As most of you will be aware the last few years of trading have been extremely challenging for the cycling industry, something we have not been immune to. We have faced rising operation costs alongside negative impacts of COVID and increased barriers to selling in the EU as a result of Brexit, something that has been magnified by our wish to continue to manufacture in the UK. Brexit and the bike industry: we ask UK brands, retailers and distributors how the new rules are affecting them

Statement from Andrew Lang, company founder "This was an incredibly difficult decision to make, particularly as we have a development pipeline of new products, but it was personally important to me to wind operations down whilst the company is still solvent and without owing creditors. I'm having to press pause for now to take some time away and evaluate what form Cycloc might be able to take in the future."

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The UKTBC has now launched a nationwide consultation to gather evidence on the biggest challenges faced by Brexit. Underlining that the company remained committed to making its products in the UK, he said: “"It is very disappointing. I am a naturally optimistic person, but in a sense it is very difficult to be positive.

Head of marketing Patron McCleary explained how the focus has now turned to being "reactive" and trying to tap into new markets in the US, Asia, Australia and South Africa. Brexit has had a profound impact on us,” said Andrew, who founded Cycloc in 2006. “As a company our whole range has been developed with a European aesthetic in mind. Sadly, trading with Europe has now become very difficult and expensive.

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The government did not comment on Cycloc’s experience. A spokesperson said the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) it signed in December 2020 was “the world’s largest zero-tariff and zero-quota deal” and it had established the Export Support Services “so businesses can make the most of the TCA”. We’ve remained faithful to that and it feels as though the UK government hasn’t necessarily helped us.” In places like China or Hong Kong I’m having to learn a lot about the culture, about buying habits, and how British products are viewed. It would have been easier in Europe, but because of how bad the Brexit actually was, we’ve actually had to be quite reactive rather than being proactive,” he said. He said it was “very difficult to be positive” about the situation, citing “Kafkaesque” rules introduced for trading with EU member states. In the EU, where similar pressures including supply chain and Covid problems applied, the cost of materials went up 35% while labour in countries such as Denmark and the Netherlands went up by just over 14%.