The Final Days at Tri The Bike Shop, Gravesend

Tri The Bike Shop, Windmill Street, Gravesend in month before closing October 2022.
Tri The Bike Shop, Windmill Street, Gravesend, in the month before closing in October 2022.

Closing Down Sale

A beloved Gravesend bike shop faces closure unless a buyer can be found within a few days.

A bike shop has traded from this site in Windmill Street, Gravesend, for some 60 years. However, at the end of November 2022, Tri The Bike Shop will close its shutters for the last time.

Cycle mechanic, Stuart Britten, discusses repairs to a customer's bike on his last day of work.
Cycle mechanic Stuart Britten discusses repairs to a customer’s bike on his last day of work.

The Slow Death of the High Street

This is a story of a bike shop and the people who work there, but just as significantly, a symbol of the slow death of the High Street.

Over the last few years, many of Gravesend’s shops have closed, including many independent shops, leaving the town without alternatives. This further encourages residents to shop outside of their local high street.

Assistant, James Medhurst, takes a cigarette break in the yard.
Assistant, James Medhurst, takes a cigarette break in the yard.

The current shop, owned by Ted and Sue Tickner, has traded here for 25 years. Ted told KentOnline, “We are too old for it now, and we do not need the hassle of running a business. It is a hard decision and has been very difficult.”

Stuart spends his last day at the bike shop working on a customer’s specialist time trial bike.
Stuart spends his last day at the bike shop working on a customer’s specialist time trial bike.

I spent the morning with manager Leo Brown (not shown), mechanic Stuart Britten and assistant James Medhurst. It’s sad to lose another small independent shop in the town. If we want to keep them, we must support them.

All the stock is being sold at a 30% discount before the shop closes at the end of November.
All the stock is being sold at a 30% discount before the shop closes at the end of November.

“We are too old for it now, and we do not need the hassle of running a business. It is a hard decision and has been very difficult.” Ted Tickner.

The repair workshop has been well used over the past 60 years.
The repair workshop has seen many bikes over the past 60 years. It now sits empty.
James Medhurst takes a break for lunch.
James Medhurst takes a break for lunch. Despite the closing-down sale, only a handful of customers passed through in the time I was there.

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