We are a well established bike shop on Glasgow's Saltmarket, with a reputation for exemplary customer service.
Opened in 1980 by decorated Scottish Olympic cyclist Billy Bilsland, we have been serving the good people of Glasgow and far beyond for over 40 years. We are a family owned, independent bike shop with a proud Glasgow heritage.
Owned and run by Billy's son Neil, we are one of the most established bike shops in Glasgow, with a large selection of bikes and accessories on our recently expanded shop floor. We are also a busy servicing and repair centre, offering all of the usual repairs and service levels.
We are staffed throughout by a passionate team of cyclists across disciplines such as road cycling, gravel and mountain biking, all willing to go the extra mile to make sure you receive the best possible customer service.
We believe wholeheartedly in the brands that we get behind, such as Cervélo, Whyte, Frog, Genesis, Pinarello, Gazelle and many more.
A film from the UCI, with Neil telling the story of the shop.
The History
Billy Bilsland is one of Scotland's most decorated racing cyclists of the sixties and seventies.
He showed talent young, taking the Scottish National 25 mile time trial championship at only 17. The results kept coming: 25 and 50 mile time trials, road race, pursuit and grass track national titles. Billy really started to make his mark once the international results arrived, while still technically an amateur on the Peugeot feeder team.
Those included stage wins in the Milk Race, the Tour de l'Avenir, the Peace Race and the Tour of Czechoslovakia, as well as the 1968 Olympic team time trial, where he finished 7th overall, and the road race in Mexico, where a puncture while in the winning breakaway ended his hopes of victory.
After a stellar amateur career, Billy was snapped up by Peugeot Michelin in 1970, moved to Europe to race professionally full time, and did not disappoint. His first season began in France, where he took the largest prime of the night at the Grenoble velodrome, 100,000 French francs.
That season he also came 10th in the Tour of Lombardy and 11th in Paris-Tours. This was long before the internet, so most of Billy's results survive as l'Equipe clippings in the scrapbooks his mum kept. What you will not find in the papers is what Billy calls one of the highlights: a hand sling from his childhood hero Rik Van Looy.
Across five professional years he rode the World Road Race Championships, finishing 14th in 1971, and the Belgian classics including Gent-Wevelgem and the Ronde van Vlaanderen. He rode for Peugeot BP Michelin and then TI Raleigh for his last two seasons, racing in Spain as well. Having handed the shop down to Neil, Billy now spends his time racing pigeons.
Athlete Development
Back when Billy ran the shop he took a budding racer under his wing, Robert Millar. Millar went on to become a professional cyclist just like Billy, and wore the polka dot jersey in the Tour de France. Robert is known today as Philippa York and is still an active member of the racing community, often commentating on UCI races.
Since then Neil has supported many riders on their racing journeys. Highlights include Neah Evans and Finn Graham, who have both gone on to win World and European titles on the track with the Great Britain Cycling Team.
Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games
Having the Commonwealth Games in your home town is every athlete's dream, and if that were not enough, the road race and time trial courses went right past our wee shop.
The atmosphere on those days was electric, with fans and riders flooding the streets. We had a little something extra to be excited about on race day. In the lead up to the games, Team Malawi brought their bikes into our shop for a pre-race service.
We went one better. The team's equipment budget was tight, so we lent the riders Cervélo road and time trial bikes for the race. They were so grateful, and so lovely to work with, that when they came to return the loaned bikes we gifted the team two Genesis Volare road bikes, so they could keep training and racing back in Malawi.
Neil with Team Malawi and their bikes, outside the shop.
In return, the team gifted us one of their race jerseys. It has been on the shop wall ever since, a timeless piece of Bilsland history.
The Present, and Future
We have completed our expansion into the adjacent unit at 174 Saltmarket, almost doubling our floorspace.
Along with the new front of house, the mechanics have had an upgrade in the form of a brand new workshop. It offers repairs and many levels of servicing, from a puncture repair to a full strip and rebuild. The last piece of the puzzle is our bike fit studio, where Barry can make sure you are seated comfortably on your new steed.
We have kept all of the charm of the old shop, with more space to display the bikes we love. Bilsland history is still peppered throughout, in the form of Billy's 1968 Olympic jersey, Robert Millar's signed polka dot jersey and the Peugeot he rode in the Tour, along with more recent professional jerseys belonging to the likes of Peter Sagan and David Millar.
The business is now owned and run by Billy's son Neil, backed by a team of 13 passionate cyclists across many disciplines. We are experts in all kinds of bicycles: road, mountain, gravel, electric and kids bikes.
We are also more than a bricks and mortar store. Over recent years we have invested heavily in our ecommerce and logistics, which now delivers bikes and accessories to every corner of the British Isles. The very site you are on right now.
We have not forgotten our roots though. You can still pick up the phone and call 0141 552 0841 or 0141 552 7882, and one of us will be delighted to chat bikes with you.
Neil and the team x
