About Me

I have been cycling all my life, for the last 46 years I have been a member of the Surrey Road Cycling Club, embracing all forms of cycling, from year round club runs through to summer time trials, track racing at Herne Hill Velodrome, Crystal Palace Crits and longer distance road racing with the Surrey League; during the winter I'd also compete in the local 'interclub Roller racing league'. I even tried 'Bicycle Polo'; I was total rubbish at that mind, just flamboyant out of control windmilling with not a sign of gracefulness, panaché.......or contact with a ball!

On a far more positive note I actually rode the very first Surrey League and competed for quite a few seasons, relieved to say my efforts resulted in eventually achieving a 2nd cat' licence, something I could never have achieved if it wasn't for the Surrey League as back then there simply wasn't enough road races in the calendar. I'm proud to say that I was invited to become a member of the Pedal Club, founded in 1941 by a group of cycling journalists and officials, wishing to meet and exchange diverse views; I'm honoured that they felt me a worthy addition to this prestigious club .

Although I no longer race I still ride regularly, over the years much of my annual leave has been spent touring on the bike; cycling has always been my passion. As well as being a life long cyclist for the last 38 years I have worked in the cycle trade, for specialist retailers, wholesalers and bike manufacturers, focusing on bike fitting, bike design and enjoying the wonderful variety that comes with working in a local bike shop.

My career started with Madison Cycles retail catalogue; Freewheel, when they relocated I moved onto more traditional bricks and mortar local bike stores. After 15 years very happy years managing 'Pearson Cycles’ I needed a new challenge, relocating the CTC Mail order Shop (now We are Cycling) that I set up at Geoffrey Butler Cycles/Bike+. After that contract finished I moved onto 'Corridori Cycle Sport' where I became one of the first qualified ‘Specialized Body Geometry Bike Fitters’ in the UK. Sadly both 'Geoffrey Butler' and 'Corridori' closed in 2021.

For over 20 years I have worked closely with Van Nicholas (initially under the 'Airborne' name) the Titanium Bike Company specialising in the design of role-specific and tailor-made Titanium frames, and hand-built bikes. I helped design what was to become the Van Nicholas Yukon, their best selling bike in the UK. This role gave me a passion for bike design, bike fitting and titanium, which in time led me to www.enigmabikes.com where I spent three years as their bike fitter and custom geometry designer. 

My role at Enigma required me to relocate, during my time there my circumstances changed to the extent that it was no long viable as I needed to work nearer home, such a shame as it was an amazing experience; I was extremely proud to be involved with Enigma and love that they are manufacturing handmade bikes right here in England. As far as I am concerned Enigma's 'Sussex' built Steel and Titanium frames now rival the very best in the world, their workmanship and all the personnel involved are of the very highest standard and it shows in the finished product; absolute perfection. 

Since 2016 I have gone back to my first love, the variety of cycle retail, working in a quality local bike shop, www.candncycles.co.uk at Redhill in Surrey, focusing on bike fitting and helping customers choose their perfect Orro, Trek or Van Nicholas; I am honoured to say that latter tracked me down to rekindle our long lasting relationship.

I have also written for Roadcyclinguk.com, there are two Paul Smith's who write for them, I'm the one who has written about the 'Audax' bike type, I have replicated and updated many of the reviews on my own website plus added some more like the Garmin Edge 810 gps review and Van Nicholas Chinook Review.

If you'd like to contact me please click on the following link to send an email plsmith.co.uk@gmail.com