The Last Family Bicycle Shop in Northeastern California

Twelve years ago there were two bicycle shops in Susanville, one in Burney, one in Quincy, one in Graeagle and one in Chester, Ca. Of those, the only family bicycle store that remains is Bodfish Bicycles and Quiet Mountain Sports in Chester. A bicycle shop wrenches on everyone's bicycle, brings old bicycles back to life, putting them back into circulation and attempts to stock new bicycles for the whole family. Public service is high on a bicycle shop owner's list of responsibilities.....'where to ride' and 'how to ride' safely is incredibly important. You don't get that from the Big Box sellers. So, what has led to the disappearence of bicycle shops? Online shopping is number one, however, large fires have made the territory seriously less attractive to vacationing cycliists and local self-propelled wanderers. Tariffs have had an effect as well. In 2018 the Trump administration decided that tariffs on Asian goods were a good idea. Prices on new bicycles and bicycle gear increased by 20%, scaring off many who were considering a new bike purchase. The Covid epidemic should have been good for bicycle shops but the epidemic and tariffs combined to result in a serious supply-chain problem and hardware was difficult to obtain, limiting store owner options. Finally, suppliers decided to bypass small independent dealers and sell everything on-line.....at bargain prices. This eliminated already slim margins and has resulted in the disappearance of many rural bicycle shops. Bodfish Bicycles is actually operating on life-support, luckily our bills and mortgages are paid and our one employee is willing to work for minimum wage.