I grant you that many dealers tend to think that operations like this siphon off customers that they might otherwise have, cutting the pie into smaller pieces. But most understand that this isn't at all the case. The customers that repair co-ops siphon off are ones that have already self selected as wanting to do the work themselves, and are therefore not really taken from dealers anyway. Better shops are already aware of this, and offer free repair classes to their customers, figuring that whatever business is lost at the minor repair end, is made up by more people riding more of the time, wanting repair parts and accessories, and ultimately replacing their bikes with better ones.

Also the more people ride and enjoy it, the more likely they are to encourage friends to take up the sport. In football there's a saying that the only thing a prevent defense (trying to sit on a lead) prevents is victory. Likewise better dealers realize that rather than resenting competition and the spread of repair skill to consumers, their best hope for success in their own shops is to grow the sport.

In any case, thinking as a dealer which is better as potential competition, a repair co-op, or a full service shop that sells bikes?



Rent and staff continuity are the real issues, especially in areas where cycling is more seasonal. Co-ops get around the rent issue by taking off main street locations, 2nd floors, basements, and generally non prime locations. This is OK for them because by their nature, they're destination businesses whose customers will seek them out. Then they seek donations and grants for basic overhead, and/or charge dues to members they serve. I know of one that used to have 2 tier pricing. They served members and non-members alike, but members paid less, and could earn sweat equity by working a few hours a week.

Repair co-ops do best where there's a large community or regular cyclists, such as commuters, and/or where large families create a need for inexpensive repair of a large fleet of kid's bikes.