were used 16,000 times in that year, which shows the scale of the number of children who didn’t have access to a cycle. But it breaks my heart that I’ve got to take that bike back.”

To tackle the lack of accessibility of cycles for children, Bikeability has identified a few main areas that stop children from getting on bikes. 

“Firstly, Bikeability is not on the curriculum. So if a school says, no, they’re allowed to do so, which often comes down to individual head teacher discretion. We’re in about 80% of primary schools, but like swimming is on the curriculum, cycling should be, too.

“The second big issue is parents’ fears. They’re worried that traffic volumes are too high, it’s too dangerous, and there isn’t enough safe infrastructure. But we’ve got to get positive messages out that actually, Bikeability keeps kids safe.

“The third big issue is instructor capacity. Although we’re about on track and on target with the instructor numbers, we do struggle to recruit. We have a funded bursary, so we pay for the training of instructors. We bought that in 2023, so we’ve removed that barrier.

“And the fourth big issue that stops every child from cycling is access to cycles. And that’s why we’re focused in our new strategy on getting more well-maintained cycles out there into the hands of children so that they can have that ongoing opportunity to cycle.”

From an industry perspective, how can we collectively help to increase access to cycles for more children?

Firstly, we can lobby the government to remove VAT on kids’ bikes. This will help to remove some barriers to cost for parents. Secondly, Bikeability is launching a public fundraising campaign to buy bikes for children who don’t otherwise have access to one. 

“What is on my heart, our trustees hearts, and all of the staff at Bikeability is that if you are a child who lives in care or you are in a low income household, that ongoing opportunity to get that love, joy, freedom and independence from cycling can only come if we do more to give cycles to children who otherwise don’t have access to them.

And that’s why we’re launching a public fundraising appeal. It will be a series of partnerships with the cycling industry to make sure that we can get those cycles out into the hands of children and that they’re theirs, not just something we loan for training.”

In May, we announced the 18 people who would judge each category in this year’s BikeBiz awards.

To allow you to get to know the judges better, we’ve asked them all to give us insight into who they are, what they do and a little more about them.

Next up is Emily Cherry, CEO of Bikeability (one of this year’s award sponsors). Relatively new to the cycling industry, but making a big impact through her work, with years of experience in the charity sector.

You’re on a call or you meet someone at an event, when introducing yourself (and having to sum up many years in a few words), you say?

Everyone in this industry has a unique ‘origin story’ that set them on this path. What was that for you, and how did that initial spark evolve into the professional journey you found yourself on?

Given your role as a judge for the BikeBiz Awards, if you could pinpoint one innovation or trend within the cycling world over the past decade that you believe has been truly transformative, what would it be, and why does it stand out to you?

Delving a little deeper into judging, what are you going to be looking for when looking at the shortlists for each category, regarding who you might vote for? 

Looking five to ten years down the road, what’s a ‘blue sky’ idea or a radical shift you love to see happen for the cycling industry that you believe has the potential to truly reshape how people move and interact with bikes?

Among your many contributions to the cycling industry, are there any projects, initiatives, or achievements that stand out as your absolute proudest, and what made it so personally significant for you?

Throughout your career, the industry has likely undergone significant changes. Have there been any shifts you’ve personally experienced that required you to adapt, and how did you navigate that change?

If you could offer some advice, whether something you were told, or a hard-won lesson you learned, to those working in the cycling industry that you believe might resonate or help them in their role, what would it be?

The latest issue of BikeBiz magazine is now online. Read the May 2025 Digital Edition of BikeBiz now!

In our May issue, we talk about the future of cycling. From getting more parents into bike shops to finding ways to make shops less intimidating, the May issue covers a range of topics around children’s and family cycling.

Click the page numbers below to head directly to each feature.

BikeBiz May 2025

7:  The latest news from the cycle industry. 

10: Karen from Cycle Sprog gives tips about tapping into the family cycling market.

13: We talk to Peter Kimberley, CEO of Tandem Group, parent company of BikeBiz 2024 Bike Brand of the Year award winner, Squish Bikes.

18: Job changes and updates from the trade. 

20: Rebecca Bland talks to Bikeability about their plans to get more children on bikes.

25: Mark Sutton takes a deep dive into the current geopolitical landscape to explore what this might mean for the cycling industry.

30: Explore the new ADO E-bike range and the reason for their quick rise in popularity in the urban mobility space. 

35: Simon Bowkett, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Cycling UK, shares what Cycling UK has been discussing with the UK Government about active travel.

38: We talk to Gogeta Founder, Barry Scott, about how their low fees are helping retailers retain profits through the Cycle to Work scheme. 

43: Mark Almond from Red Cloud Marketing gives his insights on marketing and why understanding your customer is key. 

46: We take five to chat with Martin and Tom from TMP Parts Source about their business.

50: We talk to Kalyani Verma, BikeBiz Woman of the Year 2024 winner, about her role and what it meant to win the award.

New products and sector guides, including new products (54), footwear and pedals (57) and kids’ bikes, accessories and clothing (63).

Find all of our digital editions online.

