Springs bike shops gear up for growth

Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Sep 30, 2001 by Sara Nesbitt

Almost everything that Colorado Springs Bike Shop co-owner Bonnie Johnson learned about biking and retailing she learned from her parents.

Ed and Carol Spillman opened their first bike shop in Denver in 1957 - one of only two bike shops in Denver back then - and eventually moved the business to Colorado Springs in 1973.

At age 7, Bonnie Johnson already was helping her parents run the shop.

"Bikes run through my blood," Johnson said. "It's what I've always known and always done."

Today, Johnson and her husband, Ed, own the recently constructed, 12,000 square-foot Colorado Springs Bike Shop at 622 W. Colorado Ave. The former shop at that site was 2,000 square feet before they tore it down in March. The new shop reopened in May.

And thanks to the couple's affection for all things Caribbean, you can't miss the building: It's shaped like a lighthouse. The Johnsons also own another 4,400-square-foot Colorado Springs Bike Shop at 3940 Palmer Park Blvd.

Between the two stores, Johnson said her business has increased between 10 percent and 15 percent over the past year.

And according to other bike shop owners in town, the demand for bicycles in Colorado Springs will remain steady.

Kay Caunt, co-owner of Criterium Bicycles at 6150 Corporate Drive, said the growth rate for her 18-year-old store averages about 3 percent to 5 percent a year. However, she said in 2000, growth was about 11 percent. She said that even though the interest in riding is decreasing nationally, Colorado bike shop owners shouldn't worry.

"Colorado is a different phenomenon," Caunt said. "Everything is pretty much on our side here - good weather, the right population and an interest in the outdoors. These things make the business really stable in Colorado."

For Don Snow, a manager at Performance Bicycle Shop at 3650 Austin Bluffs Parkway, demand for mountain bikes is steady, but there's an increase in the demand for road bikes.

"I think people just want a good bike that will last for several years," Snow said. So far this year, Snow estimated that demand at his store is up 10 percent from what it was last year. Johnson credits her shop's growth to having a variety of bikes available.

The range of bikes goes from a child's bike with training wheels and purple handlebar tassels for about $129, to a state-of-the-art Mountain Cycle that costs $4,000. Johnson said people spend about $300 to $500 on the average bike.

She estimates that 80 percent of her business comes from families who buy bikes and accessories at the store.

"Families should ride together, and it's something that will never go away," Johnson said.

The Colorado Springs Bike Shop sells the usual bike accessories - seats, helmets, shoes, clothes and gloves. And there are some unexpected bike-lovers accessories: bicycle-shaped wine racks and pint glasses with bike company logos.

The store features a colorful mural painted by local artist David Gonzales that illustrates some of the area's best biking trails.