Wheels keep spinning at local bike shop

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/04/2020 (2024 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As many people around Winnipeg are dusting off their bicycles after a long winter, its anything but business as usual at Bikes & Beyond during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“It makes selling a bike different,” admitted Philip Roadley, owner of the long-standing shop, which is located at 227 Henderson Hwy. 

Roadley and the staff at Bikes & Beyond have taken measures to remain open, while ensuring their customers’ safety and their own.

“We’re limiting the number of people in the store,” he explained. “We have a greeter at the front door to make sure you hand sanitize, queue you whether you’re going to sales or service.” 

As a result, the floor plan has changed inside the store.

“We’re in the process of rearranging the store to eliminate choke points,” Roadley said. 

As with any retail establishment still open, sanitization has become the name of the game. 

“Staff are washing their hands more frequently,” Roadley said. “If a person comes for a test ride or comes in, we alcohol the touch points on the bike.” 

Hours of operation have been reduced, with the shop open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays. However, Roadley added that online sales and orders for curb-side pickup have “blossomed.”

While most products remain in stock, Roadley admitted that some changes to the supply chain have occurred.

“Our ability to get product in some areas has been tougher,” he said. “One of my major suppliers for bikes said there are very little in their warehouse right now.”

Bikes & Beyond also remains open for bike repairs and tune-ups.

“Small stuff like installing a chain or tire or tube we can do on the spot,” Roadley said. “For tune-ups, we’re backed up about two weeks.”

Roadley added that the backlog on tune-ups should ease up at the end of the month, when one of their bike mechanics finishes up university for the semester.

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To book a repair or tune-up, Roadley said it is best to call ahead, as the Bikes & Beyond website is not set up to book appointments.

“We usually can then get (the bike) back to the customer within 24 hours,” he added.

While the doors remain open, Bikes & Beyond has always been more than a simple brick and mortar location. For years, the store has been a focal point for building the local bike community. Group rides were organized throughout the year, along with popular Kids of Mud and Sprockets programs that taught young riders the ropes. Those programs, like many other sports and leisure activities across the province, are now suspended indefinitely due to the corona virus.

“They are all on pause right now,” Roadley confirmed.

For more information, visit www.bikesandbeyond.ca

Sheldon Birnie
Community Journalist

Sheldon Birnie is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. The author of Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock (1990-2001), his writing has appeared in journals and online platforms across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. A husband and father of two young children, Sheldon enjoys playing guitar and rec hockey when he can find the time. Email him at sheldon.birnie@freepress.mb.ca Call him at 204-697-7112

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