The History of Reg Braddick Cycles

The Company History

Reg Braddick Cycles was established in 1945. It was started due to a love of cycling by Reg Braddick himself and his wife, Betty. This came from a job as a butcher's delivery boy in Cardiff. He later joined the Cardiff 100 miles Road Club and rode Time Trials all around South Wales and the West, but also further a field, including the Manx Road race.

By 18, he was finishing work at 9pm on Saturday nights then riding to Sunday's event. His performances led to an Olympic Trial in 1936 at the Crystal Palace, though a crash resulting in a broken collar bone ended his hopes. Two years later he represented Wales as the only cyclist in a party of six welshmen at the Empire Games in Sydney. The journey took six weeks with only roller training available. This was not good enough for Reg, who rode alongside the ship on the Suez Canal from Cairo to Port Said. Training in Australia consisted of a 600 mile trip from Freemantle to Perth and Adelaide to Sydney. Sadly a puncture left Reg in sixth place. On his return he was offered a position with Raleigh Industries in Nottingham. He joined a local racing team and continued to win racing honours around the country.

In 1944, at the British Massed Start Championship, a closely fought contest was won in the final sprint, as Reg came through to win the Gold Medal. Sadly due to the war the presentation was postponed until metal was available.  The paperwork was lost, however, when The National Cyclists' Union became The British Cycling Federation and so the medal never materialised.

In 1945 he returned to Cardiff and set up the business. It was in the flat above the shop that the Cardiff Ajax Club was conceived, and he rode regularly with them. He found time out of the business to attend Grass Track, Massed Start and Time Trial events. Even as a veteran he gained Award Standards at all distances, both in Britain and France.

The business was always important to him, and he was often found there after his retirement. During refurbishment in 1993 the shop grew from two buildings to four. This new half of the shop is the cycle showroom which was officially opened on the 4th August by the then Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Victor Reilly and Reg Braddick.

The original shop still remains, with some refurbishment. The shop is run by Reg's Eldest son David, his daughter in law Janet and grand-daughter Suzy.