New Cycling Shop Opens in Lake Orion

After a bout of unseasonably warm weather, Steve Gealy, owner of Main Street Bicycles said he felt the need to speed up the moving process and opened the doors at his new location in Lake Orion earlier than expected.

Though they opened the door to customers starting March 17, he admits he wasn't ready to open since they were still waiting on product to fill their new space, which is much larger than the one they were operating out of in the Oxford Market Plaza. Now, much of the stock has trickled in and Gealy said he is overwhelmed by the support the Lake Orion community has already given him.

His location at 622 S. Lapeer Rd. in Lake Orion has offered added exposure, and he is "thrilled to become a valued member of the community", he said. Oakland Township-Lake Orion Patch sat down and talked to Gealy about the move and his business. Here's what he had to say:

Oakland Township-Lake Orion Patch: Why did you decide to move to Lake Orion from Oxford?

Gealy: There are a lot of reasons really. The biggest reason is that the majority of our business has been coming from the Lake Orion, Clarkston, Auburn Hills area and I’m just moving closer to my customer base. There are other contributing factors … my lease was up in my building in Oxford and I started shopping for buildings around Oxford and couldn’t find what I really wanted. Real estate agents kept mentioning buildings down this direction so I started doing research and realized how many of my customers came from this area ... It really just kind of came together that the timing was right, the owner of this building felt the need to fill up the rest of this plaza … and we outgrew that building, so we needed the extra space.

Oakland Township-Lake Orion Patch: When did you make the decision to move?

Gealy: In January. Generally we would be thrilled with the timing but our season has started very early so we opened the doors before we were really ready ... The customers have been very patient with us though and very impressed with the building. It's great that we finally have space to showcase our products.

Oakland Township-Lake Orion Patch: What are you really looking forward to with this building?

Gealy: A whole bunch of things … I’m really thrilled with this location, this is going to be very good for us. I’m glad that I felt the need to move from the building and did the research to realize how much of my business really is in Lake Orion. Plus we’re thrilled about the only being a block away from us.

Oakland Township-Lake Orion Patch: How many bikes do you intend to carry?

Gealy: We’ll display about 150 bikes on the floor. We also offer pretty much anything to do with cycling.

Oakland Township-Lake Orion Patch: What were some of your most popular products at your Oxford store?

Gealy: In Oxford we had the Polly Ann Trail and we sold a lot of bikes that are designed for that type of riding. We call them a sport-hybrid bike. About 70 percent of our market is that style of bike right now.

Oakland Township-Lake Orion Patch: Are there any brands that you sell better?

Gealy: We sell Specialized and Giant. They’re two of our most popular brands.

Oakland Township-Lake Orion Patch: How long have you been working in the cycling industry?

Gealy: I actually have been in the industry since I was a kid. I worked as a sales rep calling on bike shops … did that for a number of years and my idea was to retire out of repping into a small retail store in Romeo. As the business grew it just hit me that it needs to grow so I kept expanding and I’m working harder than I have ever worked in my life so, so much for retirement.

Oakland Township-Lake Orion Patch: What do you like so much about cycling?

Gealy: How much time you have. It’s the freedom of being on something powered by yourself, it’s being outside, it’s sharing it with other people and the feeling of accomplishment. Also, the fitness that you gain from it. And it’s the kind of fitness that you get when you’re having fun so you don’t realize that you’re working… you’re just out riding, just having fun … I’ve been doing it all my life and I just love it. Before we opened up our retail stores I was riding 10,000 miles a year every year.

Oakland Township-Lake Orion Patch: What's your favorite part about the business?

Gealy: The best part of this business is getting people excited about this sport; getting people on bikes that fit them properly and letting them realize what a great thing it is.

Oakland Township-Lake Orion Patch: Do you carry a lot of bikes for little kids?

Gealy: Yes. We also have a trade-in policy with kids bikes. A lot of parents will go to Walmart and buy a really cheap quality bike because it’s less money and their kids are going to grow out of it. So to get them on a safer, better quality bike, we’ll actually take that bike back and trade when they come in for a larger bike so they can ride a safe, decent bike. It will actually net out to spending less money riding a better bike and just trading it in than just buying a cheap bike and throwing it away every couple years … What we give them is what we can sell the bike for so it depends on the condition of the bike. If the bike costs $200, realistically you’ll get $80-$100 a bike … it’s a great deal, it’s actually expensive for us because we have to do all that servicing for free but it keeps people coming back to us and the kids are much more likely to use the bike if it’s a fun experience and it’s certainly a safer experience. We’ll turn around and sell the the trade-ins. We don’t take a department store bike and trade them, it has to be a bike purchased from us.

Oakland Township-Lake Orion Patch: How are your prices?

Gealy: They’re outstanding … we guarantee price from anyone in the state of Michigan for 30 days from the time they buy the bike … and that’s been my policy all along.

Oakland Township-Lake Orion Patch: What else can you tell me about the sore?

Gealy: We’re having two rides a week out of this store, there will be a Monday and Thursday ride if all goes as scheduled. And they are going to be recreational rides mostly on the trail. Starting probably around 6:30 p.m. we’ll ride for an hour or two and it will just be a group of riders as a social thing. On the rides there will be enough people that work for us that will be able to instruct about shifting, proper riding technique and fit … we’ll probably end up going to Rochester and back (on the Paint Creek Trail).

Oakland Township-Lake Orion Patch: Anything about your product that really sets you apart from many of the local bicycling shops?

Gealy: In all reality there’s a lot of competitors selling the same products that I sell ... I like to think we pick and choose our product really well … we pay attention to trends and I think we promote the product that is going to be right for our customer … and we work really really hard to educate our customers ... We also have a years worth of free adjustments for comfort and size, so we make sure our customers like the bike that they’ve gotten from us. If they don’t they’re more than welcome to come back and we’ll make changes for free to their bike to make it work for them.