BizzaroBike

Now, this may be a really dumb thread.

But it always makes me feel good when I dream up a dream yacht, or a dream treehouse, or even a dream LBS.

So this is the thread for you to do just that, create your own bike shop, what would you be sure to carry? What would the name of your shop be? Logo? Location? What would you call your employees? What would be your slogan? How much do you charge for labor? Just go all out.

I hope this is as fun as I think it will be.

I'll have mine posted soon.

exfreewheeler

Cycle-delics, Cycle-ogy, Cycle-Ops...

Iro!
Eai
Phil Wood

I would want to feature local builders too.

Come on... how many clone LBS's will there be on here?

BizzaroBike

Probably several haha, but the point is to elaborate as much as possible.

marqueemoon

I'd import some cool stuff direct that isn't carried by US distributors and do a lot of custom wheels and custom builds. I'd offer fittings and really try to provide good, no-bs service.

I'd carry a few more affordable lines (Jamis, Kona, Surly, Kogswell), Thorn, Gunnar, and offer a few custom options (Mercian, ANT, Spectrum). I'd specialize in nice, well-speced, commuter-friendly machines (no "flat bar road bikes", downhill bikes or carbon yuppie-mobiles).

I'd probably offer a few non-junky kids' bikes too and offer free or discounted tunes for kids' bikes to make sure they get ridden (and to bring the parents into the shop ). I'd also offer rentals of non-sucky bikes.

Parts-wise I would carry a lot of integrated shifter alternatives (Paul Thumbies, downtubes, barends, Kelly Take-Offs) to help people mix and match bike parts like god intended. Honjo fenders, wood fenders that don't cost a zillion dollars. Good lighting systems and dynamo hubs (Schmidt, Turbocat), Brooks saddles, Phil, Chris King, Nitto, and so on. Clothing-wise I'd probably stick with a few Kucharik jerseys and caps and a few other vintage-style items and call it good.

I'd probably set up a relationship with someone local for powdercoating, refinishing, adding braze-ons, etc... so customers could bring their bikes in and get them back refinished and built back up if they wanted, or just take advantage of the shop's buying power for refinishing services with the shop taking a little cut of the action.

There would be free coffee, and large Italian, French, and Spanish flags flying outside during the three grand tours. There would be music that didn't suck and lighting and display cases that weren't butt ugly. It would be like walking into the house of an old friend that just happened to have a lot of bike stuff for sale.

shogun17

A good friend has one. Crank'n Cycles. He's got BMC and all the other major brands, but he only just got it so he's gonna see what he can get. Best thing about it is being sponsored by a bike shop.

Sammyboy

I'd carry what other bike shops don't. So, in my area we've got good shops for roadies, MTB's, and BMX's. I'd carry fixed gear and track stuff, cruisers and choppers, hub geared commuters, a really wide range of parts, plus everything that someone doing their own wrenching could need (I'd be the place you could buy axle spacers, for instance). And finally, I'd do used bikes and kit, too. Plus, somewhere to sit, good music, good things to drink. Somewhere you'd want to hang, not just shop.

lz4005

I'd just buy my LBS, add a bar on to the side and set aside some $$ each week for "free lube n tube tuesdays" for homeless guys.

jamey

i've never heard of thorn but this thing is awesome!

https://www.thorncycles.co.uk/enlarge...tyslicker.html

SamHouston

I've had visions of stately, beautiful bike shops, but then again I enjoy hanging out in your down to earth, full of bikes, greasy equipment & tools bike shop

This local shop, there are better pics out there, but they totally nailed the beauty, this pic is from when they were building it up, I don't have a pic of it all done
https://www.lacarreracycles.com/home_images/uc6.jpg

octopus magic

I have Cambridge Cycles right down the street from me and they even have gold NJS stuff for you fanboys, so I really don't need a "dream shop". They had blue andonized Phil's in stock, which are now mine...

Plus if I wanna make a bit of a haul, I can go to Harris Cyclery (home of Sheldon) in west newton.

