About Severn Cycleworks

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Firstly, let’s introduce who Severn Cycleworks is. My name is Alex Hall, and Severn Cycleworks is my toy shop. As the old saying goes, "you don’t grow up, you just buy more expensive toys".

How did it start? After years of fixing/building my own bikes, I decided I’d set up as a mechanic from home in Kempsey, Worcestershire. This went well, but in truth, it meant lots of people coming to my home. This, combined with the frustration of the limitations of only being a workshop, culminated in the leap to opening a bike shop in 2025.

Whilst it would have been ideal to have stayed in Kempsey, the closest premises that fitted my criteria were at Hanley Workshops, in the shadow of the Malvern Hills. It's a pleasant little site, with a cafe in front and a large caravan/camping shop to the side.

The basic idea is to keep it small. Small is manageable. Small is personal. Behind the scenes, the workshop is way bigger than I had at home. Plus, I have plenty of free parking, and none of it blocks my neighbour’s driveways. Win.

Next came choosing which brands to stock. Without a functioning crystal ball, I opted for three bike brands. I’ve always liked Italian bikes, and Wilier were one of the brands that excited me. The Wilier importer also imported Basso, so I took a look and fell in love with what I saw. My other love is titanium frames; hence Reilly became my titanium frame supplier.

The problem: I chose three fairly niche brands for a new shop, and restricted myself to road and gravel bikes only. Hmm, this needed to be addressed.

The solution: This arrived in the forms of Merida and Marin. Instantly I could stock/sell just about every type of bike anyone could possibly imagine. In the case of Marin, they even do bikes you couldn’t imagine, with a sprinkling of California cool.

The new problem: The shop is small. Whilst it’s great to offer customers such a comprehensive range, I can’t stock examples of everything.

The solution: as a shop, I can get hold of examples of bikes if necessary. Phew.

As for parts and accessories, there was never a problem getting hold of parts, so nothing has really changed, except I now can get hold of the really niche stuff.

As for the accessories, I went for the brands that I trust.

As such, the following are in stock at the shop:

Camelbak bottles (because they have the best valve)
Muc-Off (because they do almost everything imaginable for cleaning and maintaining your bike)
Topeak (accessory giants with quality at affordable prices)
Restrap (English made bike packing gear of exceptional quality)
Moon (bang for buck, the best lights I’ve ever used)
Prologo saddles (coupled with the bum measuring device, comfort and quality assured)
Met helmets (all price points with proper quality)
Hutchinson Tyres (another bang for buck brand, most of their tyres made in France)
Pirelli Tyres (high quality tyres, many of which are made in Italy)
Wahoo (the best bike computers I’ve used)
Hope Tech (English components of legendary quality)
Kendal Mint Company (you need to try their stuff, it’s amazing)

Nearly there, stock sorted, what else should a bike shop do? Bike fitting.

The thought of selling bikes without putting customers on the right bike would be a nonsense. Luckily, my new friend at Wahoo came to the rescue, a Kickr bike which is adjustable in every direction, including crank length. Perfect.

Last, but by no means least, I bought a top quality Gaggia bean-to-cup coffee machine. Coupled with some bags of Wogan Legacy coffee beans, Severn Cycleworks is my little slice of heaven.

Why should you pop into the shop? There’s loads of cool bike stuff to look at. I’m happy to talk bikes if that’s your thing, perhaps with a coffee. All of my bikes are there to be demo’d. If you want a test ride, go for it.

Thanks for reading this far.

Alex