Goodbye, Spokes Etc.

[kwarkentien]

That sucks. And now we’ll lose access to Specialized.

I’ve started to use Handy Bikes in Alexandria on Wheeler Avenue near Port City. It’s a really small, independent shop but great folks there and reasonable prices.

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[lordofthemark]

@JorgeGortex 213357 wrote:

https://www.arlnow.com/2022/01/13/national-brand-trek-bike-to-buy-local-shop-spokes-etc-ballston-location-fate-unknown/

I don’t know about you, but I am bummed about this. A local shop group swallowed by Trek. We’ll lose more diversity to a corporate giant focused only on their own gear. Maybe some good employees too. (i.e. Bill Mould for one).

Oh dear. A (non bikey) friend of ours went to college with the owner of Spokes – I met him (and talked bikes, of course) at my friends New Years Day open house in the before times. Can’t blame him for cashing in, but yeah, it was nice having a locally owned LBS. The Fairlington Spokes is so handy to me I will probably keep going there. Phoenix Bikes is not far from here though.

[DrP]

Trek Clarendon (formerly Revolution) and Spokes Ballston are the two LBSs I use. Yes, they are near each other, but there are reasons and times to go to each one. Having them both be fully Trek does have its disadvantages, but I have Trek bikes.
I am a big fan of small businesses (I have worked for a few who got purchased by big places and all went to crap), so when Trek bought Revolution I was very concerned about the staff. At the time I chatted with the guys there, and still do. It sounds like Trek is still privately held, so while national, it (in my mind) isn’t as bad as some giant faceless corporation who cares only about its share holders (as I have experienced). Several of the staff in Clarendon now were there while it was Revolution and say that they do like it so hopefully those at Spokes will too (I will note that there has been a Trek van parked at or near Spokes for over a year, so this news isn’t too surprising). Both are good locations for bike shops. Maybe they will each focus on different bike styles (kids, adults, road, hybrid, mountain, etc.) so that there is a reason to keep both and they have reasonable amount of traffic. Additional repair folks would be a good thing too.
I hope it works out for all – them and us.

[Dewey]

I wish the Spokes owner well, and it was good to have a Specialized dealer in Arlington, but Bailey at Papillon Cycles which I use told me Giant have locally been prioritizing restocking the Spokes chain since the pandemic supply chain problems began, I hope this means Giant’s local distributor will now give our other local bike shops a fair shot at restocking, I don’t know how they can keep going otherwise.

[KWL]

@JorgeGortex 213357 wrote:

…We’ll lose more diversity to a corporate giant focused only on their own gear. Maybe some good employees too. (i.e. Bill Mould for one).

You may have seen that Bill posted his thoughts on Facebook.

[Judd]

@JorgeGortex 213357 wrote:

https://www.arlnow.com/2022/01/13/national-brand-trek-bike-to-buy-local-shop-spokes-etc-ballston-location-fate-unknown/

I don’t know about you, but I am bummed about this. A local shop group swallowed by Trek. We’ll lose more diversity to a corporate giant focused only on their own gear. Maybe some good employees too. (i.e. Bill Mould for one).

I’m reminded of the joke: How do you make a small fortune running a bike shop?….. Start with a large fortune.

My understanding of the market is that a lot of bike shops started in the 70s and 80s and there’s not a really good exit strategy for bike shop owners that want to retire. There’s not a good line of people with a lot of capital wanting to invest in bike shop ownership. Trek has bought out a lot of bike shops rather than have them go out of business and lose a significant retailer. It’s kind of a bummer. After Revolution Cycles sold to Trek, I stopped going since the service costs increased and the selection of accessories decreased.

Trek stores are pretty cookie cutter, so this is probably a net loss. I visited a Trek store in Copenhagen and it was pretty close to walking into the store in Arlington except they sold wheel locks.

[bikingjenn]

Spokes and Jim (&Bob) have served our community well. Wishing you the best in your new adventures

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[The Mayor]

Bill Mould is staying. So are most of the employees. Bill posted on FB just the other day. It is sad, but Jim and Bob are ready to retire…they had been working with Trek for 20 years, and selling their bikes. the operating system is also Trek.

[ImaCynic]

@kwarkentien 213358 wrote:

That sucks. And now we’ll lose access to Specialized.

I’ve started to use Handy Bikes in Alexandria on Wheeler Avenue near Port City. It’s a really small, independent shop but great folks there and reasonable prices.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Don’t forget Conte’s as they carry Specialized. They have a shop on King/N. Henry in Alexandria.

[ChristoB50]

The crew at Quaker Lane was so friendly, helpful, generous and patient during some unusual issues I had, 2 years ago with my ebike (not a brand sold there; Spokes team worked on the phone with the California makers to troubleshoot/repair) that I sent half a dozen pizzas for lunch afterwards as a heartfelt thank you… I hadn’t expected that kind of willingness to support my bike; they’ve been my go-to shop ever since and hope that changes are very subtle, as Bob M. indicated.

[Bagher]

Went to the Leesburg location last weekend, talked to the manager since they still have the Spokes sign outside. He said they already used Trek training so the transition was easy, and most of the staff stayed so you should continue to support them IMO.

[Author]

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