Bayou City Cycles: The Bike Shop That’s Helping Reinvent Houston’s East End
In business, as in life, it’s all about how you plan. Take Hunter Dickerson and Anthony Turner, for example. Behind a dark concrete storefront and a pair of even darker…
Meet the Most Historic Bike Shop in NYC: Bicycle Habitat New York
New York City’s neighborhood bike shop. Let the significance of those words sink in for a minute. Anywhere else, such a distinction might be met with a healthy dose of…
The Memphis Bicycle Shop That’s Turning a City Back Into a Community
When one thinks of Memphis, there are certain things that come readily to mind. Civil rights, for example. Rock’n Roll. Graceland. If cycling makes it onto the list, you can…
Rouler Brings Style, Culture, and Community to New Orleans Bike Shops
There’s just something about the Big Easy. Its grit. Its irreverence. Its joie de vivre. “If there was no New Orleans,” wrote Judy Deck to author/columnist Chris Rose in 2005,…
Getting Personal: How Seattle’s Montlake Bicycle Shop is Changing the Rules on Customer Service
When Neil Wechsler first got his start in the cycling business, his partner had one unusual rule: no more than four bikes were to be sold. Per week. Of course,…
Bespoke Cycles: The Art of Good Science Behind a Hidden Bike Shop in San Francisco
“I’ve been bike fitting since 1993,” says Ari Bronsztein from his shop office in San Francisco. His diction is both precise and casual, exuding a confidence that tends to accompany…
Discovering The Most Unique Bike Shop In Boston: Cambridge Used Bicycles
Meander into the basement of a rather nondescript antique market just northwest of Boston and you’ll come across something entirely unexpected: a bike shop. This veritable oasis of colorful frames…
Aggieland Cycling: A College Station Bike Shop, A Proud Texas Heritage
Welcome to College Station, population just under 107,000. Though you might not know it yet, you’re going to feel right at home here. What started as a quiet community built…
Bird Legs Bicycles: A Fresh, Beachside Take On Jacksonville Bike Shops
There’s just something about seaside communities that brings out the beach cruiser in all of us. Just ask Kearstin Rew, manager of the recently opened Bird Legs Bicycles on Jacksonville’s…
Bike Sharing Disruptor: One Dallas Shop’s Innovative Spin On A Familiar Idea
Dallas Unveils World’s Saddest Bike Sharing Program. That was the headline put forward by the Dallas Observer late in 2014, lampooning the inaugural debut of the city’s two (yes, two)…
Embracing the Showroom Effect: Western Bikeworks and Spinlister
In the startup world, the story of Lou Doctor and his box of discolored bike tires is a relatively familiar one. Having recently entered the road biking scene in 2001,…
A Wheel Builder’s Disruptive Approach To Cycling In Japan: GS Astuto and Spinlister
When asked why he was drawn to wheel making, Tim Smith, founder of GS Astuto in Kawasaki, Japan, has a simple answer: “Well, I was a [crappy] racer.” It’s not…
Ride Brooklyn and Spinlister: Putting the Fun Back in Brooklyn Cycling
“Even if [cycling] is a utility, you can still have a good time doing it,” says Peter Kocher, co-owner of New York’s Ride Brooklyn bike shop. “Whether you’re commuting to…
Rethinking The Mobile Bike Shop: Spinlister Pro and Portland’s Holy Spokes!
Raise your hand if you remember the mobile bike shop revolution. You know, circa 2015 when a proliferation of Sprinter Vans bearing the logos of Velofix and Beeline heralded the…
Powering NYC Adventure: How Spinlister And 718 Cyclery Are Helping Brooklyn Get Dirty
Adventure, creativity, and a fierce spirit of independence; welcome to Joe Nocella’s Brooklyn. The lifelong New York resident founded 718 Cyclery in 2008, after a stolen ride and some insightful…
Why Is No One Talking About Bicycle Tourism?
