IF REVOLUTION comes in cycles, then the one in York is about to end after just a few months.

Cycle Republic, a cycle store which opened in Coppergate in January with the fanfare that it would “revolutionise bike buying in the UK”, will soon shut its doors, with the loss of ten jobs.

The store, which was supposed to be a new concept from national retailer Halfords, rented 4,000 sq ft on two floors on a site recently occupied by The Sofa Workshop.

It will remain open and trading until agency CBRE can find a new tenant on the same terms – that is, on a ten-year lease, with five-yearly reviews, at an initial annual rent of £100,000.

The York store is the only Cycle Republic casualty in the wake of an interim management statement by Halfords last month, which announced the rebranding of all its standalone bike stores, such as Bikehut and Cycle Republic, under the Halfords banner.

However, the only one to close will be the Coppergate Cycle Republic, which is only 300 yards away from Halfords in Feasegate.

At the time of its launch as the first Cycle Republic in the north, Stephen Sunley, the pioneer manager, said the store would avoid the “niche” selling of most independent cycle shops, which tended to sell solely on-road, off-road or plain commuter vehicles. This venture would offer all three.

A second Cycle Republic was opened in Norwich and this is now being re-branded as a Halfords. The dream of opening 50 Cycle Republics throughout the UK has now come to an abrupt halt.

The Coppergate property was acquired by King Sturge for Sizewall Ltd, a fund of London-based London & Lothian Group, for £1.115 million in April 2008.

Tim Starling, of CBRE, which is now marketing the lease, said there had been keen interest.

“We are in discussions with various national retailers about taking on the lease liability,” he said, adding that this week and next representatives of two multi-national retail chains were being shown around the property.