I had an excellent bike shop experience today. As a walk-in, off the street, not knowing any of the folks I interacted with. Friendly hello at the door. Good service at the workshop counter. Ultimately they didn’t have the widget I was seeking, a brand-specific proprietary frame bolt from over a decade ago. But that’s okay, there was still value in the visit.
Normally here, I’d shout out the shop by name. But I think there’s a more valuable Tunnel Talk moment to expand upon and, for reasons that will now be obvious, I don’t want to single them out for a trend that’s been actively spreading through the frontline of the bicycle industry.
I’m, of course, talking about the fact that, from the outside, this shop, and many other shops, has adopted the visual aesthetic of a seedy nightclub.
{Above photo: Wikipedia}
To quote Robert DeNiro’s character in the movie Ronin, “I never walk into a place I don’t know how to walk out of.” But also, putting any attempt at charm or humour aside, it’s just f*cking weird standing outside a retail business I cannot see inside‽ Is it a bike shop or a vape shop? I know mountain biking is a drug but so’s alcohol and every liquor store I wander up to has at least one clear window.
Standing outside, as a privileged middle-aged white dude who’s been entirely comfortable walking into bike shops – every and any bike shop, anywhere – since I was a teenager, I had a prickly hairs-on-my-neck moment before I pulled on the door. What’s in there? An instant self-reflection that if I was at all uncomfortable pulling on the handle there is some percentage of riders who simply would not go inside.
And no, I don’t think it’s a stretch or an exaggeration. I’ve been hearing for years {generally in the way of a positive reflection} about how unfriendly and intimidating many riders find most bike stores to be.
The good news is there’s a very easy remedy for this. Just tear down all the one-way branding – yes, I know that some of it is paid for by the brands you carry – and let the light in, and out. Let folks walking by see the bikes. Bikes behind bars, certainly, theft prevention is a thing. But that’s motivational in itself. Come rescue these bikes! Give them the loving home they deserve! Take them into the forest! Feed them single-track and grow with them!
And on that note, theft prevention, I’ve heard the argument that one-way-wrapping the outside tight is to prevent theft but I’m epically skeptical. The real criminals are casing your store from the inside, not the outside. If someone really wants in the glass breaks whether there’s a sticker on it or not. No one is smash-and-grabbing a bike through security bars.
I’ve also heard that plastering the windows in giant DrEw’S bIcYcLe EmPoRiUm logos and giant photos of handsome dudes {always dudes?} shredding bikes that you sell is an inexpensive way to make the shop’s presence known to passersby. But, maybe there’s a partial-coverage compromise to be found?
I mean, sure, tell me I’m wrong. I’m here for it.
But don’t even take up my word, my experience, my thoughts, on the subject, ask your current customers. If you’re a shop that’s adopted the nightclub vibe go stand out front with a few of your good customers and ask them how they’d feel if it was their first time visiting the store.
Because here’s the thing. If you’re relying on walk-in traffic at all as part of your business model. I polled more than a few folks today, and the consensus is overwhelming that the no-see-in shop aesthetic is throwing out the unfriendliest of feelings. And some people aren’t walking through that door. Which is too bad if the people on the other side are anything like the friendly folks who assisted me.
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