I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is that there’s a way to pump millions of dollars into local economies, support small businesses, protect the environment, encourage…
Rethinking American Bicycle Shops in the Age of the Electric Bike
Let’s play a quick game. I’m going to throw some numbers at you. Stop me when you spot the common thread. 30% – Increase in French electric bike sales in 2016 34%…
Whole SLADDA Love: Spinlister and IKEA Portland Pair Up
What if I told you that, with no prior experience whatsoever, you could build a bike? And not just any bike: one designed specifically to a.) endure a lifetime of…
4 Things Every Bike Rental Customer Is Looking For (And How To Deliver)
Global cycling tourism is on the rise. Bigly. Buoyed by lucrative Chinese bike sharing startups and last year’s 50% increase in European e-bike revenues, the effects of a more cycle-centric…
The 3 Most Common Bike Rental Business Problems (And How To Fix Them)
The decline of the local American bike shop is nothing new. Since its zenith in 2001, the industry has seen a continuous reduction in the number of stores operating nationwide,…
Adios, Pronto: What Seattle Tells Us About The Future Of Bike Sharing
March 2017: a month that will live in infamy. For cyclists, anyway. The next 31 days will usher in the demise of Seattle’s Pronto! bike-share service – arguably one of…
4 Easy Ways To Promote Your Bike Shop Early This Cycling Season
Brace yourself; it’s almost March. And yes, while the vernal equinox, college basketball, and shamrock shakes are all good things, perhaps the month’s most appealing attribute is the fact that…
Experiential Travel: Adventure Tourism And The Bike Rental Market (Pt 1)
If you own a rental shop, there’s a two-word combination that ought to elicit a Pavlovian response from your inner businessman. That magical expression is experiential travel. This has actually…
Better Cycling Images: How The Right Photography Can Help Rent Your Bike
Didn’t you hear? Airbnb is going bust. Or at least it was. That was back in 2009: the year the founders of the now $30-billion company made a discovery that,…
5 Strategies To Make A Returning Customer Out Of A First Time Renter
As the saying goes: “Rent a man a fishing pole, and you’ve made a customer for a day. Send him a follow up email and an in-store coupon, and you’ve…
Bicycle Market Growth: 4 Easy Ways To Expand Your Bike Shop’s Audience
If you own a bike shop, chances are you’ve wondered how to tap into that robust bicycle market that exists outside of your current customer base. There’s advertising, of course,…
What The Best Bike Shops All Have In Common: The Gears Of Success
Ever wonder what drives small-business success? There are, of course, myriad factors involved, and the topic is far too broad to discuss in a single blog post. So let’s narrow…
Why the Mobile Market is Critical to Your Bike Shop’s Success
Pop quiz: In 2016, how many active smartphone users do you think populated the earth? 100 million? 500 million? A billion? The answer is actually somewhere in the ballpark of 2.6…
5 Tips For Choosing The Right Rental Software For Your Business
There’s no doubt about it: rental demand in the US is on the rise. With the American Rental Association (ARA) forecasting a 2017 revenue growth rate equal to the 6.7%…
Why Winter is the Perfect Season to Update Your Bike Rental Software
Winter is traditionally considered a rough time for bike shops – understandable, really, as even the National Bike Dealers Association describes the industry as a “seasonal business.” But while fewer…
Why I Biked Through One Of Chicago’s Most Dangerous Neighborhoods
Tell someone in Chicago you’re going for a bike ride through North Lawndale and watch the ensuing reaction. Your statement will most likely be met with a mix of bewilderment…
Off to George’s: A Ride on Washington DC’s Mount Vernon Bike Trail
It’s not often you get to pair the phrases “iconic American home” and “fantastic bike workout” in the same sentence. Leave it to George Washington to break the mould. For…
Speed and Scenery: Biking Pittsburgh’s Highland Park Reservoir Loops
What do you call a cycling destination that’s just far enough from the city center to be out of the way and just rewarding enough to be worth the trip?…
Biking with Dinosaurs: An Unforgettable Ride on the Shark Valley Trail
The name “Shark Valley” is a bit deceiving. It’s not that the area to which it corresponds lacks the sense of immediate danger you might expect from a depression filled…
A Surprising Bike Ride On Houston’s Buffalo Bayou Park Trail
Houston has a problem – and it has nothing to do with space. For much of its history, the Bayou City’s most prominent natural resources (aka its bayous) have gone…
San Diego’s Finest: Cycling The Silver Strand Bikeway To Coronado
Just across the bay from downtown San Diego lies one of the county’s most secluded beaches – and 12 miles of pure cycling bliss. Coronado may best be known for…
Valmont Bike Park: Boulder’s Surprising Must-Ride For Mountain Bikers
Boulder – a Colorado community whose very name connotes adventure and the great outdoors. Located at the base of the Rocky Mountain foothills, you’d be justified in looking instinctively westward…
Manhattan’s Seasonal Cycling Getaway: Biking Governors Island Park
Every year from May to October, New Yorkers can flee the bedlam of the big city and escape to their own scenic island getaway. No, you won’t find leafy palm…
Prelude to the Pittsburgh Dirty Dozen: Biking E Sycamore St to Mt. Washington
The Dirty Dozen. No, we’re not talking about Robert Aldrich’s 1967 American war classic. We’re talking about the Chew and Gottlieb version – Pittsburgh’s signature cycling challenge that dates back…
The Des Plaines River Trail: Chicago’s Mountain Biking Hideaway
We’re going to step out on a limb and guess that, if you’re coming to Chicago, it’s probably not for the mountain biking. There’s just something about the third most…
Boston’s Revolutionary Bike Path: Cycling the Historic Minuteman Rail Trail
There may be no better combination of cycling and American history than Boston’s Minuteman Rail Trail. Seriously. On the eve of the American Revolutionary War, in the waning hours of…
Boulder’s Best: Mountain Biking The Beautiful Betasso Trail Loops
As the tongue-in-cheek expression goes, if you’re looking for the best mountain biking in Boulder, go mountain biking in Nederland. Now let’s put that in some perspective. Yes, the charming…
Irving’s Campion Trail: The Dallas Bike Ride You Never Saw Coming
The modest city of Irving, Texas can easily get lost in the massive suburban sprawl surrounding the Big D. Unless, of course, you’ve come here for the cycling. Unbeknownst to…
New Year’s Cycling: 17 Bike Rides You Need To Experience in 2017
2017 is here, and with it comes the tantalizing possibility of new bike routes to explore. Whether you’re staying close to home this year or traveling across the globe, here…
Austin’s Finest: The Ann and Roy Butler Bike Trail To Lady Bird Lake
Austin is a classic example of urban overachievement. Not content to simply house the Texas state capitol, the city has set itself up as the antithesis to neighboring behemoths like…
Braving the Baja Divide: Lavanya Pant’s Bike Ride Across Mexico’s Last Wilderness
Lavanya Pant has just done what 99% of us will never attempt in our lifetimes: she’s pedaled across the Baja Divide. For any trail cyclist, this would be an impressive…
Cycling for Change: A Tale of Advocacy, Diversity, and Minnesota Biking
When it comes to cycling, Minnesota’s Twin Cities might best be classified under the heading “estranged fraternal.” On the one hand, Minneapolis is considered by many to house to the…
Pretty Damned Fast: Giving Voice To A New Generation Of Female Cyclists
Anna Maria Wolf never set out to change the face of women’s cycling. Growing up in Miami, she was drawn to the world of vogue, relocating to New York City…
Isis Shiffer’s EcoHelmet: The Story Behind The Award-Winning Design
“It comes down to infrastructure, and it comes down to scale,” says Isis Shiffer from her studio in Brooklyn. “Until you really crack those problems, you’re never going to build…
Philadelphia’s Sturdy Girls: Cultivating Women’s Cycling In The City Of Brotherly Love
It all started in 2003. In the midst of a Lance Armstrong-induced biking craze that was sweeping the US, Philadelphia cyclists Dana Hanchin and Sally Poliwoda had an idea: create…
Shirin Gerami: The Inspiring Journey Of Iran’s First Female Triathlete
When Shirin Gerami was growing up, her grandmother would tell her the story of a well-respected university professor and his son. Questioned by his acclaimed father what he would like…
Fat Bike Race: An Unforgettable Backyard Pursuit In West Yellowstone
It was the light that first caught his attention. 5 of them, in fact: three on top and two on the bottom. Pedaling through the surreal silence that accompanies midnight…
Gran Fondo New York 2016: A Tale Of Two Cyclists
Somewhere along the way from Sao Paulo to New York it had happened. Marcella Toldi’s wheels, on loan from her coach for use in the 2016 Gran Fondo, had been…
Arizona Biking: A Conversation With Spinlister Member Thane Walton
Meet Thane. For a guy who only fully immersed himself in the cycling world 3 years ago, he sure does make up for lost time in a hurry. Just ask…
Passion, Prince, And Barcelona Cycling: A Conversation With Spinlister Member Adrian Flores
It’s not hard to see how an Austin cyclist could feel right at home in Barcelona. Ample sunshine, rugged surrounding landscapes, springtime temperatures in January – when propelling yourself into…
Discovering France By Bike: A Conversation With Spinlister Member Raphael Dumont
Raphael is tall – taller than me and, at 6’1 (185 cm), that’s something you notice quickly. His height is both good and bad for a long-distance cyclist, as longer…
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