Cyclist
Pinarello focus: Pronto bikes, Frome
When husband and wife team Justin and Kate Hoy moved to the Somerset market town of Frome in 2019, they can’t have known how much their lives were about to change.
But since navigating the challenges of Covid lockdowns to open the doors to Pronto Bikes in 2021, the couple have not only built a business and community around their independent bike shop, but have dined with Fausto Pinarello himself and seen Pronto become one of the top Pinarello dealers in the country – one of just six select locations given the honour of stocking the all-new Pinarello Dogma F.
What makes this shop a must-visit destination? Justin and Kate take up the story.
The snowball effect
Justin: ‘We have a huge cycling club attached to the shop now, but it wasn’t until the end of March 2021 that people were allowed to ride in groups of six or more. When we advertised our first group ride, about 40 people turned up.’
Kate: ‘I had to set them off in groups of six. Then a couple of weeks later we did another group ride and had 80-odd riders. I think everyone was just pleased to be able to ride with other people again. Now we have a club with about 160 members, with ten rides a week covering all different abilities and disciplines: gravel, road, even the odd mountain bike. We also have a men’s and women’s race team.’ (Kate is a triathlete, and Justin is a former domestic pro rider.)
In for a wild ride
Justin: ‘The roads around here are great. Frome itself is pretty lumpy, but you can get out on to country lanes within three or four minutes, and then take a National Cycle Route straight through Longleat Safari Park. There aren’t many rides in the UK where you can see giraffes.’
Kate: ‘We rode out to Cheddar Gorge the other day, an 80km loop. We have good gravel rides around here too – Salisbury Plain has about 130km of gravel tracks.’
Justin: ‘We also do an annual club ride down to Portland Bill near Weymouth. This year we had our first alternative “chase the sunrise” ride – there was a group that did just over 320km.’
The pull of Pinarello
Justin: ‘Pinarello is our biggest brand by far. We sell the full range here, including mountain bikes, while electric road and gravel bikes are a strong part of the market for us.
‘We sell quite a few Dogmas. We have a wide range of models in stock, in sizes for everyone. And we have a disproportionate number of female customers.’
Kate: ‘We’ve sold about half of our Dogmas to female riders.’
Justin: ‘We sold a 43cm Dogma to a woman the other day; she was 5ft 1in. There aren’t many brands who can cater to such a range of differently sized riders, from stock. You shouldn’t have to wait for a bike just because you’re shorter or taller than the average.’
More than a bike shop
Justin: ‘We have an extra room in the shop where we offer bike-fits, as well as a fitness studio, sports therapy, analysis setup…’
Kate: ‘We also work with a company to do sweat-testing here, and Bath University plans to start offering lactate testing here later this year. Plus we have a Castelli cafe on the premises, perfect for a mid-ride stop for cake and coffee.’
Justin: ‘We offer test rides, too. And in our experience, if you send someone off down the road on three bikes, and save the Pinarello until last, they’ll end up buying the Pinarello. The ride quality just blows their mind.’
• Click here to find out more about Pronto Bikes in Frome
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