Recumbent Trike Dealer
If anyone was looking for a fun new business -- or an existing bike shop wants to get into some new products -- check out recumbent cycling. I'm not ready to go 3 wheeling, but there is a market.
We spent 2 1/2 waiting for a delivery last week at the ONLY Western Washington retail location for recumbents.
What we saw:
8 potential clients come and go --
one was a veteran and she got the owners attention to look at and demo a few bikes
one was a guy who'd dropped off a bike for servicing over a week ago and he left without his bike
one was a guy in suit who took one look into the catastrophic looking shop, shook his head and left
one was a man who seeme totally patient but he left before we did and no money changed hands
one drove from Camano Island for over 3 hours to demo a specific bike. She had a 10 AM appointment. The shop knew she was coming for that specific bike. It was not put together. There were no readily available recumbents for her to try. While we all enjoyed a gab fest, she would have loved to try riding a recumbent. She left after 2 hours. I dont' think the owner so much as said hello.
And we had a 10 AM appointment set up at least a week before. My husband had an appointment to take possession of a new CatTrike. What we saw: barely put together. Scuffed up cranks and other spots. Filthy chain and filthier boom. Missing bits and pieces. Wrong Seat... the list went on but by 12:30 we signed off and took the trike for a test ride. The gear shifters were lose and wobbly. Many other details indicated a safety check was required. Took the bike to a local dealer who reported back that it needed a lot of love. Shop guy's initial test ended before he left his parking lot.
And each earlier time we were at this shop, there were 2 or 3 people wanting to check out the trikes -- and walking away without buying.
Bottom Line -- if you are a dealer and want to cash in on what will soon be a new baby boomer desired item -- because many end up with balance issues but still want to ride -- check out selling recumbent trikes. Seriously a good opportunity -- even if it is custom orders only.
There is a market.