Gnarboots

Sorry if it's been said (too lazy to read entire thread), but in accordance to your well-stocked beer fridge, offer customers a beer while they wait for short repairs, or while you're selling 'em a bike, shooting the s**t, etc... In other words, "Bro Down". It works wonders at Adams Ave. Bikes!
P.S. Drop by if yer in SD!

hyperRevue

While the customer part of me likes the idea of "offering customers a beer while they wait for short repairs" the part of me that works in a shop feels "**** that pandering noise."
I dunno.
If the customer is a close friend of the shop, then of course, whatever.
But as a shop I wouldn't feel obligated to give the customers drinks and snacks for free just so they'd continue shopping at my shop.
If my LBS was part cafe/bar, I would more than happy pay for food and drinks while my bike was being worked on. And even when it wasn't. As a matter of fact, I'd never leave.
I dunno.

cardoor

I know you run your shop solo but it may be nice to have a night of two on weekdays that you stay open late. I frequently work late and its frustrating that I can't pick up anyting at my local shops on the way home.

Re-Cycle

The kicker is that I'm only open late. 6pm-8pm M-F and some on the weekends. But I hardly ever get out at 8. 2 nights ago I was there till 11pm getting a bike out that the guy needed the next day. The hours are wierd cause I have a 9-5 day job.

ChicagoDave

You are my hero...

Sinfield

Did you ever think of opening a little espresso stand as part of the shop. You could dual use the space probably, and have all of the hipster/ bikey people who are already caffeine addicts hitting the spot up to admire each others bikes, drink a cup of joe, and who knows? maybe walk out with that new 16t cog that they've been meaning to pick up and try out.

You do that and you get people who maybe come to your bike shop once every couple weeks, or worse once a month when they need something to come in on a regular basis which will probably in the end net you some more sales. Plus you hire a cute coffee chick to work for minimum wage + tips and you have another draw.

This is an idea a buddy of mine and I have kicked around for a while. Combination bike shop/ espresso stand/ bar in the same building. You're basically making money for 18 hours a day plus sharing overhead costs equally amongst three separate business'. Bad day for bikes? **** it, people are always gonna be willing to spend a few bucks on a latte, or swing by post work for a couple of pints.

TIMES UP!

a saddle swap would be good, especially for riders that are just beginning to get serious about cycling and haven't settled on a favorite yet. not too big an investment in space, plus people would have to leave their info with you so you could spam them with your events. consignment's cool too; sellwood cycles in pdx sells bikes on consignment and it's always interesting to see what they have because it's never the same brand new bikes.

fix

Re-Cycle, you deserve a lot of respect for working two jobs, opening a bike shop because you love bikes, and asking for input from your customer base, and 10000 other reasons. Nice work!

Moochers_Dad

I AM going to visit your shop. My sister lives in Clovis and my dad just moved back to the midwest from Fresno. When I was in school in CA, I used to bring my road bike to Fresno to ride on my breaks. I would have to wait until 7pm when the temperature would drop down to 90 degrees.

I'm due for a visit to Clovis soon.

ZachS

since you're open evenings, just make it a bike shop/bar.

which shop would this be, out of curiosity?

Re-Cycle

Sounds good Moochers, I'll have a cold one waiting for ya.

Oh wow, and here's a article on my shop I just found [sorta]. Wierd timing.

Surferbruce

fyi-i'm pretty sure there's a well established shop called recycled cycles or recycle cycles, something really close to yours. might want to check it out before you get too attached.
oh and yeah i'd buy **** from ya.

asburysinglespd

"No one wants to be somewhere where they feel like they're not cool enough to shop there."


this statement couldn't be more true!

GetOutOfNJ

Despite what you may have heard, non-vegans can usually consume food not made with animals products. Water is an excellent example of this.

I think the shop is a great idea, but check your attitude. It's not like when I go to the vegan co-op, they dis on bike parking, because bikes "apeal only to specific hip sects of people."

I mean, you're selling single-speed conversions for chirst's sake. I ride one too, but I'm not getting down on anyone for being too "hip" for their own good.

RhinoRiot

peter over at visalia cyclery. pm me about the saddles, although the brooks is long gone.

carleton

Tires and Tubes. Tires and Tubes. Tires and Tubes. As we all know, Fixed gear/SS bikes don't have many parts that need tuning or replaced very often. But we all go through tires and tubes.

Tune-ups (truing wheels, tuning brakes, tuning duraillers, etc...) are good money-makers, too becasue customers are paying mostly for labor. I know that fixie/SS don't need much tuning, but as you well know, there are plenty of roadies and MTBs out there. Just don't accept wal-mart bikes. They are darn near impossible to tune because of poor quality parts (this was actually a policy at one shop that I worked).

If you can, set up a "Merchant Discount" agreement with a neighboring bike shop. The shops on "Bike Row" (Stanyan St) in SF are cool like this. If a mechanic is in the middle of a job and needs a part that they don't have, they can go to the shop down the block and pay cost +10% for it there. Very cool.

Also, don't sell yourself short. I'm sure you've got all kinds of friends asking for free, nearly free, or discounted parts or services. You gotta eat, too.

Good luck!

And to answer the question that started this thread: Yes, I would gladly shop at your bike shop.

highpants

i would totally shop there, too.

now, to echo:

1) be nice! this is most important. i always try to buy everything i can from cars-r-coffins here in mpls just because hurl is so nice and always remembers my name. that goes a long way.

2) coffee. c-r-c is also a coffee bar. there are a couple of those in town, and i know there's more elsewhere in the country. i think it's a great idea, and seems to bring in business. also, the mark-up on coffee, even fair-trade, is pretty serious, so it would definitely be a moneymaker.

3) i think it's great to stock so much fg/ss stuff; careful not to overdo it, though. most of your business will likely be geared bikes, particularly repairs for people who know nothing about their bikes, crazy scrapper dudes off the street and whatnot. make sure you don't alienate them.

4) nice work. seems like you're committed to doing things right.

tacks

ccc on alberta. not cool, but very friendly. also open until 7 which I deeply appreciate.

el twe

Please work on X-mart bikes. They can be a *****, but you can't just keep them out of your shop. That'd be like not working on hydraulic disk brakes because you don't get 'em.