Hudson Trail Outfitters going out of business

[PotomacCyclist]

They will wind down the entire business and close all of their stores in the near future. They have stores on Wisconsin Ave. and in Pentagon Row, Fairfax and Rockville.

http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/top-shelf/2015/08/hudson-trail-outfitters-closing-all-stores.html

They sell camping equipment, outdoor clothing, climbing and hiking gear, and bicycles. I think their Pentagon Row store is the only bike shop in the Pentagon City/Crystal City area. (The Revolution Cycles City Hub closed a few years ago.) I bought my mountain bike there, mostly because I won a coupon.

I’ve brought my bikes there a few times for maintenance work. No major complaints, although one time they did fail to close the front quick-release properly. (The first time I rode the bike after that day, the front wheel popped off. Fortunately I was just getting started so I wasn’t going that fast.)

I never bought many clothes there. They only carried products in a limited size range. Same with their running and hiking shoes. Plus the prices were fairly high.

I don’t think it’s a problem to point out these problems now, since they are going to close the entire business down anyway. It’s too bad that they couldn’t make it work. I hope some company or group opens up a bike shop in the PC/CC area in the near future. There are a lot of people there and a lot of cyclists.

Topic

[ShawnoftheDread]

@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…

Now explain why punk, heavy metal, and hip hop are subcultures but jazz is a community.

[PotomacCyclist]

@dasgeh 123276 wrote:

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?

There are different discussions going on here. When I was talking about REI, I think I was referring to general shopping. I’ve never brought my bike to get fixed at REI. Or I mentioned REI just because someone else did. I’ve only been there once. I think I was looking for bike sandals. I couldn’t find any at HTO or City Sports (which doesn’t have a bike shop). I learned that REI had the items in stock. That’s the only reason I went there. I don’t think I rode there. But I know that Columbia Pike in general is a hassle to ride on. I know there are side streets I can take, but I don’t travel in that direction often enough to figure it all out.

[Kitty]

I heard about this today and my first thought was “Ooo! Closeout sales! I want cheap bike clothes!” So I’m going to keep my ear to the ground on that one.

When I lived in Pentagon City it was the closest thing I had to an LBS and it was handy for the occasional emergency fix or purchase (like post-accident new helmet required NOW sort of things). However its also been good for when I’m shopping around for something in that retail blob and can’t find what I’m looking for anywhere else. Just a few weekends ago it was the only place I could find women’s athletic sandals after two different DSWs and other places failed me.

PC is a surprisingly isolated bubble in Arlington, being cut off by all of the highways makes for getting to other parts of the area difficult if you don’t have a car. Starting from there, the best way I could get to Phoenix or the other LBSs would be by bike and if its broken well…

[LeprosyStudyGroup]

I don’t want to be unfair to HTO because it is a local business and I might just be unlucky, but I’ve had a pretty frustrating experience as a customer of their Pentagon Row store. I bought a scott sub30 from them last May and since then pretty much every component of the bike has failed or needed to be replaced because it wound up being uncomfortable for anything beyond a 5 mile ride. I’ve taken it in for the “free member tune up” probably over 15 times in the past year for various problems and several times after I got my bike back it seemed like either nothing was done or something even got worse. I’ve also walked out with a bill several times after the free tune up. The latest debacle has been a perpetually squealing hydraulic disc brake system, which I have spent many hours myself trying to fix on top of 3 attempts by their mechs. I pointed out this last time after their replacing the pads twice and some sleuthing on my own that it seems like the disc brake fluid itself is leaking out and contaminating the brake pads, and that they should fix it on their own dime. I got the bike back yesterday and they charged me $40 more dollars for parts and labour and did they fix the actual problem? No. So now the brakes are still failing, the bike shop’s last day is tomorrow and I am left with a lemon bike, no chance of getting sometimes useful tune ups, and a big problem that I don’t feel confident I can fix on my own.

I doubt that the stupidly high price of bike gear itself is their problem, but when on top of their sales and discounts for members, bike clothes and other nonsense still seemed $50-$100 overpriced, I never wound up buying anything from them.

