CREATING "the cycle capital of the North" is the vision of the businessman behind a state-of-the-art new store at Ings, near Staveley.

"We wanted to create a store that shows off the bikes in all their glory," said Simon Hockings of the newly opened Biketreks with Café Ambio coffee shop next door.

"Ings is a lovely site and we wanted to build something that fitted into the community and that we can all be proud of," said Simon, managing director of family company AUK Investments, which runs several Lake District petrol forecourts and also bought Biketreks in January.

The Ambleside Biketreks has long been a popular destination for cyclists and in 2013 Esquire magazine featured it in seven of the world's "coolest bike shops".

Now, with the opening of the new store on the A591 between Kendal and Windermere, the company has decided to specialise in mountain bikes at Ambleside.

Ings, meanwhile, is stocking high-end road bikes, hybrid and electric models and a full range for women and children.

Simon, a keen cyclist and father-of-two, said the 2012 London Olympics had been 'inspirational' to cyclists and the sport had surged in popularity.

When redeveloping the former Little Chef at Ings, it was 'the obvious move' to create a bike shop with café next door.

Architect John Holt, Simon's brother-in-law, is behind the store's light, contemporary and spacious look and feel. There are huge expanses of glass, a polished concrete floor, floating staircase and gallery-style white walls where bikes are displayed like works of art.

"Rather than a stack 'em high, warehouse-style operation, we want to display our bikes so that the customer can see them in all their glory," said Simon, who lives in Poulton, on the Fylde coast. "We do a lot of custom-built bikes as well road bikes, anything from £500 upwards to several thousand."

Rather than competing directly with nearby Wheelbase, the UK's largest cycle shop at Staveley, Biketreks is stocking different brands. They include Specialized, Scott and award-winning German maker Storck. It is also one of the only stockists of high-end, specialist race-engineered cycles by S-Works.

"We want to make the Lake District a destination for cycle buyers all over the country to come to this beautiful part of the world," said Simon.

"We think by having two really good cycle stores so close to each other, we hope it will benefit both of our businesses by just trying to make this the cycle capital of the North."

As well as the 60 bikes on display at Ings, customers also have a direct view into the workshop headed up by Martin Grimmer, former mechanic for Formula 3000 drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, now of Formula One fame.

Courses are to be offered in everything from fixing roadside punctures to putting a chain back on and servicing suspension forks. Thanks to the open layout, customers can chat to the mechanics while drinking a cup of coffee from local roaster Rinaldo's.

"A lot of bike workshops in the past were in dark, poky, grubby little places," said Martin. "Don't get me wrong, there's some marvellous things come out of these workshops, but the idea is to have an open, clean workshop reflecting what we do."

Simon praises the knowledgeable and courteous Biketreks team as 'our biggest asset'. They include Keith Ronson, whose London fashion background brings a sense of style to the extensive cycle-wear range on the first floor. "The focus of the market now is on road, fitness and family," said Keith, "and the brands we are stocking try to mirror that, from technical brands like Gore, to entry-level cyclists and semi-professional."

- www.bike-treks.co.uk