Photo: Formerly University Cyclery bike shop at 29th & Lamar in Austin, photo by BIKEALOT's owner Brad who wrenched there in the early 2000's.
Support Your Local Bike Shop:
Here's why we only install parts purchased through our store…
Since we opened BIKEALOT in 2012, we’ve sadly seen 20 bike shops go out of business (see list below). It’s not because we’re competing with each other, it’s because we’re competing with the likes of Amazon, eBay, and Walmart. As a sustainable small business, it's in our best interest and the best interests of our whole community to encourage options that support our local economy.
When cyclists support their local bike shops with everyday purchases like tubes, lights, and helmets, and bigger purchases from bikes to components for customizations, then it helps our shops thrive so we can provide good jobs, expanded inventory options, and faster service turnarounds. It's a Win/Win!
Online shopping is here to stay so...
We launched our online store early in the pandemic to give our community an easy way to shop from the safety & comfort of their own home or phone for everything from bikes to gear. Our online store syncs with our vendors’ warehouses to provide an enormous selection with highly competitive pricing. And if you don’t see the specialty parts or gear you’re looking for - call us - we can source just about anything you need.
Local infrastructure vs tax evasion...
Amazon, and owner Jeff Bezos, notoriously exploit loopholes to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. By contrast, when you shop at your local bike shop in Texas, 100% of the sporting goods sales tax we collect directly supports our State Parks, and our property taxes support our local parks, schools and emergency services. BIKEALOT also works closely with the City of Austin to plan and build bike lanes, and to develop our trail system, plus we encourage our community to join us in these advocacy campaigns.
So when you shop at Amazon, your money supports joy rides to outer space for the ultra rich, but when you shop at BIKEALOT, you’re supporting pedal powered joy rides right here in Austin!
Austin Bike Shops we've lost since 2012:
- Bicycle Sport Shop (sold to Trek in 2020)
- University Cyclery
- Freewheeling
- Tsunami (owners opened Buda Bicycle Co)
- Crankhouse
- Ozone
- Jack And Adams
- Monkey Wrench (hopefully coming back!)
- Bikes Online
- Austin Bikes
- Windmill
- Division One
- Bicycle World
- Waterloo Cycles (hopefully coming back!)
- Bikehaus
- Longhorn Cycles
- Southwest Cycle Sport
- Music City Cycles
- Buck's Bikes
- Cycleast
Create a New Cycle:
Vote with your $ dollars! Shop locally for a stronger and more sustainable Austin economy, better bike paths, more trails, and more awesome local bike shops to serve you!