Love of Bikes Propels Olde Towne Fenton Cyclery

Chuck LaRico has been in love with bicycles since he was a kid, so the fact that he now makes a living selling and repairing bikes is no big surprise.

LaRico runs , Fenton’s only dedicated bike shop, located in the former El Nopel Mexican restaurant at 630 Old Gravois Road. His parents, Donna and Rich own the shop, while Chuck runs the day-to-day business.

“They’re going to retire to the Lakes. They’re teaching me about business and I’m teaching them about bikes,” LaRico said. While this is Chuck’s first business venture, his parents are experienced merchants and used to own several auto parts stores in the St. Louis area.

After seven months of hard work gutting and converting the old restaurant, Olde Towne Fenton Cyclery opened in 2009. The shop’s service area is located in the former kitchen, not that you can tell these days with all muddy mountain bikes hanging from the ceiling and bike parts neatly stacked against the wall. LaRico said he’s pretty sure he’s got the only bike shop in St. Louis with a fireplace, which admittedly adds an interesting touch to his showroom.

LaRico learned his trade the old fashioned way, by working for family friends who owned South County Cyclery. There he honed his mechanic skills, learning to repair all makes and models of bikes.

Olde Towne Fenton Cyclery is a small operation with only two other employees besides LaRico himself. He says 70 percent of his business is repair work, so everyone at the shop pulls double duty as mechanics. It’s pretty obvious that spring is his busy time of year—while being interviewed by Patch, LaRico never stopped working on repairs and only briefly paused to show off some of his store’s merchandise.  Nice weather brings in big business, as customers pull their bikes out of winter storage and send them in for tune-ups or forgotten repairs.

“We work on anything,” he said. The shop handles anything from tune-ups and brake repairs to complete drive train overhauls. He also doesn’t charge extra for dirty bikes. “Some shops would charge $25 to clean the dirt off,” he said.

Those in the market for a new set of wheels can find just about anything they would need at LaRico's store. He says he has close to a thousand bikes in stock, with most stashed away in the shop’s basement. And if he still doesn’t have the perfect bike, he can order most anything. The bikes in Olde Towne Fenton Cyclery aren’t like what you’ll find in a department store, though they do start out at $189 for a kid’s bike and $300 for an adult bike. The shop carries bikes for everyone, from big cushy comfort bikes to custom fitted road bikes. He carries Specialized, Haro, Raleigh, Bianchi, Masi, Diamondback and other bike brands.

There’s also plenty of accessories in the store, like helmets and clothes, bike racks, bike bags, water bottles, lights and even novelty shaped bells for kids.

LaRico’s favorite trails are through Greensfelder Park in Eureka and Castlewood Park in Ballwin for mountain biking, though he says he doesn’t have as much time to ride as he would like. His shop will organize free group rides through Fenton on Wednesday evenings once the weather stabilizes. He said the rides will go from his parking lot down to , then up Bowles Avenue and back. The rides will be open to all levels of riders.