Cycle donation will help Northampton College course

LeisureLakes Bikes, based in Abbey Retail Park, has donated a total of five bikes for students to practice on as part of their course.

They will be able to hone their skills taking apart the mechanisms within the bikes and reassembling them to get a better idea of how they work.

Engineering tutor Neil Tobin said: “We are incredibly grateful for this very generous donation, which will make a huge difference to our students’ learning. Rather than practising on old bikes which are no longer being manufactured, they can get up to date with state-of-the-art machinery which they would encounter in the working world.”

A huge increase in the popularity of cycling in recent years, thanks to the success of British athletes such as Sir Bradley Wiggins and a greater interest in health and fitness, has led to a rise in demand for engineers skilled in mending and repairing specialist equipment, often worth thousands of pounds.

Iain Noy, director of family-owned LeisureLakes Bikes, which has 10 stores around the UK, said: “We are always keen to support our local community and are delighted to be able to help provide college students with the materials on which to practice their skills.”

For information on courses at the college visit www.northamptoncollege.ac.uk