Bicycle Hub Gives Mentor Bikers a Ticket to Ride

When you first walk into The Bicycle Hub, the first thing you notice is its wood flooring, a big brown leather couch and a huge community chalkboard on a wall. The store’s owner plans to install a new flat-screen television soon.

“We wanted to create an atmosphere in which our customers feel like they’re at home,” said Rob Ponti, who opened the bike shop four months ago at 7430 Mentor Avenue.

The 30-year-old Mentor entrepreneur doesn’t see himself as a salesman.

“We’re here to educate and inform customers about bicycles and let them make the decision about which one they want to get,” said Ponti. “We want customers to be happy with their decision. If we sell them just to sell something, it will come back to bite us.”

He developed his knowledge, expertise and passion for bicycles when he began working at a local bike store at the age of 14. For 15 years, he traveled to participate in weekend bicycle competitions, demonstrations and festivals.

Knowing how to educate consumers is an important part of running a bike retail store because there are so many styles and types of bikes to choose from. Bicycle Hub sells a mix of domestic and foreign brand hybrid, mountain and road bikes.

Some of the brands are Bianchi, Marin, Orbea, Felt and Inspired. The Mentor shop also carries cruiser bikes for casual riding and BMX bikes, which are used for competitive dirt and motocross cycling.

A hybrid bike is primarily used for leisurely riding on streets and bike paths; a mountain bike is designed for off-road cycling, and road bikes or racing bikes are made for riders who like to cycle fast or travel long distances.

“There used to be one style for each bike,” explains Ponti. “Today, there are five different types of hybrid bikes, five different types of mountain bikes and five different types of road bikes.”

Prices range from $270 to $5,000 or more depending on the features you want on a bike. Expensive? Yes. But Ponti said the bikes are well built and will last for years. What’s more, cycling is like any other hobby such as golf or classic cars for which people will invest the money because they enjoy it.

“Business has been nice and steady,” he said. “Mentor has a big cycling community.” 

The Bicycle Hub also runs a full-service repair and maintenance shop. When customers buy a new bike they receive two free tune-ups (a $100 value), lifetime minor adjustments, and 10 percent off all bike accessories for one year. The Mentor store also does custom bike builds. The shop features brand name accessories such as helmets, gloves, shoes, clothing, air pumps, repair kits, bicycle parts and cycling trainers.

In addition to its website, you can follow The Bicycle Hub on Facebook.

The store’s hours are Monday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m to 3 p.m. Sunday.