Originally Posted by
vanguardx3
I bought a new road bike last year, and visited shops just about every weekend for a couple of months.
I was shocked by how few patrons these stores had. Often, I was the only patron in the shop. Even during a "busy" saturday morning, there were almost always more employees on the floor than customers.
My personal experiences tend to jibe with industry data:
Why Are Bicycle Sales Declining (for the 14th year)? | streets.mn
That first article made a number of good points. I ride my bike daily, for transportation. The problem isn't that the author is not right; the problem is that it might not be good business.
In a very short summary of the suggestions:
1) Sell the idea of riding for transportation.
2) Do everything you can to make bicycling in your neighborhood and sales area comfortable and safe for normal average people.
3) Sell bicycles that work for average people.
4A) Hide your inner cyclist
4B) Put bicycle fraternity accessories in a corner or separate room
Imagine if car dealers only sold recreational cars. Cars for racing and off-roading. Cars not really suited to daily use. If part of every sale included a lecture on the need to buy and wear a helmet and safety vest and take a class on repair and maintenance? If your car came without lights or locks or fenders or anywhere to carry anything home from the store. And if it were suggested that you HTFU and learn to operate your car among 200 mph trains.
All that said, something I rally liked at the bike shops in China was that on Saturday and Sunday the shops would lead rides. Different shops had different styles of rides and the bike ridden did not need to come from that shop.