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Reilly Cycleworks has expanded its B2B team with the appointment of Petra Wiltshire as the brand’s first UK sales rep.
A former pro and World Champion downhill mountain bike racer, Wiltshire was a Reilly enthusiast before joining the company, qualifying in Dubai for the UCI World Championships Gran Fondo on a Reilly Fusion.
Reilly started life as Omega in the late 90s, founded by frame builder Mark Reilly and pattern maker Neil FitzGerald. Their partnership launched with fillet-brazed steel and tig-welded aluminium frames, but it wasn’t long before Mark fell in love with the ‘magical’ properties of titanium.
Following Mark’s untimely death in 2021, FitzGerald steered the business in a new direction with the appointment of business lead Chris Ratcliff.
Despite Mark’s respected designs, Reilly and its 25-year titanium frame building heritage is unknown to some in the cycling industry.
Wiltshire is tasked with changing that. She is available to visit stores with demo bikes, explain Reilly’s catalogue of gravel and road frames in detail and help dealers stock the range most appropriate to their customer base.
Ratcliff said: “A Reilly titanium bike is a lifetime investment, which offers unrivalled value for ride after ride.
“Beyond the value proposition, the experience of riding titanium is much more ‘touchy-feely’ and difficult to put into words. That is why we feel Petra is the perfect rep.
With her extensive knowledge of pro cycling, latterly as a cycling coach, and hours in the saddle of our bikes, whether gravel riding in the UAE or tracking the route of the Tour de France this summer on her Fusion, Petra’s first-hand experience of riding our premium titanium framesets will be invaluable for dealers.”
With a 33% margin on framesets and 27% on complete bikes, Reilly’s business plan is to build lasting relationships with bike shops and support them.
Reilly offers benefits such as a lifetime warranty on frames for the first owner, no minimum order, free UK shipping, listing on Reillycycleworks.com, together with access to a library of product images.
The brand’s in-house finishing team can create custom decals or bespoke anodised finishes with the option to include dealers’ logos on framesets.
Current catalogue of titanium gravel bikes and framesets includes the ‘do-it-all’ and bestselling Gradient. Reilly says the Gradient, and its semi-integrated sibling Gradient T47, are “the embodiment of titanium’s classic ‘flex and flow’, guaranteeing all-day comfort for on and off-road adventures”.
Earlier this year Wiltshire put her Gradient T47 through its paces at the Dirty Reiver event, completing the 130km route in six hours 29 minutes.
She went on to qualify for the UCI Gravel Worlds on her Gradient T47 at The Gralloch in May.
Customers interested in a titanium chameleon should look no further than the Spectre, an all-road bike that is equally happy off-road. With 38mm gravel tyre clearance and mudguard mounts, it’s happy both on and off-road
The round-tubed T325 road bike is available in disc and rim brake versions.
Reilly added to its road line-up in 2022 with the launch of the Fusion, a titanium aero road bike.
Innovative use of investment casting makes the Fusion a distinctive titanium offering. The welding of the 6AL-4V cast parts to 3AL-2.5V tubing, fully integrated cable routing and ‘kamm tail’ profile give the bike a sleek look.
“It may look stunning, but it is also incredibly fast,” said Petra who rode the UCI World Championships in Glasgow on her Fusion.
The Cycle Show 2023 saw the prototype of the Reflex gravel race bike unveiled and immediately garner interest. The Reflex succeeds the Gradient T47, and inherits the Fusion’s clean lines, with full cable integration, 55mm/700cc tyre clearance and short-travel suspension fork and dropper seat post compatibility.
With the final design tweaks being made at present, Reilly is expecting Reflex stock to hit its workshop by November 2023 and is currently taking pre-orders.
Dealers interested in Petra visiting their store, contact her on petraw@reillycycleworks.com or via WhatsApp on 07401 064 325
