The project that we all dream about has landed in my lap, a bike shop.

I’m a professional retail designer (mainly posh clothes shops but other guilty secrets too) and ex-bike shop manager, ex-racer, ex-DH guide, (etc) and have been on these forums since, well, the 9feet days.

So what would be awesome is a bit of bike shop picture research from you guys.

The shop will be on the small side, so those space rich super conceptual ideas are nice for inspiration, but stuff like that rarely trickles down.

Anyway, I’d you’ve seen something cool it would be great if you posted it here!

You definitely need one of these outside the shop and a camera filming it..

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzc0eOl1fB4[/video]

You will, of course, include a large women’s specific area?? You will, WON’T YOU?!

That clip is bone chillingly cold I now feel sick!!!

Any way just been refitting my shop and turning into a boutique as its quite small with lots of original 1960’s solid oak paneling and chunky brass fittings as it used to the main drawing room on Brooke business park in lowestoft where they used to make all the luxury ships so all the fitted cupboards are solid think oak that where put in my the ship fitters all the window latches are brass as well. Walls are now painted matt White with all stained and waxed wood and brass even the toilet is posh with polished tiles and brass fittings

I’ll get some pics taken all my tool boards are stained and burned then waxed pine.

I wish I hadn’t watched that film.

from the comments;

The guy didn’t die or suffer life threatening injury’s which is great news, but has several broken bones and possibly 2 broken elbows and a hugely dented pride. He’s been in touch with RV&E Bike & Skate Store and promised to address the situation.?

no mention of any law suit against the shop…

Access to the bikes, good change room, workshop in sight with a quiet area for real hammering. Use the floor space well, make sure you can find stuff.

No slattwall!!!! But if you have too use Microslat.

If it’s a small shop have they briefed you on the amount of sqft dedicated to bikes vs accessories / parts. I cant stand small shops that over stock with so many bikes you can’t walk around.

I did see a clothes rail at a trade show (shopfitting) that had bike wheels and was designed to slot next to the other bikes on display – but it was a one off. Would be good for a small shop though.

The brooks store in Covent Garden as a nice take on accessories – more fashion boutique than bike shop. It’s worth a Google / visit.

Make sure the graphics are modern and flexible

I really like the use of reclaimed wood and I think it works well for a bikeshop. Bothy Bikes have a ceiling made from old pallets which looks great and dead easy for hanging stuff off.
Agree that some bikeshops are a total pain by having so much stuff on the floor you can’t move or actually see anything properly.
All bikeshops should have a coffee machine in the corner.

cram as many bikes possible in, practically touching each other, so punters can’t actually get to see them, they all get battered and scratched, and you make a £3K bike look as aspirational and desireable as a £5 sale-rail Tee shirt.

Seems to be the rule of thumb.

Problem is that shops need to sell bikes to make money – every retail store I’ve been involved with will change the layout and add more stock within days of launch. Compley changes the feel of the store (and is against building / fire regs) as walkways get smaller and you can’t step back to view the products. But retailers know how to sell stuff (buy for £A, sell for £A+B)- not necessarily how to lay out a good shop and keep it welcoming.
I did an equestrian shop about 7 years ago – full custom job everything in it was custom made. Looked great on launch. visited 2 years later and they had filled it with more stock to meet demand. Popped in last year and it had completely changed, lost all of the charm / quirkyness – looked like a home bargains.

If your client has a good business model then work from that. Get your block plan right for sales, bikes vs clothes vs accessories.

Personally the more geeky details the better – remember the stools made from 3 sets of dorado’s?

If they have the budget try to incorporate as many bike parts into the shopfitting as possible – ask the owner if they have any great relationships with distributors to try and get some stems / forks etc on the cheap which could be used as door handles etc.

You need a bike display system like you get for looking at large prints/carpet samples.

Punters can flick through the display to look at their preferred bike without having to peer over the tangle of handle bars or worry about knocking everything over.

Either a semicircle of bikes that hinge at the back or a long row where several bikes can be pushed sideways without colliding to access the middle one.

Nothing worse than a shop where you have to press yourself into a gap whilst browsing to let other people get past.