Not subscribed? Get the BikeBiz magazine and newsletter for free! Sign up today.

Early bird tickets for the BikeBiz Awards 2025 are now on sale, celebrating the 17th edition of the UK cycling industry’s trade awards. The ceremony will once again take place at The Button Factory in Birmingham on Thursday, October 16th, 2025.

The event offers an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of the UK cycling industry and network and connect with peers, colleagues, and friends.

Early bird tickets are £25 per person, a £10 saving compared to general admission. Attendees will enjoy a complimentary drinks reception and buffet-style dining before the awards ceremony begins.

Lauren Jenkins, the new editor of BikeBiz, said: “The awards are something I’m really looking forward to. Not just the awards ceremony, but the whole process. It’s so nice to be able to celebrate the industry and all the great things that are happening, especially given the turbulent times we’ve all faced.

“In terms of categories and the finer details, we’re currently finalising them all and will release details soon. We wanted to release the tickets as early as possible to allow people to plan ahead for this year’s awards. We really hope many of you will join us in coming together to celebrate in what we hope will be a fantastic night for all.”

Agenda (Timings TBC)

– Drinks reception and food

– Awards ceremony

– Post-ceremony drinks and networking

Tickets for the BikeBiz Awards 2025 are available for purchase now. To receive your early bird discount, simply add your ticket to the basket and enter the code Bikebiz25 before checking out.

The awards will once again feature a distinguished judging panel, with details on how to apply to become a judge to be announced soon.

The BikeBiz Awards are proud to partner with the Bikeability Trust for 2025.

Further sponsorship opportunities are available for businesses looking to enhance their presence at the event. For details on sponsorship packages, please contact Richard Setters at richard.setters@biz-media.co.uk

Bikebiz are pleased to announce The Bikeability Trust as our Event Partner for the 2025 BikeBiz Awards.

For over 15 years, the BikeBiz Awards have served as a platform for recognising excellence and innovation across the UK cycling industry, celebrating everyone from specialist distributors to outstanding individuals.

The awards will return on Thursday, October 16, 2025, at The Button Factory in Birmingham. This partnership with The Bikeability Trust underscores the award’s commitment to promoting and supporting the growth and accessibility of cycling across the UK.

The Bikeability Trust is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation that manages, develops, and promotes the Department for Transport’s flagship national cycle training programme, Bikeability. With a mission to ensure everyone has the confidence to cycle and enjoy this skill for life, their involvement highlights the importance of cycle training and safety within the broader industry landscape.

We are happy to welcome The Bikeability Trust as a key event partner for the 2025 BikeBiz Awards,” said Richard Setters, sales manager at BikeBiz. “Their dedication to fostering cycling confidence, particularly among children, aligns perfectly with our aim to celebrate all areas of the cycling industry.”

We are thrilled to be partnering with BikeBiz for their prestigious awards this October and look forward to celebrating the achievements within the cycling industry together. This partnership reflects our shared commitment to promoting cycling and encouraging safer, more sustainable modes of transport. We can’t wait to see the incredible innovations and contributions that will be recognised at the event – The Bikeability Trust.

The 2025 BikeBiz Awards will feature a range of categories celebrating the breadth and depth of the UK cycling industry. Further details on categories and the judging panel will be announced in the next few weeks.

Lauren Jenkins, BikeBiz editor, added: “We’re really looking forward to celebrating with our partners, sponsors, judges and nominees in October. It’s a really great opportunity to get together and give recognition to different sectors of the cycling industry. We’ve got some great plans for this year’s awards, and we’re excited to share them, so stay tuned.”

For sponsorship and promotion opportunities for the 2025 BikeBiz Awards, please contact Richard Setters. For more information on The Bikeability Trust, visit the Bikeability website.

Former government minister Trudy Harrison has been appointed as the new Chair of The Bikeability Trust, bringing her extensive experience in transport policy and public service to the UK’s national cycle training programme.

Harrison, previously the Member of Parliament for Copeland, served as a Minister for the Environment and as Minister for Transport was responsible for active travel during the establishment of Active Travel England. She has long been an advocate for cycling, walking and wheeling, and has played a key role in shaping policies designed to increase active travel participation nationally. Harrison also taught Bikeability when a school governor.

Speaking on her appointment, Trudy Harrison said: “Enabling more people to walk, wheel and cycle safely has been a major focus throughout my career, and I am delighted to take on the role as chair at The Bikeability Trust. Supporting children and families to develop the confidence to cycle is critical in creating a healthier future for Britain. Bikeability has done incredible work delivering high-quality cycle training, and I look forward to helping drive this vital work forward.”

The Bikeability Trust is the government-backed charity responsible for delivering the national cycle training programme, which has equipped more than 5 million children with the skills to cycle safely and confidently on the road. Under Harrison’s leadership, the Trust aims to further expand its reach, ensuring more communities can benefit from high-quality cycle training.

Emily Cherry, Chief Executive of The Bikeability Trust, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Trudy as our new Chair. Her passion and deep understanding of the work we do will be invaluable in championing our mission to make cycling and independent travel accessible to all. With Trudy’s guidance, we look forward to strengthening our work with government, local authorities and industry partners to embed Bikeability and cycling as an essential life skill.”

