I just read the Inside Triathlon article on the 15 best tri shops in America and it got me thinking. Not only do we not have a top 15 shop, the San Francisco Bay Area dosn’t have a true triathlon shop at all! The closest thing we had was Transition Sports in Oakland and they are now online only. John Cobb had a short stay at his questionably located San Francesco shop. Forward Motion in Danville and Walnut Creek are good but bikes seem to be an afterthought, very few bikes and no fitting station that I have ever seen. Other bike shops have Tri Bikes but they are just a small part of a larger bike shop.
We have tons of triathlons of all distances as well as some of the most famous races in the country. We have the demographics that the tri industry is looking for. The weather is perfect for year round training. We have an unbelievable number of triathletes here; you can’t ride a mile without passing somebody on a tri bike.
But if you want to see wetsuits, tri gear and tri bikes all in the same place where they also have a qualified bike fitter (fist or other) better get ready for a long trip.
I have been to Nytro in Encinitas and B&L in Kona so I guess I expect a lot. But you figure somebody would have found a way to do something like that around here by now.
It’s because triathlon is a selfish, individual sport primarily enjoyed by fully ambulatory, straight caucasian males under 40 years of age with annual household incomes exceeding $100K per year.
If triathlon was an alternative group sport offering a ‘sense of community’ that could be enjoyed by handicapped minorities in wheel chairs, there would be more ‘feelings of inclusion’ and therefore would be more triathlon shops in the Bay Area.
“That’s funny. Seattle has two and 1/2 and they seem to all do pretty well.”
Thanks, rub it in.
If triathlon was an alternative group sport offering a ‘sense of community’ that could be enjoyed by handicapped minorities in wheel chairs, there would be more ‘feelings of inclusion’ and therefore would be more triathlon shops in the Bay Area.”
There are 50,000 registered triathletes. Let’s be generous and say there are 1 million total triathletes in the US. The US population is 297 million so that is less than 1/2 of 1%. Extrapolate that to a population base of say .5 to 1 million and you dont have that many potential customers for walk in. The total Bay Area is roughly 8 million, but if you live in Fremont you are not driving to SF most likely. There is on line, but you have a lot of competition and you have to spend money to market it and maintain it. You probably don’t see bikes at Forward Motion because they are a lower margin, take up space and you have to do a ton of volume to make up for the expensive rent they are paying in downtown WC. The margin is in the accessories, food/supplements and clothes. You also have to staff differently for a bike shop. Given the rent in the Bay Area, it seems like it would just not be that great of a business idea and tough to cover the costs. Maybe I am missing something, but this is what comes to mind at first thought.
Very good points, but this area isn’t like average America. The average income is greater then 2x the national average. The housing price something like 4x national. The number of triathlons is greater then the average. The 50k number is the annual USAT members not the 1 day folks and those who didn’t race this year or don’t race USAT events. I will do the local Tri for fun Saturday and it will be sold out with over 1000 people just like the one last month and the month before. No USAT membership or 1 day needed. You seriously can’t go out for a ride without seeing tri bikes everywhere you go. All these people are buying bikes from somebody. Of the guys I train with everybody purchased a new bike in the last 2 years. The count is, 1 Transition Sports, 1 Forward Motion, 3 Ves at Yaqui, 3 road bikes with bars at the LBS. Why did we all buy bikes from different places when we all live in the same area and train together? Because there isn’t a real tri shop here.
I drove to Oakland from Livermore to buy my bike at Transition Sports because they had a FIST trained fitter in a real tri shop. I would have gone to SF or Fremont if they knew how to fit a tri bike. I go to tri shops on vacation just to see what they have. Look at the people here who fly into see Tom D. But there is not one FIST trained person in the Bay Area with a storefront shop today. 2.5 Shops in Seattle with a shorter season and fewer people, it doesn’t add up.
Good points as well. My 1 million rough guesstimate is 20 times the registered so that should account for the non USAT. Even if the Bay Area concentration of triathletes were 4x the national average, it is still a relatively small potential customer base given existing bike shops and on line competition. I still think it is supply and demand(existing and future predicted growth) + what can be earned as a profit, otherwise you would see more tri specific shops. Bike shops average about 5% net according to the bike dealer association so you need big volume and a good ratio of sales/sq. ft of space to make decent money. I’d be curious to see the P&L for the Seattle shops.
Not every shop can carry all bike brands, so what you can contract from the bike manufacturers is important. Most people are not as smart as you to drive a ways to get fit properly - a quick ride down the bike trail here (Sac) and 75% or more of the people are not fit right. They either don’t know any better or they don’t think of paying for a fit. Maybe a well marketed shop could capitalize on that, but it is only one selling point of many.
I think there are a lot of established bike shops in the area that have been around for decades. It would be difficult for any new bicycle related business to break into the market. Plus the real estate is expensive which makes it difficult for a low margin business to succeed.
Anybody else know why there are no tri shops in the Bay Area?
Dave
I didn’t know that Transitions Sports went to on-line only. Seems like they just moved to Piedmont 18 months ago or so.
Rental space is way high in the Bay Area. Way high. You have GOT to turn far more volume here than in Michigan where space is free by comparison. And I just don’t think triathlon has broad enough appeal to turn big volume.
