Hi everyone

I'm a soon to be college graduate with a background in computer science but a love of bikes.

My goal for the future is to have a bike shop catering to commuters and utilitarian riders offering hard to find parts, good advice and recycled/used parts and complete bikes.

I am starting off my venture by first offering internet commerce. The internet site would sell items that commuters/utilitarian riders would find useful and at the same time have product reviews, articles, how-tos, DIY, etc.
Right now here is a preliminary listing of offerings:

• Panniers, trunk bags, saddlebags, etc
• Fenders
• Trailers
• Xtracycle
• Racks
• Locks, Pitlock
• Lights, both commercial ready built solutions and parts for the geeks (like me) to roll their own
• Safety gear, reflective vests, reflective tape, etc
• Mirrors
• Tires suitable for commutes, reflective sidewalls
• Chainguards, chaincases
• Handlebars, north road style and most likely others
• Internally geared hubs, coaster hubs, dynamo hubs
• Some unique homemade parts like a rig to tow 1-2 bikes with another bike, light controller/battery meter, etc

I am looking for any and all input on this list

As a commute rider I can personally say I wish there was a good source for some of these parts as they can be hard to find in the mainstream. I'm just trying to gauge right now if other people feel the same way



Thanks in advance for your input,
Dan

Well, I'm not going to discourage you.

There are maybe a couple similar businesses I can think of.

https://www.thetouringstore.com/

https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/

https://www.rivbike.com/

https://www.wallbike.com/

Why not? I can think of a couple online shops that specialize in just a few times of riding. WebCyclery, for example, concentrates on MTB, trials and single speed.

DanO

Its always good to look at who has preceded you

I do find however that the sites posted are not aiming at the same thing that I am. Most are overpriced, understocked and a few I would even label pretentious.
I'm proposing a more "down to earth" solution with more cost effective and useful products

I think it's a great idea. The most annoying thing about commuting on a bike is that the information is scattered all over the internet. Paul Dorn has the best resource, but even his is woefully inadequate. If you could make a site that was really and truly useful (and didn't duplicate content unnecessarily), the product links would flow easily (a la Sheldon).

Prices will be a biggie, of course. However, if you could create a well-designed and maintained site with robust search tools, I'd probably make it my first stop every time. Right now, I always go to nashbar, because it's one of the few sites that doesn't make my brain hurt when I look at it; but it's still a very poorly-designed storefront.

Things that would make your page superb:
1. Links to manufacturer's website on every product page. (Directly to product, if available).
2. For products without #1, detailed specs and compatibility lists if needed.
3. Large photographs of all products.
4. User rating/review functionality that is easy-to-use and accessible.
5. Product page links via pop-out to appropriate reviews and how-tos (including those on other sites).
6. Truly robust search tools, allowing multi-level subsearch filtering, search history, many sorting tools, and the option to display all results on a single page.
7, 8, and 9. Good design!

Prime examples of the "makes my brain hurt" school of design. Rivendell's the best of the group, but still... ouch!

Sure why not. An interesting idea particularly if it is done well.


However, all of the above businesses are well regarded in different forums, particularly among the touring folks.

Rivendell may seem expensive and pretentious but I believe they are only about 14 years old. They came around with good bikes built for loaded touring when fewer choices in touring bikes were available. Apparently, the Surley Long Hall Trucker is a copy of one their models.

Wayne at The Touring Store does not stock a lot of stuff but the stuff he does sell is really good and at the best price. He also has great service. He is the place to go to for Ortlieb panniers and Tobus racks.

Wallbike is the place to go for buying Brooks saddles. Again, something that has a big following among the touring crowd.

I have not dealt with Peter White but I herd that he specializes in wheel building.

If there is a common thread among these is that they provide a high quality, dependable product for a demanding application, touring. They also do it at the best price or with very good service or both so that they get word of mouth recommendations. In short they provide value. Racks, panniers, saddles, and wheels are all critical equipment that is worth investing in for touring or high milage commuting.

Cheap (yet overpriced) cr@p that quickly falls apart is readily available in many places.

Internet commerce is a good place to start but the only problem with that is the Internet can't install the part for you.

I know alot of us here are DIY'ers but I used to work at a bike shop back in the '90's and there are alot of people who like to ride and/or commute but can't/won't/dont-have-time/mech-ability/tools to do thier own work.

I think it would be cool to have a brick-and-morter shop that specializes in commuting with people who know that inside and out.

650A or 650B conversions would be cool, too. Got a really nice older Fuji/Trek/Schwinn/Lotus or whatever 12-speed road bike sitting in the garage unused? Convert it and you can fit fatter tires and fenders and make it alot more useful. I did this to my Schwinn Le Tour with excellent results. It's usually the first bike I grab to go out the door to ride to work. No it won't be cheap to do but it will be alot better than an entry-level "hybrid" and I'm sure even a few pounds lighter.

Go for it!

I would love a "build your commute bike" option. I am a big fan of customizing a bike to my needs, and it would be cool to be able to start with a few basic frame choices and then start adding parts gizmos to it all in one web page. I like hunting for parts, but it is often a little time consuming. It would be fun to start with a Surly CC frame, for instance and then start selecting parts, mixing and matching until I found the balance between function and my budget.