The Bikeability Trust continues to work closely with schools, training providers, local authorities and government to ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn to cycle, supporting the next generation to become safer, more confident, more independent and healthier.

The Bikeability Trust is launching the organisation’s most ambitious strategy yet (2025-35), with this opening the opportunity for brand partners to actively support and positively impact the journey to creating healthier, more active and sustainable communities.

2025 sees the Bikeability Trust inviting commercial brands to join the organisation as partners, supporting and enabling future development and delivery work.

Launching this new initiative – via an exclusive evening of engagement and opportunity – aims to provide the opportunity for attendees to learn how commercial partners can partner with the Bikeability Trust, working together with the goal of creating meaningful long-term impact for families, communities, for the country – locally, regionally, and nationally.

Setting the inspirational tone for the event, on the night, attendees will hear from guest speaker, Olympic and World Champion cyclist, and South Yorkshire Active Travel Commissioner Ed Clancy OBE.

When: Thursday 27th February, 6:30-9:30 PM

Where: Granary Square, London

For businesses that would like to attend this free, exclusive event – on behalf of your brand or organisation – please get in touch with the Bikeability Trust partnerships manager, Aaron Tillyer, at aaron@bikeabilitytrust.org.

Fusion Media has been appointed as the retained public affairs agency for The Bikeability Trust.

This partnership will see Fusion Media provide strategic advice, policy guidance, and parliamentary engagement.

The collaboration between Fusion Media and The Bikeability Trust began with a successful initiative during Cycle to School Week, where Fusion secured the participation of a number of Members of Parliament (MPs) for school visits to see Bikeability training in action.

This initiative helped showcase the importance of cycling education to MPs (particularly for those newly elected) and demonstrated Bikeability’s impact on encouraging young people to cycle safely and confidently.

Emily Cherry, chief executive of the Bikeability Trust, said: ‘’Through our fundraising efforts, we’re excited to be investing in our policy and public affairs work through a partnership with Fusion Media.

“They bring a wealth of knowledge and experience in both politics and the active travel space, and we’ve already delivered some fantastic work together.

‘’We want as many people as possible to experience the multiple benefits of Bikeability training, and we’re working hard to showcase the wider societal impact that it can have on health, road safety and skills.’’

The appointment comes at a pivotal time for Fusion Media, which is undergoing a rapid expansion of its public affairs department.

As part of this growth, Fusion has welcomed Mathew Porter as public affairs account executive.

Porter takes with him experience from both the cycling industry and parliament.

His addition to the team underscores Fusion Media’s commitment to strengthening its capacity to deliver impactful public affairs strategies for clients.

Jack Mayorcas, public affairs lead at Fusion Media, added:‘‘‘This is an exciting time for Fusion Media as we deepen our expertise and broaden our reach in the public affairs landscape.

“With a new Government in place and growing momentum around active travel, we are well-positioned to help shape the future of transport policy, and make cycling, walking and wheeling more accessible for everyone.’’

New figures from The Bikeability Trust show a record 560,471 children in England got pedalling with Bikeability cycle training between April 2023 and March 2024 – taking the total since the programme’s inception in 2007 to more than five million.

The Bikeability Trust, who manage, develop and promote the Bikeability programme on behalf of Active Travel England, believe that cycle training can help the new government with their mission to raise educational standards and break down barriers to opportunity.

Bikeability cycle training for all children brings a wide range of benefits.

As a public health intervention, it helps to address childhood physical inactivity, obesity and the mental health crisis.

By equipping children with life skills, pupils not only learn to cycle, they gain independence, social skills and a sense of wellbeing.

Bikeability also increases road safety with children better at responding to risk and reporting increased confidence.

And finally, it increases cycling as a transport choice.

After Bikeability training, children are more likely to cycle to school and for leisure. In 2023, children who took part in Bikeability’s on-road course pedalled 5,340,194 kilometres during training.

Emily Cherry, The Bikeability Trust’s chief executive, said: “I’m so proud of the five million children who are now equipped with the skills and confidence to thrive through pedalling, funded by Active Travel England.

“But we know we have further to go. That’s why our mission is to ensure no child leaves school without the knowledge, confidence and opportunity to cycle.

“Now, more than ever, is the time to focus on the most important thing; to protect the future generation and support them with investment in clean, green and healthy active travel choices.”

The Bikeability Trust wants to:

1. Maintain government funding levels for ‘every child’
2. Extend Get Cycling in Schools programme, which trains teachers to coach balance and pedal skills to children aged three to six
3. Implement zero rate VAT on children’s cycles
4. Bring adult cycling under administration of The Bikeability Trust

These policies are supported by parents.

In a YouGov study conducted by The Bikeability Trust, only 14% of parents feel very confident to use the Highway Code to teach their children to cycle on the road.

Yet 71% said that cycle training should be on the school curriculum, 59% wanted more cycle paths and cycle safe routes, and 30% called for drivers to have mandatory education on how to drive safely with cyclists on the road.