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BSS now trek

skinned elbows

By skinned elbows,
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TheX Newbie

TheX

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The plan is for Trek to keep all four stores open. Abell said Trek has 118 stores, most of which used to be local shops, and will do right by his employees, including a $15-an-hour minimum wage and commitment to keep 98% of the 150 workers. The Bicycle Sport Shop locations will close on Jan. 17 and re-open a few days later as Trek stores.

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Big_papa_nuts Newbie

Big_papa_nuts

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9 hours ago, AntonioGG said:

If BSS Research goes away, then I essentially will have no LBS.  Buck's Bikes, Music City Cycles, Hammerhead, and Nelo's are dead.   I will not drive up to Parmer location for a quick trip.  If I do I may as well hit Peddlers since they have been so influential in trail/feature building.  I used to do a group ride out of AJ's years ago.  Are they still around?

I already didn't like the limited selection of non-Bontrager/non-Specialized stuff.

For those that have been to Trek stores, do they carry Maxxis/Continental or other tire brands?

They have a list of brands they are allowed to stock. Last Trek shop I was in had as many Maxxis tires as Bontrager.

9 hours ago, Barry said:

I saw the SuperStore in El Paso. It was massive. They have a west and an east side store.

From the El Paso Trek Twitter:

image.thumb.png.4b83da6683308e3b37d4235c3f0b0900.png

That store isn't actually that big. They have a lot of storage in the back but are probably about the same size as MJ's.

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willatter Newbie

willatter

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14 hours ago, Barry said:

Presumably they're going to brand as Trek and only carry Trek, yes? I can't see this area supporting 4 of those stores though. But it's a damn fine time for someone to open a shop dedicated to Santa Cruz and Specialized (and EVIL while you're at it). 

https://www.sunandski.com/c/santa-cruz-bikes

Noticed this a couple weeks ago while searching for a BMX for my nephew. Not sure if they previously sold Santa Cruz in other locations outside of Austin and San Antonio but found it interesting. 

Edited by willatter
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Barry Rising Star

Barry

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8 hours ago, Big_papa_nuts said:

That store isn't actually that big. They have a lot of storage in the back but are probably about the same size as MJ's.

I don't know man...earlier this year I stood outside this shop in a Covid line to get some lube. It looked pretty huge inside. And for a bike shop MJs is pretty big as well.

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Barry Rising Star

Barry

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Some interesting details from this article. Indeed it looks like Trek will keep all 4 stores open.

"The plan is for Trek to keep all four stores open. Abell said Trek has 118 stores, most of which used to be local shops, and will do right by his employees, including a $15-an-hour minimum wage and commitment to keep 98% of the 150 workers. The Bicycle Sport Shop locations will close Jan. 17 and reopen a few days later as Trek stores."

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Hugh Contributor

Hugh

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13 hours ago, GFisher said:

Yeah, BSS Lamar can definitely skew your perceptions I think. It used to be a bowling alley.

When was it a bowling alley?  I can't remember what it was before BSS moved in. I remember when they were located on Barton Springs in what is now a juice shop.

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GFisher Enthusiast

GFisher

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I remember it as Austin Bowl O Rama. Ad plays at the end of this clip. It was still there in the mid 80's for sure. I think the building may have been vacant for awhile. I remember when BSS moved in they said they used some of the old wood from the lanes to build the work benches.

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AntonioGG Mentor

AntonioGG

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15 hours ago, Hugh said:

When was it a bowling alley?  I can't remember what it was before BSS moved in. I remember when they were located on Barton Springs in what is now a juice shop.

The place that looked like a barn?  I remember going in there while I was at UT 91-95.  I bought my first seat bag and also remember getting BCGB maps.  I wish I’d kept them.

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Hugh Contributor

Hugh

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BSS was in a 2 story shack on Barton Springs that is still there. It's now Kava Bar. Then they moved to Toomey for a number of years.

Their current location must've been vacant when I got here. There was a lot of vacant businesses.

 

I miss their new year's day rides

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AntonioGG Mentor

AntonioGG

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5 hours ago, Hugh said:

BSS was in a 2 story shack on Barton Springs that is still there. It's now Kava Bar. Then they moved to Toomey for a number of years.

Their current location must've been vacant when I got here. There was a lot of vacant businesses.

 

I miss their new year's day rides

For some reason I had thought BSS was between Barton Springs and Toomey Rd.  In a barn looking place, I think on Jessie St.  Am I thinking of a different bike shop?

I'm pretty sure I never went to BSS in the Kava Bar building.

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June Bug Rising Star

June Bug

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Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, AntonioGG said:

In a barn looking place, I think on Jessie St.  Am I thinking of a different bike shop?

Austin Tri-Cyclist used to be in a barn-looking building on Barton Springs Rd. east of Lamar. 

Original (?) BSS was on north side of Toomey Road, in the first block west of Lamar.  Large white (?) metal building. 

 

Edited by June Bug
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AustinBike Mentor

AustinBike

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9 hours ago, Big_papa_nuts said:

https://www.bicycleretailer.com/retail-news/2020/12/18/hill-abell-it-was-just-right-opportunity#.X97EvM1MEqm

Apparently BSS wasn't doing as good as I would have assumed (through I never go in there so I wouldn't actually know). 

 

I would guess that their challenge is the the amount of expansion that they did, and then the pandemic came down. 

My store (Guadalupe) really should not have happened, downtown is too close and even Research would be close for me. Parmer made sense and Hill Country made sense (though I was never in that store.) Basically they were over-represented in Austin. My guess is that there were some higher operating costs and that the Guadalupe/Research stores probably didn't drive the volume that they needed. For their larger stores, it becomes more about revenue per square foot and I do not have a feel for them.

Ultimately, having big stores with a local footprint when a pandemic hits is a recipe for major cash crunch. Tried to buy a helmet at the Parmer store a couple months back. Had to stand outside and an employee went inside to bring things out. Gave up and went to Peddler and even though I was inside (masked) the whole process took less than 10 minutes. It's tough.

Over the years BSS has gotten business from me, 2 bikes, lots of service. Some people knock them, but let's be honest, they we a net positive for the Austin biking community and I wish them well.  In a world where too many businesses focus only on the bottom line, they were unique, they tried different things. But this business environment just isn't conducive to a lot of businesses.

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TAF Collaborator

TAF

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On 12/19/2020 at 5:48 AM, AustinBike said:

I will say the little one on Guadalupe is my neighborhood store. They had some good wrenches in there, used to get good service. A couple times they took care of little issues on the spot at no charge. It was helpful that the party barn was basically nextdoor for the thank you 6-pack.

Sadly, I don’t think we will see that one reopen.

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ebflo Newbie

ebflo

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2 hours ago, AustinBike said:

I would guess that their challenge is the the amount of expansion that they did, and then the pandemic came down.

From the Statesman article:

Quote

“COVID changed that in an enormous way, and our business has exploded this year,” he said. “It's been absolutely phenomenal, which allowed us to pay down all of our debt and to actually pay our people more. So it’s been a really good year for the biking industry if you’re a decent operator.”

Sounds like they had been struggling due to rise of online shopping and took the opportunity to cash out in the recent upswing knowing it would be short-lived.

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