Nobody has mentioned Harris Cyclery as a model. Harris is the closest thing I know of on the web which caters specifically to commuter/transportational/touring cycling.

The big problem is that commuters and touring guys don't buy a lot of stuff compared to the roadies or the mountainbikers who have to have the latest and greatest. It's a hard market already, and by limiting your sales to those who buy the most, you are just putting more of a load on your shoulders.

Good point. Another great website.

Another of my favorites is Lickton's (www.lickbike.com). More focused on roadies but has a good selection of commuter gear mixed in. Very good for tools and parts.

The shops around here have a lot of mountain bikes, plenty of road bikes and a handful of comfort bikes, cruisers, etc. A few have something that might be considered a commuter but usually offer to special order when I ask about commuter models I see on the manufacturers' web sites. I suppose the shop owners know their markets better than I do, but it isn't a good situation.

Well, Dan, I would have been excited about such a possibility last year, but now we're going to have a hard-core commuter/transportational cycling store opening here soon.

It's a crowded market place. But if you feel you can do it better or be more competitive, go for it.
Personally, I don't really care where I purchase from. price, taxes & shipping are my bottom line.

+1 .... I'll research from other sites, but it comes down to that when I click the final "Purchase" button.

dwolz - a few random thoughts:

I am a bicycle commuter, with a 30 mile RT commute, I am not entirely certain that my commute saves me money since I have a car which I use sometimes. My car gets 48mpg, so at $3.00 per gallon my total gas cost for a year of commuting would be about $450, and I am pretty sure that I spend more than that on bike stuff. If I were able to live car free, the savings in insurance, registration etc would make it a clear win.

I like, and buy a lot of stuff at my LBS - it is very handy to be able to stop by and ask questions like "do I need to be concerned about the play that I have in my BB?" They are also a handy spot to stop and refill a water bottle or do some minor maintenence task. Do I buy everything at the LBS? - No - for two reasons - firstly as a commuter my bike and requirements are different from 99% of the LBS clientele (mostly roadies and MTB dudes), my community is not big enough to support a bike shop that caters to commuters even as a part of their business.

The second reason is that as a commuter, I spend more time on my bike than most people, and I am very particular about it. Most cyclists aren't going to care a whole lot about the difference between one light and another, because they won't use it enough to make a difference. In the winter, I ride 30 miles each day in the dark. I know what I want in a light, and what would be an insignificant difference to many a cyclist is an important factor to me.

When it comes to buying stuff, mostly I try to purchase at the LBS, but many of the things that I want/need they will not have. Some things they will order for me, like my tires (Schwalbe Marathon + ), other things I buy online. When I make that leap to buy online, it doesn't make a huge amount of difference to me where I go, although I more often than not find myself at harris cyclery since they seem to have most of the stuff that I want, they have a lot of good advice thanks to Sheldon Brown, and I want to support that.

If I were in your shoes, wanting to open a new concept bike shop, catering to commuters and utilitarian cyclists, I would look to Harris Cyclery as a model. They have a real store, and they have very knowledgable people who can answer questions for you there. They extend some of the benefits of a LBS to the online space. For the physical LBS, I would make it a comfortable place for commuters to hang out - offer coffee and food as well as lube and chains.

Bottom line - if you opened a shop locally carrying the type of products that you describe above, then I would probably be a customer - online, probably not.

And SS/FG, too. They get at least 40% of my internet business because of that (and Sheldon Brown). They also have a good tech support dept.

A "build your own bike" section would be really nice. Even if you're not going to be offering assembly, the ability for customers to pick out all of the parts they need (including stuff they might forget like rim strips, etc) would be a nice service. Perhaps you could offer a discount for buyers who purchase a complete kit? Or maybe an escalating discount depending on how many different selections the purchaser makes.

I think an actual shop that caters to the utilitarian cyclist is a better idea than an online retailer. Most of the stuff we need can already be gotten online somplace. However, if I want to see how a particular pannier fits my bike, or how a certain messenger bag actually feels on my back, I can't do that online. And I want to see the actually Brooks saddle I'm buying since they're all actually a bit different.

BTW, in 10 years, I'm thinking of retiring from teaching and starting some kind of bike-related business. Look me up.

Before I got rid of my 2nd car, I had a huge break on insurance (USAA) when I told them that I wasn't driving it to work and it was only used occassionally. You should look into that.

I disagree...unless you're in a market that has really heavy bike commuter traffic/is one of the biggest bike commuting regions, like Portland, Seattle, Boulder, etc.
Personally, I don't see how longterm single proprietor brick and mortars are going to be able to compete with internet based operations. You're selling the same item that can always be sold at a lower price on line and the overhead differences are beyond substantial.

Disagree I buy as many items as possible from my LBS which is a single proprietor brick and mortar (they are actually in a real brick building ), they do not have the lowest prices, and because of their high overhead, I am sure that they do not have the best margins. I buy there because of the things that I get by having them there - advice, the ability to pick something up on my way to/from work and have it NOW rather than wait for UPS to deliver etc. There are some things which rely on human interaction and expertise where there is real value to having a store there, and I for one am willing to pay for that. If the only thing that you value is the physical product that you are purchasing, then you are right, but I find my bike to be so much more than a collection of parts, each of which was obtained at the lowest possible price.