Interesting point… in some great areas of So Cal like Pasadena/La Canada, there are NO decent bike shops at all. Up here, in southern Marin county – say from San Rafael on down – there are like 5 or 6 good-sized shops.
Lombardi’s, Sports Basement, Forward Motion… there are several others whose names excape me, because I haven’t been to them in a few years.
Apparently you haven’t been to Forward Motion Walnut Creek since they moved to the larger store. They’re awesome, and Perfection Cycles (mostly repair and fitting, alhtough they build custom bikes) is about 40 yards from Forward Motion’s front door.
It don’t git much better…
Anybody else know why there are no tri shops in the Bay Area?
Dave
Everyone wants to shop at Sports Basement where everything is cheaper, plus you get a discount.
I bought my P2K from Krag at Transition Sports, but once he moved the shop from San Leandro to Oakland, it was a huge pain to drive over there and try to find parking. Same with Cobb’s shop in SF–crap location with very, very limited parking. I take my bike to my LBS (non-tri shop) because it’s walking/riding distance. They also have no parking, but at least it’s in the neighborhood.
For me, I buy bike stuff at the LBS and not online or at SB since they tend to take very good care of me and not charge me for little maintenance/quick fix stuff. Swim stuff (suits, goggles, etc.), I’ll go to SB. Wetsuits I’ve bought at the IM NZ expo (terrific deals, especially with the US/NZ $), from Transition Sports and the last one, online since that was the only place we could find a specific model and size. Running shoes I buy at SB or the local running store. Nutrition and other stuff (aero bottle, etc.), I usually pick up at race expos as needed. If I were to get a new bike, not sure where I’d go. I just keep hoping Gerard sends me a P3 (size 51).
Sports Basement has tons of parking, is right on one of the main running routes in SF and has become a place where many clubs meet to ride or run.
Wait till you see what Endeavor Sports has planned. The Training facility is open, and currently expanding the shop capabilities. Lots of stuff can be ordered currently.
"Apparently you haven’t been to Forward Motion Walnut Creek since they moved to the larger store. They’re awesome, and Perfection Cycles (mostly repair and fitting, alhtough they build custom bikes) is about 40 yards from Forward Motion’s front door.
It don’t git much better… "
I was there last week and asked about bikes. The guy said, “we only have bikes in our Danville store”. What it Perfection Cycles? Who it doing the bike fittings?
"What it Perfection Cycles? Who it doing the bike fittings? "
Dude, you have been spending waaaay to much time with gas station employees. The word is “is”.
What “is” Perfection Cyclery? It’s the tiny shop that we went to - in that strange alley between main street and locust. Ryan is the young guy who built up my MTB. George Pinney does the fittings there, though he is not Fist certified. He is an ultra distance guru. Does coaching, too. Big fan of PowerCranks. The shop sponsors the Mt. Diablo Triathlon Club, stellar discount - 20% above cost.
I think Robin does the fittings at Forward Motion. He has a good reputation as a wrench, but I have no idea if he fits well of if he is FIST certified.
About 10 or 11 years ago I was involved in the beginning stages of a business deal with the now-defunct Octopus Cyles (where I bought my still-trusty Kestrel); they had lost their lease at their Walnut Creek location and were looking for some alternatives, as well as some potential investors. At that time, I was looking for something else career-wise and figured why not jump into something that involves the sport I love?
We got together and did lots of analysis—they already had a business plan put together and some pro forma p&l’s put together. Considering either a Danville location or a Concord location, the former of course being more expensive but more centrally located, the latter in an industrial park type area with lower costs but less proximal exposure.
The bottom line for me as to why I didn’t follow through with them (they never did reopen that I know of) was boiled down to a simple state of economics: this kind of endeavor seems to have nearly as little margin as a grocery store. Now I know that’s a stretch in a way, but it’s about as good as an analogy as I can give you. As has been mentioned in another post, the cost of doing business here in the SF Bay Area is astronomical. You mention Nytro for example—while I do patronize Forward Motion and to a lesser extent California Pedaller locally, I do also buy a number of products online. The Internet has made it that much more difficult to be a local “mom and pop” kind of business.
It seems like some of the best shops are located in the midwest—Tom Demerly’s Bike Sport Michigan, Mission Bay Multisport for example—where the cost of living and doing business is certainly much less than it is here in Norcal. Others like Nytro have been around for quite a while, are well established and of course have that worldwide reach that only the Internet can give you, in addition to a brick and mortar presence.
Like you, I wish there was better to choose from here. At least at a place like Forward Motion there are some triathletes that work there and turn wrenches in addition to their tri lifestyle and have been a great help and resource. But if and when they decide to move on, it’s kind of a gamble as to whom might take their place, witness what I went through a couple of months ago with something so simple as tires (the Continental Attack Force fiasco) while dealing with someone seemingly very unfamiliar with road cycling, let alone triathlon. Matt Lieto worked there before moving on and up to Bend, Oregon to beat up on and get beaten up by the likes of Steve Larsen. Kayley Parkinson now works there, races as a pro and is a super nice guy and very, very helpful. And I know that the Breen’s (the owners) are committed to the sport of triathlon as well but also understand the economics of becoming a full-blown tri shop are prohibitive.
Okay, I’ve rambled long enough…the point is that it doesn’t appear, despite the demographics of who we are and our numbers here in this area, to be enough of us to sustain a profitable triathlon shop. A shame indeed.
