Some smaller bike shops struggling against large chains

 by Nate Abdo
 published on Thursday, March 20, 2008

With five privately owned bicycle shops within walking distance of ASU's Tempe campus, it would be reasonable to assume that students would make up the majority of these businesses' customers.

But some shop owners actually blame the university for diverting the student population away.

Tempe, like most college towns, boasts a bustling biking community.

The city provides its residents with 165 miles of designated bike ways, and was labeled as a bicycle-friendly city in 2003 by the League of American Bicyclists for its excellence in bike-oriented civil engineering. Over 3.5 percent of Tempe residents use bikes to commute to and from work or school.

A handful of privately owned bike shops used to service the majority of these some 6,000 bicyclists, but in recent years the introduction of more and more department stores has taken much of their student customers.

Judy Malvestuto co-owner of Domenic's Bicycling and Domenic's 2 Wheelers, suggested that the corporations may not be entirely to blame.

Parents of ASU freshmen told her the university had advised them and their children to go shop the lesser priced department store bikes because of the increasing amount of bike thefts on campus, Malvestuto said.

"We believe that quality lasts," said Malvestuto. "If you buy a good bike and a good lock and you lock it up properly then your bike won't get stolen."

Melanie Pshaenich, assistant to the dean of undergraduate admissions, said that ASU New Student Orientation hasn't included any such advice officially at any orientation setting.

"If a student or parent asked a staff member or student orientation leader for their thoughts or suggestions on this, then the answer would not be representative of New Student Orientation or program guidelines, but rather a personal opinion," Pshaenich said via e-mail.

Other shops in the area have managed to hang on to their student base, however.

Larry Ehrhardt, owner of Ehrhardt's Schwinn said that 65 to 75 percent of his customer base is made up of students despite the average price of his bikes being about $100 more than that of department stores.

Ehrhardt said it was the service that set him apart from the corporations and is what inevitably brought in student business.

"All you have going for you is service," Ehrhardt said.