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Who are Velotech Cycling Ltd?

Velotech Cycling Ltd is jointly owned by Graeme Freestone King and Jeff Beach.

GraemeGraeme has been in the cycle industry since 1980. He has a wide range of mechanical skills and experience and has worked as a shop mechanic, progressing through work as team mechanic to speccing bicycles and acting as a design consultant to a cycle manufacturer, in addition to having worked as National Sales Manager for a wholesaler in the cycle trade.

Working as a member of a team led by Alan Finch (no longer in the cycle industry) he was closely involved in the evolution of the CyTech scheme from a supplier-led and un-accredited provision to a Foundation Modern Apprenticeship, providing technical expertise and assessment services.

Following his departure from the CyTech programme, he worked as a consultant mechanic for two years, until discussions with Jeff Beech and Weldtite Products Ltd led to the formation of Velotech Cycling Ltd.

He is still a jobbing mechanic, working whenever he can as a locum on the shop floor in bicycle shop workshops, or at the Velotech workshop and on event support, to keep his skills honed and up-to-date. You can read his occasional blog here. In fact, the image above was sneaked by Hot Chillee, promoters of Londres-Paris, the Professional Cycle Event for Amateurs and the Alpine Challenge (new for 2010), during Londres-Paris 2007 ...

With Jeff Beech (see below) having left day-to-day involvement with Velotech in June 2009, the development of both Velotech as a Company and Weldtech as an accreditation are now overseen wholly by Graeme.

JeffJeff has worked in the trade for at least as long as Graeme, and is a framebuilder (he is 753 certified and was trained by Falcon Cycles), as well as having been mainly responsible for the initial development of the original courses that were offered by Velotech Cycling under the Weldtech title.

Jeff has great breadth of experience, from many years as a shop mechanic, through to looking after quality control at a bicycle manufacturer, responsible for the acceptance or rejection of tens of thousands of pounds' worth of material at a time.

Like Graeme, Jeff is happiest when "on the tools" either teaching or practicing the skills that he teaches in a live workshop environment. Graeme and Jeff became acquainted through both working on the CyTech programme as assessors, and when Jeff was looking to extend and develop the Weldtech accreditation in 2008, he contacted Graeme to assist.

Although Jeff left day-to-day involvement in the business to pursue other avenues in the trade in June 2009, he remains closely interested in the Velotech programme and has been involved in the delivery of Velotech-accredited modules to cycle shops and a number of corporate clients since his departure from direct employment at Velotech Cycling.

WeldtiteNo commentary on the history of Velotech is complete without mention of Weldtite Products Ltd. Weldtite were responsible for much of the initial work in the setting up of what is now the Velotech accreditation.

Weldtite are well known in the cycle trade as producers of an excellent range of lubricant products, as well as being the owners of the A D Nephew and Cyclo Tools brands. Many of the Cyclo Professional tool range owe their design features to Jeff's experience as a mechanic.

Weldtech training was originally an offshoot of the Cyclo Tools business. In early 2012, Graeme exersised his option to acquire Weldtite's interest in Velotech Cycling Ltd and to rebrand the training as Velotech.

You can read more about Weldtite and see their range of tooling and other products here.