Local bike shop
Encyclopedia
Small business
A small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships...
specializing in bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
sale
Sales
A sale is the act of selling a product or service in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity....
, maintenance
Maintenance, repair, and operations
Maintenance, repair, and operations or maintenance, repair, and overhaul involves fixing any sort of mechanical or electrical device should it become out of order or broken...
and parts. The expression distinguishes small bicycle shops from large chains
Chain store
Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses. In retail, dining and many service categories, chain businesses...
and mail-order or online
Electronic commerce
Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce, eCommerce or e-comm, refers to the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. However, the term may refer to more than just buying and selling products online...
vendors is abbreviated LBS. In the UK and Ireland, the expression independent bicycle dealers (IBDs) is also used.
The local bike shop is a key component of the bicycle industry
Bicycle Industry
The Bicycle Industry or Cycling Industry can broadly be defined as the industry concerned with bicycles and cycling. It includes at least bicycle manufacturers, part or component manufacturers, and accessory manufacturers...
and, in recognition of the value that local bike shops provide, some manufacturers only sell their bicycles through dealerships.
Offerings
Beyond bicycles, a local bicycle shop may offer clothing and other accessories, spare and replacement parts, tools, and a variety of services.Services may include expert fitting and custom bike building or ordering, maintenance and repairs from experienced bicycle mechanic
Bicycle mechanic
A bicycle mechanic is a mechanic who can perform a wide range of repairs on bicycles. Bike mechanics can be employed in various types of stores, ranging from large department stores to small local bike shops; cycling teams, or bicycle manufacturers....
s, and organized group rides and classes. A self-service work area may be available.
Shops may also specialize on one or more aspects of cycling: bicycle racing
Bicycle racing
Bicycle racing is a competition sport in which various types of bicycles are used. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, bike trials, and cycle speedway. Bicycle racing is recognised as an Olympic sport...
, triathlon
Triathlon
A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...
ing, bicycle touring
Bicycle touring
Bicycle touring is cycling over long distances – prioritizing pleasure and endurance over utility or speed. Touring can range from single day 'supported' rides — e.g., rides to benefit charities — where provisions are available to riders at stops along the route, to multi-day...
, BMX
BMX
Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...
, mountain biking
Mountain bike
A mountain bike or mountain bicycle is a bicycle created for off-road cycling. This activity includes traversing of rocks and washouts, and steep declines,...
, etc.
Similarly, shops may carry a diverse range of bicycles, from single-seat upright bikes, to more specialized types such as tandem bicycle
Tandem bicycle
The tandem bicycle or twin is a form of bicycle designed to be ridden by more than one person. The term tandem refers to the seating arrangement , not the number of riders. A bike with two riders side-by-side is called a sociable.-History:Patents related to tandem bicycles date from the late 19th...
s, recumbent bicycle
Recumbent bicycle
A recumbent bicycle is a bicycle that places the rider in a laid-back reclining position. Most recumbent riders choose this type of design for ergonomic reasons; the rider's weight is distributed comfortably over a larger area, supported by back and buttocks...
s, folding bicycle
Folding bicycle
A folding bicycle is a bicycle designed to fold into a compact form, facilitating transport and storage. When folded, the bikes can be more easily carried into buildings and workplaces or onto public transportation or more easily stored in compact living quarters or aboard a car, boat or plane...
s. Many shops also carry related items such as unicycle
Unicycle
A unicycle is a human-powered, single-track vehicle with one wheel. Unicycles resemble bicycles, but are less complex.-History:One theory of the advent of the unicycle stems from the popularity of the penny-farthing during the late 19th century...
s and skateboard
Skateboard
A skateboard is typically a specially designed plywood board combined with a polyurethane coating used for making smoother slides and stronger durability, used primarily for the activity of skateboarding. The first skateboards to reach public notice came out of the surfing craze of the early 1960s,...
s.
Shops located out of temperate climates may have a secondary line in order to keep busy in the off season (winter). These include goods and services for skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
, camping, and physical fitness.
Some shops keep their regular customers coming in through the winter by offering group training sessions.
Some shops have a women-specific section, and at least one is devoted entirely to women.
Studios
A small but growing trend in bicycle retailing is called the bicycle studio, which offers service in an intimate environment by appointment only. A list by Bicycling Magazine shows five studios founded before 2000 and 13 since. These are seen as more complementary to, than competitive with, traditional bike shops.Competitors
The primary competitors to local bike shops are the mass merchants such as Wal-MartWal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
or Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
, representing 73% of the units and 36% of the dollars in 2007, full-line sporting goods stores such as Dick's Sporting Goods
Dick's Sporting Goods
Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. , or Dick's, is a Fortune 500 American corporation in the sporting goods and retail industries.The company's headquarters are on the grounds of Pittsburgh International Airport in Findlay Township near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Dick's has 451 stores in 42 states as of...
, multi-sport stores such as R.E.I.
R.E.I.
REI is a privately held American retail corporation organized as a consumers' cooperative, selling outdoor recreation gear, sporting goods, and clothes via some 110 retail stores in about 30 states, catalogs, and the Internet. The company opens four to six new stores each year...
, representing 7% of the units and 9% of the dollars in 2007, and mail order and on-line vendors representing 3% of the units and 6% of the dollars in 2007. There are also chains of bike shops, though most LBS are singly owned, 91% of them have one location.
The lines between local bike shops and on-line vendors is blurring as local bike shops begin to sell products on line and traditional mail order vendors open their own retail bike stores.
A recent development is the introduction of brand specific stores from bicycle manufacturers such as Trek Bicycle Corporation
Trek Bicycle Corporation
Trek Bicycle Corporation is a major bicycle and cycling product manufacturer and distributor under brand names Trek, Gary Fisher, Bontrager, Klein and until recently, LeMond Racing Cycles...
. Other manufacturers, such as Specialized
Specialized Bicycle Components
Specialized Bicycle Components, more commonly known simply as Specialized, is a major American brand of bicycles and related products. It was founded in 1974 by Mike Sinyard and is based in Morgan Hill, California-History:...
are strengthening their channels with concept stores.
Statistics
According to the National Bicycle Dealers Association, in 2007 there were approximately 4,400 "specialty bicycle retailers" in the USA; down from 4,800 in 2005. Although they sold only 17% of the bikes, up from 16% in 2005, they collected 49% of the dollars, up from 47% in 2005. In 2004, the average specialty bicycle retailer had gross sales of $550,000 per year, 91% of them had one location, and average store size was 4,822 square feet.See also
- BicycleBicycleA bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
- Bicycle IndustryBicycle IndustryThe Bicycle Industry or Cycling Industry can broadly be defined as the industry concerned with bicycles and cycling. It includes at least bicycle manufacturers, part or component manufacturers, and accessory manufacturers...
- Bicycle mechanicBicycle mechanicA bicycle mechanic is a mechanic who can perform a wide range of repairs on bicycles. Bike mechanics can be employed in various types of stores, ranging from large department stores to small local bike shops; cycling teams, or bicycle manufacturers....
- Bicycle toolsBicycle toolsVarious bicycle tools have evolved over the years into specialized tools for working on a bicycle. Modern bicycle shops will stock a large number of tools for working on different bicycle parts...
- CyclingCyclingCycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
- List of bicycle manufacturers
- List of bicycle part manufacturers