The sell-em-cheap; pile-em-high mantra was practiced by our Retail Manager (my boss) when I was a manager. I would carefully select a mix of sizes and models for the ‘monkeys to build and he would come along and *east end barrow boy accent* – “get them bikes all built up, people need to see lots of bikes, stack them up aautside, get the punters in”. My lovely shop, ruined by heaps of tangled bikes everywhere.

@monkeyboyjc
I so hear you about the shop moving on after the design; we did a very expensive, very high end large space in Chelsea and after our curation period it decayed into what looks like a flea market.

You need a bike display system like you get for looking at large prints/carpet samples.

Pretty mad; I was having the same sketchy thoughts in my note book last night. Its an attempt to give each bike its own space, like art.

Loving all the comments – keep them coming please!

(as I sit in bed with a stinking cold, snow still at sill height outside my bedroom)

Great thread & good timing as we expanding into a bigger room, for showing off the retail/bikes better, + a area for basic bike fitting.

MonkeyBoy why “No slattwall!!!!”?

Anyone new where to get a good till counter with a display section as well?

How small is small? The shop I worked in longest was 20mx8m, of which the last 5m were used as a workshop. It had a basement which was used for storage but wasn’t suitable for customers (low ceilings, rocky floor, poor light). If it’s that size you may have no choice but to pile stuff in to have enough stock to sell.

I’d agree about most shops having too many bikes in, and not being able to see them. Some way of showing off all the bikes clearly, like one of Kestrel’s racks where you can see three or four bikes side on at once, would be good. Anything else usually leads to damage or you can’t see what you’re trying to buy, particularly a layout like this-

Rockets and Rascals in Plymouth is a really nice, well-designed shop (I’m an architect, tend to notice boring things like surfaces/cladding/lighting!).

Just googled it to find some pictures and they’ve got google streetview IN the shop, somehow: http://goo.gl/maps/XUtmx

The layout is a bit different now but the principles are the same:
– lots of bike parking inside the front of the shop, for cafe and shop users
– staff workstations are right on the shopfloor so there’s no traditional Evans-style counter, makes it easier to chat to them.
– bikes are well displayed, mostly on the walls rather than floor. Enough space so you can walk around and look at them a bit like you’re in a gallery. Not just super-premium bikes but mid-range too.
– Clothing is also simply and clearly displayed, looks like they select particular products to display rather than throwing an entire manufacturer’s range on a tiny rack.

Overall the atmosphere is approachable and relaxed.

You need to try to organise the shop so that there is a logical flow of work . Most shops seem to have a system where the bikes are delivered in boxes into the showroom , they then have to be moved upstairs , then when they need building they have to be fetched down and taken to the workshop where they get built , then they have to be taken back to the showroom to be displayed .Far easier if the bikes are delivered through the workshop door and stored there until they get built then taken to the showroom . Same applies to repairs coming in .

My lbs has some neat display stands that slide out so they can have a couple of rows of bikes on top of each other but each individual bike can be easily accessible.

MonkeyBoy why “No slattwall!!!!”

I just Can’t stand the stuff – looks as cheap as it is. Bike shops that use it as wall cladding do my head in. Yes it’s practical and cost effective but leads to lazy visual merchandising – just a wall of hooks and prongs. ..
Microslat is much cleaner in appearance and used sparingly in the correct place, built in to the shopfitting, or framed on a wall gives a greater sense of perpose. Any one can clad four wall of a shop in slattwall, but you won’t see ‘designed’ shops using it in vast quantities as it just becomes a mess.

Have a computer/tablet so people can browse in the shop and the order directly from CRC if they have poor mobile reception.

Oh and a collect+ kiosk in store too so people can do their CRC/Wiggle returns

😀

Lack of any room to actually sit on a bike and take a good look around it is my pet hate. Also those horrible rear wheel racks that are difficult to pull bikes out of when they are crammed in like above ^

Bike parking in the shop is good too, if you can spare the room. It means people will actually spend more time in there and not be worrying about their bike outside. A public track pump inside in that area could be good too.

