The Bike Shop Purchasing Guide

Make smart decisions when purchasing equipment for your Bike Shop. Learn about the equipment you will need, typical costs, and where are the best places to buy it.

Required Equipment and Materials

Bike shops can range from the simple (selling just bikes and a few key accessories) to the more elaborate (offering repair services and all kinds of biking accessories). This article will help you price out your inventory and decide what you would like to sell.

Most bike shop owners will need the following equipment to get started:

 

  • Bike racks/shelving ($100 - $700)
  • Bikes
    • Kids’ bikes ($40 - $200)
    • Beach/path bikes ($150 - $500)
    • Mountain bikes ($100 - $1,000)
    • Road bikes ($100 - $4,000)
  • Biking gloves ($5 - $60)
  • Cash register ($100 - $2,000)
  • Biking jerseys, shorts, and leggings ($8 - $100 per piece)
  • Helmets ($5 - $100)
  • Biking shoes ($50 - $200)
  • Lights for bicycles ($5 - $25)
  • Assorted bike parts (prices vary)
  • Assorted bike tools (prices vary)

Sample List of Purchases

A typical person looking to purchase equipment for a bike shop business might make the following purchases:

 

  • Assorted biking apparel ($1,000)

Grand Total: $18,874 

Key Decisions

Obtaining a quality selection of bikes is the most important buying decision you’ll make.

First, you need to know your target market. Are you expecting a lot of professional bikers, or lower-income crowds who might want used bikes? Do you want to sell bikes for the beach, or offer all kinds of bikes?

Here are some popular options to look into when purchasing bikes for your store.

Bike Options

Popular Non-Professional Bikes

Beach bikes are popular among coastal regions, especially wherever there is a lot of tourist or vacation traffic. 

Another type of recreational bike is the mountain bike. These are great for areas that get have a high density of national parks and outdoor bike trails.

Popular Professional Bikes

The most popular riding bicycle is the road bike. This is the preferred style of bicycle for athletes and anyone else who bikes for exercise. Cities often have a high demand for lightweight road bikes.

There are also professional mountain bikes for those who wish to go on longer or more challenging outdoor treks.

Best Places to Buy

Bikes can be purchased from wholesalers, other bike distributors, or directly from the bike companies themselves.

Generally, new professional bikes will need to be purchased from their distributors (Schwinn, Cannondale, etc.). Other bikes can be found from online retailers or wholesalers, who will sell new or used bikes for discounted prices. It is difficult to buy bicycles in bulk, but some websites do have deals if you buy a certain amount of bikes or spend a certain amount of money.

Affordable Bikes & Accessories

Here are a few options when purchasing bikes online:

  • eBay (different sellers make it difficult to save money on shipping)
  • Bikes Online

You can also shop wholesale when buying bikes in bulk:

High End Bikes & Accessories

The following manufacturers are much more expensive. However, these bikes are often in high-demand among serious bike enthusiasts: