Bike Shop Near Me

When the bicycle was invented in the 1817 by Charles Baron Von Drais, there became an immediate need for shops that would not only sell bike accessories but fix bikes that became damaged or had fallen in disrepair. Much like cars created a demand for garages, bikes created a public demand for shops designed specifically for care and purchase of bikes.

Are you interested in finding a bike shop year you? Simply browse bike shop near me on the map below and find a list of bike shops in your area. Need a bit more information on bike shops? Read on for facts, trivia, and the history of bike shops and bicycles in America!

Bike Shop Near Me – Find it on the Map

Bike Shop Near Me – Bike Shop Trivia

Who was the first American manufacturer of bicycles?

Despite early sketches of bikes from the likes of great minds such as Leonardo Da Vinci, the bicycle as we know it didn’t exist until 1817. It was then that the familiar two wheeled pedal push models that we know today came into existence. While this particular type of bike appeared in 1817, it wasn’t until 1878 that American’s first began manufacturing bicycles. The first American manufacturer of cycles began with the Columbia Bicycle at the Weed Sewing Machine Company factory located in Hartford, Connecticut. The first catalogue to feature this new style of bikes was a whopping 20 pages long. The first bicycles sold for purchase were 60” High Wheeler bikes. Though unwieldy, the bike gained instant popularity and sold for a staggering $125.00 when the average sewing machine was retailing for just $13.00.

Bike shops typically boast high performance bikes and bikes of a superior quality to those found in box stores.

True or false: Women of the 1880’s were forced to riding around on adult tricycles.

If you’re a woman searching bike shop near me, you luckily won’t be forced to ride around on adult tricycle. The women of the 1880’s sadly didn’t fare quite as well. While their male counterparts were riding on the popular High Wheeler bikes, women were unable to ride these bikes due to the style of dress. With long skirts and tight corsets, riding a High Wheeler bike was simply out of the question. Instead, women took a spin around the park on adult tricycles. Though women preferred this style of bike more dignified gentlemen also preferred the adult tricycle to the High Wheeler as it seemed much more innovative and full of class.

What year were kids bikes first invented?

While it’s difficult to consider bikes without thinking of children, kids bikes weren’t introduced in the US until after the first World War in 1920. At this time, manufacturers such as Sears Roebuck, Montgomery, and Ward sought to revitalize the bike industry by featuring automobile and motorcycle element that they believed would appeal to kids and a younger crowd. This was based on the assumption that kids would rather have a motor than just a bike. Eventually these bikes took on design elements that aimed to make bikes look more like rockets or pieces of aircraft than simple riding machines. It wasn’t until the 1960’s that bikes earned the streamlined and simple design that they still bear today. If searching bike shop near me, consider just how far these seemingly simple machines have truly come.

Bike Shop Near Me – Bike Shop Facts

Bike Shops Bring Big Profit

In searching bike shop near me, you’re helping to keep a once thriving industry alive. While modern bike shop owners may struggle to keep up against big box retailers such as Target and WalMart, bike shop owners once made what many would consider to be a very tidy living. For example, The Wright Brothers paid for all of their aviation experiments and composed their designs with profits generated solely from their bicycle shop, which they founded in 1892. The Wright Cycle Company which was located in Dayton, Ohio was highly profitable for many years. In 1897, they made $3,000 each at a time when a very respectable office gig only paid around $500 per year.

The Struggle Of Bike Shops

Bike shops still exist en masse in many countries, but their popularity has sadly fallen since the heyday of bike shops. One of the companies attributed with ending the cataclysmic profits of bike shops? Sears and Roebuck Company. While the retail giant didn’t cause the now infamous bike crash of 1897, they did make life much more taxing for bicycle retailers. The mail order business was selling bicycles for a low price of $7.50, something that the average bike shop owner simply couldn’t keep up with. Retailers of every kind were impacted by these chain stores and their price cutting tactics. Now bike shops offer a much more specialized variety of merchandise than box stores could ever boast.

Reasons to Buy From a Bike Shop

While searching bike shop near me, consider these five reasons to purchase your next bike from a shop rather than a box store such as Target or Walmart.

1. Bike shops offer expert trained technicians to work on your bike and educate on bike safety.

2. Properly assembled and well maintained bikes can last longer than the life of their owner.

3. Bike shops will not only let you test ride your bike, they’ll offer a more customizable range of bikes and accessories.

4. A good bike shop will carefully and proportionally fit a bike to your exact frame and stature.

5. A trained professional can match your type of riding and overall bike needs to a particular type of bike.