Still sad to see the only bike shop convenient to me is going, no matter how bad it was. I would like to be a customer of Papillion or one of the bigger indy stores, but getting to there from my neighborhood is a nightmare because of the highway systems around here.

[GovernorSilver]

Picked up a tent and camping backpack tonight. Now I’m ready for that multi-week hike on the Camino in Spain. I’d like to find a group that combines camping and biking too.

The HTO folks always treated me good, as far as being upfront about which hiking shoes, tents, etc. were quality and which were trash, even though both types were in the store, lol.

[ts986]

Anyone been in to actually check out the discounts? Maybe this is the time to pick up a new bike if the discounts are good enough….

[GovernorSilver]

@ts986 124136 wrote:

Anyone been in to actually check out the discounts? Maybe this is the time to pick up a new bike if the discounts are good enough….

Yeah. There’s a lot of Scott road bikes marked down but I wasn’t looking for a pure road racer – I’m more interested in the adventure road type of bike.

That’s why I only bought the stuff mentioned in the earlier post.

[PotomacCyclist]

Has anyone heard when the stores will close for good?

[komorebi]

@ts986 124136 wrote:

Anyone been in to actually check out the discounts? Maybe this is the time to pick up a new bike if the discounts are good enough….

On Sunday, bikes were 10% off, bike accessories were 20% off, and bike clothing was 30% off. I heard that they’re planning to increase the discounts this week, but I don’t know the exact timing.

[PotomacCyclist]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]9809[/ATTACH]

At the Pentagon Row store

[bikepedantic]

As of last weekend, most stuff was now 30-40% off

[Starduster]

@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 once asked Katie from Revolution about that. CityHub was their experiment with bikeshare, aimed specifically and exclusively at the Crystal City community. They never planned on it to be a real money maker. Then Capital Bikeshare came in and undercut their business model. And they eventually got out. They did achieve their goal of getting “butts on bikes”. They get credit (with their Monuments at Night Rides) for getting me back to hanging out in bike shops after many years away.

The whole area- Pentagon City, Crystal City, Potomac Yard, is fertile ground for any bike shop who wants to put down roots there. True, my bike shop of choice, Papillon Cycles, is just up the hill, but … Columbia Pike … Dasgeh, I hear you about the Pike. The crew at Papillon would love to see it better and safer, too.

[PotomacCyclist]

Another sporting goods chain has filed for bankruptcy, although City Sports intends to continue operations. They are closing the stores in Georgetown, Pike & Rose (Rockville) and Silver Spring.

They don’t sell bikes but they do carry some bike gear and apparel. Maybe people can find good deals on bike shorts or jerseys. Or bike lights and helmets. They have a larger selection of running shoes, running gear and gear for other sports/activites like baseball, weight training, yoga, tennis, et al.

The Georgetown store will close for good after Oct. 26. I went there a couple weeks ago. They didn’t have many cycling-related items but they did have some gear that could also be useful for winter cyclists: tights, fleece pullovers, athletic socks. Many people here also run and hike or practice yoga or play other sports. If so, you may want to check out those stores before they close permanently.

Their other stores appear to be staying open, for now. They have locations in/near Farragut West, Gallery Place and Bethesda. They just opened a new store at the Mosaic District in Dunn Loring, in September. Interesting timing.

http://www.citysports.com/Georgetown-City-Sports-Store.aspx

http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2015/10/another-city-sports-closure-and-two-quirky-pop-up.html

[krazygl00]

@PotomacCyclist 123245 wrote:

HTO was more convenient for those in Pentagon City/Crystal City. The closest REI is smack in the middle of Columbia Pike. It’s not a pleasant bike ride there from PC. I wouldn’t mind if REI opened a store in Pentagon City or perhaps in one of the planned buildings in Crystal City.

REI is planning to open a flagship store in the old Uline Arena in NoMa, north of Union Station. But that’s not convenient for people in Pentagon City either. (I still plan to check out the new store when it opens, but I doubt I’ll go there that often. It will be too far away from me.)

FTFY.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_State_Route_244

Signed, one of those “far end” residents

[PotomacCyclist]

Existence and the universe begins and ends at the Arlington County border. Forum Fact #639.4667

[Author]

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