Aeroplane

I'd have a nice quonset style building filled with bikes. I'd sell BMX, Mountain, Road, and fixed stuff. No cruisers, but I'd be happy to order them from QBP and whatnot. Limiting myself to 5 brands, I'd go Iron Horse, Redline, Kona, Jamis, and C-dale.

I'd have a back room filled with so many spare parts it's ridiculous, and have a bar on the side that had 5 brews on tap at all times, two of them being the Sam's and Long Trail seasonals.

Cynikal 

A group of us in Sacramento basically did this. We started a non-profit co-op so we didn't need to stress over money and to help more people get into riding for either transportation or enjoyment.

What would the name of your shop be? Logo?

Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen www.sacbikekitchen.org logo on website.
We used the Kitchen name because we really liked the model that the other kitchens used.

Location?
In a economically depressed area of Sac so we could be close to the people we wanted to help. Also, our shop is in an art studio so there is a direct connection with the art community.

We don't have employees, everyone is a volunteer.
Our labor is basically $5 a day if you can afford it.


The overall response has been amazing. We have been open for 6 months and have been flooded with donations of bikes and support.

-Chris

pinkrobe

I've been dreaming about this for years.

The name of the shop would be I Like To Bike, but the hipsters would call it ILTB, as in, "Dude, my Pista needs a new NOS white Rolls and my Deep V's need speedholes. I'm going to ILTB..."

For a logo, I'd just go with ILTB in caps, italics, whatever. The t-shirts [free with every bike] would have **** on the front and a vintage bike on the back. I'm thinking red with white letters...

Ah, what to sell? I'd need to have some commuter bikes for sure, fixies [track, road, CX], SS mtn bikes [i.e. Misfit Psycles], custom fitting [I can finally put that Biomechanics degree to work], etc. Since most people ride mtn bikes around here, all manner of dirt items would have to be sold. Fox and Rock Shox for sure, all the LX or better Shimano I could get me hands on, SRAM, Cane Creek, etc. Oh, and Campy.

I would also offer a Beater Special. I'd troll the land for frames and paint them in the store colours and logo, then build 'em up with decent used parts. They would be used by cheapskate couriers and commuters. If you want a discount off of a bike or frame, you would need to donate a bike or frame to the shop, which would be rebuilt [at my expense] and donated to somebody who needed it, along with a helmet.

I would also like to combine the bike shop with a small cafe, so I wouldn't have to go so far for a decent cup of coffee. At night, the cafe would serve flights of wine, craft beer and fondue. We would have a strong web presence and be active in the community [the location would be a couple of miles north of the velodrome]. You could book repairs online, submit photos, hit the blog, ask questions, enter contests, etc.

It would be located down the hill from my house, so I could get there fast when I slept in. I would sponsor a grassroots racing team, where if you get to CAT 3 or Expert, you "graduate" and are no longer sponsored.

<runs out to buy lottery tickets>

marqueemoon

This one does it for me. Fenders and a triple don't have to mean frumpy.

ken cummings

GRocery stores carry local wines and produce, I want a bike shop that carries or at least showcases local builders like Rotator, Halusek, Bruce Gordon, and Calfee.

pinkrobe

I also want my bike shop to carry wine and local frames. Imagine rolling in to your LBS to pick up a tube, finalize the fit for a custom DJ bike and grabbing a nice shiraz to go with dinner. Perhaps a baguette would find its way into your bag as well...

BizzaroBike

LBS/Deli... Convenience in a nutshell. Have a nice sandwich while you're getting who knows what repaired.

marqueemoon

Mine would be called the Original Cycle Palace. I'd specialize in cheap, heavy bikes and accessories that don't match. The shop would emit a signal that jams GPS units and Powertaps within a mile radius. I would offer free garage door painting with any bike (any color but white).

Retem

my dream lbs is my current lbs the bike biz they have or can get anything at the right price

deathhare

strippers

shogun17