Hudson Trail Outfitters going out of business

[PotomacCyclist]

I would have thought the demand would be there for a bike shop in PC/CC/PY. There are also large apartment buildings opening in Pentagon City, including the largest apartment building in Arlington. One of them just opened this summer. Two more will open sometime next year. If those buildings are anywhere near usual occupancy rates, that will be well over 1,000 new residents in the area, in addition to the thousands of people who already live in those neighborhoods. Many of them are car-free or car-lite.

[Tim Kelley]

@DrP 123271 wrote:

So, was the Crystal City hub of Revolution just too early for its time?

They opened within a few weeks of Capital Bikeshare–and even though their model was for recreational rides, I don’t think there was enough room for both in Crystal City.

[lordofthemark]

@PotomacCyclist 123265 wrote:

A bike shop in Gallery Place, Capitol Hill, Logan Circle, etc. is not convenient for people in Pentagon City/Crystal City. If something is broken on the bike, it wouldn’t be practical to ride to those locations.

I am guessing you do realize that other than weekday peak hours, it is legal to take your bike on the metro? And that if you prefer, say, a bike shop on Columbia Pike to one in DC, it is possible to put your bike on the rack on any metro bus?

I recently found my bike in a state of unrideability at the farmers market on Mt Vernon in Alexandria (on a Sunday, so forget Velocity) With the help of a Dash bus, I got it to Spokes. Also had a nice talk about riding with the driver of the otherwise empty bus.

[dasgeh]

@PotomacCyclist 123265 wrote:

None of those are in Pentagon City, Crystal City or Potomac Yard. That’s why. HTO is/was the closest shop to me. The former City Hub was also nearby, but that’s closed. I don’t choose a bike shop based on whether or not it’s part of a chain or not. I chose HTO because they were much more convenient than any other place in the area for me.

A bike shop in Gallery Place, Capitol Hill, Logan Circle, etc. is not convenient for people in Pentagon City/Crystal City. If something is broken on the bike, it wouldn’t be practical to ride to those locations.

Why not pop your bike on the Metro or a bus and go to any of the LBS in Arlington? I get that in your neighborhood is better than a few neighborhoods over, but your first post talked about trekking all the way to Bailey’s Crossroads or NoMa to get to REI, which seems silly when you can just pop up to Penrose and visit Papillon or Clarendon and go to Revolution. I think that’s where the big box comment came from.

I’d love to see a coffee shop/bike shop/bar open in the PC/CC area, though given current infrastructure, it would be more useful over by the water park. If the 27 Trail were pleasant, and the Columbia Pike “trail” complete and adequate, the Pentagon Row location would be valuable.

Maybe the River House redevelopment can include money to make the trails along Columbia Pike and Joyce functional?

[PotomacCyclist]

@DrP 123271 wrote:

So, was the Crystal City hub of Revolution just too early for its time? (Or were rents just too high in CC? I could see either or both reasons) I used it to purchase items (brake pads, lube, etc.) since it was convenient to my office. Now, I would be more likely to use it to get something fixed/looked at while at work. I know some of my co-workers would use such a location with bike issues (one just broke a spoke on his ride in last week and couldn’t get to his home LBS until the weekend) too. I have noticed in the past few years a LOT more cyclists in Crystal City, both folks going to and from work. It might be more commercially viable now. There does appear to be a repair person who comes to CC on Thursdays during the day to do some repairs, but that isn’t always convenient either since an appointment is recommended (as per the CC BID page) and problems do not all occur to be timed for that. However, that is still an improvement over no other option. Any way to let other LBS’ looking to expand that a need may be here?

I’ve brought up the issue with the CCBID a couple times. They are cyclists too, so they understand the need for a bike shop. That’s why they brought in the bike repair person. But as you said, that’s not a complete solution for the area. There are some retail spaces that could be ideal for a new bike shop. But as someone mentioned once (Tim?), existing bike shops may have agreements not to open too many locations in a particular area. If they have a store in Clarendon or downtown DC, they may not wish to open a location in PC/CC/PY or they may be unable to do so because of their contracts with bike suppliers. I don’t know the details. That’s just what I’ve heard. Maybe some of the people who work at bikes shops here can provide better info on this.

[notlost]

@PotomacCyclist 123277 wrote:

existing bike shops may have agreements not to open too many locations in a particular area.

Seems that would be anti competitive and violate some of our nation’s antitrust laws…

[Tim Kelley]

@PotomacCyclist 123277 wrote:

But as someone mentioned once (Tim?), existing bike shops may have agreements not to open too many locations in a particular area.

The only thing I can add is that my understanding was that the Conte’s Franchise was bought out by the current Freshbike’s owners and as part of the deal there was a no compete clause that recently expired so that’s why were seeing the Conte’s name came back in Northern Virginia now.

Sometimes bike manufacturers will have agreements with shops set up that they won’t also be sell to other shops. That’s why it’s rare to see both Trek and Specialized sold under the same roof. Spokes Etc is the exception, not the rule in the industry.

[rcannon100]

And….. Tri 360 Announces its closing…..

[rcannon100]

@PotomacCyclist 123265 wrote:

None of those are in Pentagon City, Crystal City or Potomac Yard.

Not true. Both Velocity and Phoenix Bikes are close to Potomac Yards and that area. In range is also Spokes and Papillon.

[rcannon100]

@TwoWheelsDC 123256 wrote:

Also, what makes an LBS poseurs?

“Poseur (or poser) is a pejorative term, often used in the punk, heavy metal, hip hop, and goth subcultures, or the skateboarding, surfing and jazz communities, to refer to a person who copies the dress, speech, and/or mannerisms of a group or subculture, generally for attaining acceptability within the group or for popularity among various other groups, yet who is deemed not to share or understand the values or philosophy of the subculture.”

So I believe the answer is that they dress like this:

But are really this:

[TwoWheelsDC]

@rcannon100 123330 wrote:

“Poseur (or poser) is a pejorative term, often used in the punk, heavy metal, hip hop, and goth subcultures, or the skateboarding, surfing and jazz communities, to refer to a person who copies the dress, speech, and/or mannerisms of a group or subculture, generally for attaining acceptability within the group or for popularity among various other groups, yet who is deemed not to share or understand the values or philosophy of the subculture.”

So I believe the answer is that they dress like this:

But are really this:

I know what a poseur is, I just don’t understand the use of the epithet in this context.

[rcannon100]

@TwoWheelsDC 123332 wrote:

I know what a poseur is, I just don’t understand the use of the epithet in this context.

Well…. hmmmmm….. it’s hard to be a LBS without the L, right????

[TwoWheelsDC]

@rcannon100 123333 wrote:

Well…. hmmmmm….. it’s hard to be a LBS without the L, right????

Sure…so what’s the story? That’s what I was trying to get at…I’m not saying I disagree with you, I just don’t know what the deal is.

[lordofthemark]

@rcannon100 123251 wrote:

There are independent bike shops – bike lane, bike rack, Revolting, bike pro shop, Chty Bikes – all over the city. Why go to corporate box stores?

Technically REI is a consumer owned coop, I believe the largest in the country (though I suppose in practice its executives are more like chain store executives than like indy retailers).

[DismalScientist]

Careful… The use of epithets might one drummed off the forum.

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