My lbs has a leather sofa and wood burner 😀

Thanks MonkeyBoy, not planning to cover the whole place in slat wall anyway, I bear it mind. but I prob go with slat wall as got a bit of it as it is, think it looks ok, (black with red inserts) end of the day they both have things hang off them.
Just need to make a floor plan and do some costings!

and from what I’ve heard are bleeding money…

A big touch screen display in the middle where you can google where to get the parts cheaper on the web?

Joking aside – I think this would be good, kind of like Argos where you can order at home, pop in, put your order number and then collect.

&

or just a working kettle if space is at a premium 😀

However much room you have allowed for storing customer bikes, double it. Repair bikes take a lot of space, and once you’ve got a couple stripped and then waiting for parts, and then the family of 6 who dropped them off before going on holiday for a month that space rapidly gets filled.

and from what I’ve heard are bleeding money…

Ohhh I hope not. 🙁 They were really busy last weekend when we popped in.

After seeing the Rocket and Rascals inside streetview, I’m liking the idea of having all merchandising/accessories below chest height either around the walls or as island units, then have 1 or 2 bikes on top of each unit.

Room for all the stuff that normally litters the walls up to the ceiling, art gallery style clear walls and the bikes slapped right in front of your nose where you can’t help but dribble over the bling drivetrain and wheels when all you came in for was a spare tube. Fancy uplighters under the bike if required along with a list of sizes/options that are available to be brought up from the creepy basement whilst you get served your complimentary coffee. Display space under the bike for selected impulse buys or to show off stuff thats hidden in the hangers below.

Plus points is you won’t get punters testing the suspension on every bike or risking damage, but the bike is easy to get down by staff.

Arcade-style toy grabber in one corner, filled with 2nd hand parts and old stock. Ride-thru window for emergency supplies (if situated near where the riding happens).

If your tight on space – raise the front wheels to reduce the wheel base of the bikes….?

An entrance that lets customers enter and exit the shop without damage to the bike, the shop, or themselves!!! 😡

The project that we all dream about has landed in my lap, a bike shop.

I dream of being a viking, discovering new lands then raping and pillaging them and eating roasted pig legs by clutching them by the trotter. There’s not a bike shop in sight.

Make sure you have a well presented area full of shiny things, knick knacks and impulse buys – they are the kind of things that keep money money going through the till on those cold days when no one’s buying bikes.

Trendy displays made out of bits of tree, no ceiling, pipework visible everywhere, posh coffee, grunge music and gnar videos. Maybe a couple of actual bikes, nothing under £5k.

Ticks the boxes of a high end MTB shop 😀

(ensure suitable parking for BMW/Audis for actual customers who will buy the stuff 😉 )

Missed the chance to edit my last post but also…

You will, of course, include a large women’s specific area?? You will, WON’T YOU?!

I’m no titan of industry but it would surely be business hara-kiri to dedicate a considerable portion of this shop on the off chance that fat ladies want to purchase a bike or some oversized lycra. And the coffee machine is a no-no too. Is it a social club or a business they are hoping to run? Do they really want cycle wahankers hanging around boring the clean fuuk out of anyone and everyone?

Coffee and tea. Buns and biscuits.
First aid, mechanicing and skills training courses.

PCs for browsing. Free wifi. Open plan mechanics area.

Affiliate commision from all the mail order suppliers.

What kind of bike shop? There’s a big difference between a shop for cycling enthusiasts and one intended to attract beginners and non-cyclists.

I’ve never understood why, but the bike shops round me are always freezing cold inside. Make sure there’s some heating.

Also, get somebody in to design the lighting. It makes a big difference to the feel of the place. My gf is such a designer

edit: what about a drinks fridge? Like what’s in jewellery shops and the like…

What kind of bike shop? There’s a big difference between a shop for cycling enthusiasts and one intended to attract beginners and non-cyclists.

This.

The Specialized concept stores are amazing (the one in Newbury springs to mind). Almost like an art gallery, whereas my LBS (Cycle King, Colchester) has got hundreds of intertwined BSOs. No matter how nice the shop layout is, if you stuff it to the rafters with cheap BSOs and accesories it may as well be a in a run down charity shop.

You do this for a living and you think that the folks of stw are first point of call on designing a successful bike shop !!!
Best off luck with that 🙂