Portsmouth Cycle Exchange in the Spotlight

As well as serving cyclists local to Southsea and Portsmouth for over 37 years, Portsmouth Cycle Exchange also take pride in serving their frontline workers, including HM Dockyard employees, NHS staff, Council staff and British Armed Forces personnel. They have a wealth of experience matched only by their enthusiasm for pedal-powered transportation. 

As one of the early pioneers of our Volt E-Bike Dealer family, we’ve been thrilled to have them on board for nearly eight years! Here’s what they had to say for their turn in the Dealer Spotlight…

1. What motivated you to open/run a bicycle shop?

We opened up the family business nearly forty years ago, as we just loved bikes and everything along with it. We wanted to grow a community with our customers. Three decades on and our love of cycling and keeping our customers on the road is still the driving force behind our family-run bike shop!

2. What makes your store different from others?

We find our store is very different from others for many reasons. We have a team combined of over 50 years of experience which allows us to have the fastest repair turnaround time in the town. We also have 2 Cyctech qualified mechanics on hand at all times for any advice needed on repairing or upgrading customers bikes.

3. Where is the best/favourite location you’ve ever cycled?

Not too far from us, we have the Queen Elizabeth country park in Petersfield. It has a lovely set of mountain bike trails that are well kept and I highly recommend these for new and experienced riders. I have had many great ride outs at this location.

4. What is the funniest/strangest request you have ever had from a customer?

We’ve had many odd ones over the years, but in my 12 years here, the one that comes to mind would be the time I was asked to fit a set of specialist downhill MTB suspension forks onto a BMX bike, safe to say we didn’t do that! 

5. What is your favourite poison?

hmmm hard choice to be honest, but coffee in the morning’s then the energy drink at lunchtime to keep me going.

6. What about the Volt brand & range led you to stock them?

We are very lucky in this instance as we were contacted by the guys to prepare a Volt Metro for a customer to come and collect. We got a first-hand look at the bike and even sold another one for the owner’s friend. We were very impressed with the quality and value you got for your money. Nearly eight years later we still have a great relationship with the team at Volt who have been so easy to deal with and very helpful.

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7. What is your favourite Volt e-bike and why?:

As an avid rider I’m a huge fan of the Infinity, that really is an all round bike with a great spec and looks amazing as well.

8. What is your top tip for anyone looking to buy an electric bike?:

I’d say my top tip is to definitely have a test ride on as many as you can, the range available nowadays means you have so many different styles and specifications, luckily with the Volt range you can come and see me in-store and book a test ride on any model you like!

For more information or to book a test ride in Portsmouth/Southsea visit their dealer page. To book a demo elsewhere in the UK, visit our Find a Dealer map.