Pete Owen is a Cytech level 3 bike mechanic and wheel builder based in London, who also owns and runs the successful independent bike shop Rat Race Cycles in Nunhead.
Pete set up Rat Race Cycles initially as a mobile business in 2008, moving to permanent premises as the demand for his servicing grew, opening the doors to the Nunhead shop as a sole trader in December 2012. (You can check out his full biog and qualifications on the Rat Race Cycles website.) Rat Race Cycles is now a limited company, and employs 2 other full time mechanics, as well as other part time shop and office staff.
The growth of Rat Race means that Pete’s been able to take a step back and concentrate on his first love, building quality, hand built wheels tailored specifically to the individual rider. Pete’s been building wheels by hand since long before he started working as a mechanic – in fact, it’s coming up to 20 years now – and has garnered quite a reputation amongst local leisure and club cyclists. In the last few years he has built wheels for a number of Cat 1 racers, as well as riders taking part in British and international sportives (including the Paris-Roubaix challenge, l’Etape du Tour and la Marmotte), and even the epic Transcontinental Road Race.