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About Us

1984

The beginning of Cycle Revolution

Thomas's Raleigh Cycle Centre

The first Thomas's Cycle Store was the brainchild of Richard Thomas, who followed his passion for all things bikes and cycle related. From modest beginnings within their family business, the idea of a Thomas's Cycle Centre developed and finally became reality in 1984 when the first store opened in Ipswich. The store stocked bikes directly from the biggest British bicycle manufacturer at the time, Raleigh. The partnership with Raleigh gave the name to the store Thomas's Raleigh Cycle Centre.

The people behind it

Richard Thomas

With a background in retail Richard began his working career in the family business - retail was in his blood and his passion! Richard's interest in bikes started from a young age when he rode bikes regularly and progressed his skills into cyclo-cross. Richard saw an opportunity to expand the family business when he took over from his father, after he retired, by creating a toy department which incorporated a bike section.

Sue Thomas

Sue met Richard whilst she worked in the Bank where Richard's father had his business account. Having married Richard in 1975 she joined the family business, and thanks to her background in the banking/finance industry, she has been looking after the administration of the company accounts.

Paul Thomas

Paul joined the family business when he was aged 10 and grew up surrounded by bikes. He was very successful in cross country cycle and became Regional Champion. Paul was eventually sponsored by Diamond Back and competed at various National events. In November 2018 Paul left the business to pursue other challenges but still to this day remains an avid cyclist.

Darren Thomas

Darren, like his brother, also grew up surrounded by bikes and pursued racing - being placed 3rd in the Nationals Junior League. Having begun to take over responsibility for the running of the business in his early twenties, together with Paul, Darren took joint control of the company in his early thirties. Darren now heads up the company

1988

Thomas's Raleigh Cycle Centre 2nd and 3rd Store

Ipswich & Bury St. Edmunds Stores

Thanks to the success of the first store, a second store was opened in 1988 to expand the business and to better serve our customers within the Ipswich area and along the A14 corridor. In 1990 due to the high demand a third branch was opened in Bury St. Edmunds.

1993

Thomas's Cycle Revolution

The year of the Cycle Revolution

The company and our expertise grew from these various sites and in 1993 Thomas's Raleigh Cycle Centre became a successful multi franchise company, thanks to the introduction of newer bicycle manufacture brands. It was at this time that the directors decided to rebrand the company and give it a new name, so Thomas's Cycle Revolution was born.

Thomas's Cycle Revolution Colchester

In 1998 the decision was made to move two of the stores to a bigger and purpose-built premise based in Colchester, in order to provide our customers with a better cycling experience and even more coverage in the East Anglia region and along the A12 corridor.

2009

Next Generation

Continued growth

As the company successful business continued to grow, we began to outgrow our store in Colchester and in 2009 we added an extension to accommodate additional and newer brands of bikes. In 2010 we temporarily closed the Ipswich store to encompass a major refit including a new shop front, signage and rear warehousing facilities.

2012

The Year of the Cycle Evolution

Thomas's Cycle Evolution Bike Store

In 2012 we were further able to expand in the Colchester area with the introduction of our high-end bike store, which we called Cycle Evolution, as to emphasise the evolution of our company. Here we aimed our focus on exclusive high spec road bikes, accessories and with added specialist Retül Bike Fit studio for those wishing to maximise their cycling experience and performance.

Today
Specialized Concept Store Chelmsford

In November 2013 we opened a new store in the City of Chelmsford in partnership with Specialized, one of the leading bike manufacturers in the world - here we offer Specialized bikes and accessories exclusively, together with a Retül Bike Fit studio.

Giant Brand Store Norwich - 2017

August 2017 saw us partnering with another Giant of the cycling industry, and to further provide our customers with our ever growing range of bikes and services, we opened the Giant Brand Store in the City of Norwich, where we are offering a complete range of Giant and Liv bikes, accessories and the in-house PowerFit Studio, Giant's own bike fitting system focuses specifically on improving your power output and balance through correct fit for increased performance and efficiency.