For those who want to treat themselves or their family members to one of the most fun and rewarding gifts this holiday season, Culver City has many unique bike shops that offer more than just a cool ride.
Some of the advantages of shopping locally are:
- Proximity: It’s a simple convenience to shop close to home; travel time is reduced and any potential returns are easier.
- Money: Dollars used locally support the local economy and help the community thrive. Money stays within the community, going back into schools and public services. While smaller businesses often can’t negotiate the rock-bottom prices offered by “big-box” or online retailers, they make up for it in service, quality and selection.
- Service: Buying in specialized independent stores means getting personalized service. Staff members knowledgeable about their products are on hand to help customers and answer questions. They offer expert advice no big-box or online shop can offer, including fitting and finding the right type of bike for the customer’s needs.
- Relationships: Small businesses are encouraged to foster long-term relationships with their local customer base. Belonging to the same community can create more accountability, superior service and a better shopping experience.
Two weeks ago, Culver City Bicycle Coalition co-founder Jim Shanman profiled two local bike shops, Chubby’s Cruisers and Palms Cycle. This week readers will discover two more: Sports for Eve, a unique boutique for athletic women, and Wheel World, a family-owned shop with a wide selection of bikes of all types for all ages.
Sports for Eve 3849 Main St., Culver City:
The downtown Culver City store SportEve has recently rebranded to become Sports for Eve. The new name clarifies the store’s mission: to create a comfortable, welcoming store for women in the male-dominated world of athletics.
An accomplished athlete herself, owner D’Lynda Fischer opened Sports for Eve more than five years ago. For years, she was frustrated with the poor selection, poor service and the “amount of testosterone” in the stores she encountered and so set out to fill the niche she knew existed. She set out to empower women to practice the sports they love by offering a thoroughly researched, tested and select array of athletic clothes, bikes and gear.
Though Sports for Eve originally focused on gear for triathletes, it has since branched out – offering clothing and accessories for yoga, hiking, running, cycling, spinning, swimming and now specializes in minimal (a.k.a. barefoot) running, too. The store also organizes weekly rides, runs, baby boot camp (for moms with babies in strollers), hosts workshops and triathlon training, and also sponsors the L.A. Tri Club.
A tour of the cycling section reveals clothing and shoes for biking, as well as bells, pumps, helmets, water bottles and maintenance kits. Not the typical bike shop, Sports for Eve offers a more curated approach to its bicycles, with just two types in the store at the moment: the old-timey PennywiseBoogie Bike. Designed by a Culver City resident, the Pennywise is a replica of the original Penny-Farthing bicycle, with a big wheel in front and small wheel in the back, but with the added safety features of modern bikes. and the
The Boogie Bike, designed by a Portland husband-and-wife team, is a unisex, urban bike, featuring an easy-access low-frame bar. The bike is so compact, it fits into a Mini Cooper and should ease bike-commuting on the soon-to-open Expo Metro line.
Owner D’Lynda Fisher decided to start selling bikes after purchasing an expensive bicycle in a store where nobody even bothered to show her how to inflate its tires. She feels a responsibility to empower her clients, by teaching them not only to pump, but to change a tire, make their own energy bars and get the training and gear they need to have a healthy lifestyle.
When asked why Culver residents should buy local, Fisher had this to say: “Buying local supports your local economy; supports your neighbors. It is a place you can rely on because you can easily go back and return items or solve problems. Learn what good service is because we [as a society] have forgotten.”
Sports for Eve offers a 15% discount for Culver City Bicycle Coalition members.
Wheel World, 4051 Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City:
Longtime local favorite Wheel World is a family-owned business in operation since 1945. Unique in its long history of serving Culver City, the store has sold bikes to several generations of local families. Featuring a large selection of bikes of all types – from kids bikes, road and mountain bikes, to cruisers, commuter and hybrids, Wheel World will even custom-build bikes according to customers’ needs and preferences.
“Biking is a culture; a way of life,” according to a longtime staff member, noting that 95% of Wheel World employees are cyclists and at least half use their bikes to commute to work. Along with an essential knowledge of bike-fitting, most staff members also specialize in different types of cycling (such as BMX or mountain biking), so that customers have access to in-depth information about the bikes they are buying.
In contrast to a big-box or online store, “It makes a big difference to be able to talk to a real person who will answer all your questions,” according to the staff member.
Wheel World’s website quotes store Manager Yan Lee, “You’d want to buy a bike at a bike shop like us here at Wheel World because we will fit the bike for you. We will make sure the bike is put together safely and correctly and everything’s going to work properly.” Lee continues, “We’re going to give you a consultative sale, which means that we will go through and figure out what is the best bike for you. When you come in and ask me what bike is going to work for me to go to work or to school, I’m not going to sell you a mountain bike that’s designed for downhill racing.”
The store’s selection of bikes is vast – at least 250 in stock at any given time and more available on order – and the price range varies greatly. An entry-level adult bike will cost a couple of hundred dollars, whereas high-end bikes reach well into the thousands. There is also a large selection of accessories available, from helmets, bells, lights, repair gear and pumps to shoes and clothing, bicycle replacement parts, car racks and trailers.
For those who would rather refurbish or spruce-up an old bike rather than buying a new one, Wheel World also services bikes. The service shop performs basic tune-ups and brake adjustments as well as full overhauls and custom bike building.
Wheel World offers a10% discount for Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition members (of which Culver City Bicycle Coalition is a local chapter).
A message from CCBC co-founder and ride coordinator Darren Kessner:
Happy Holidays! Our next family ride is Saturday, Dec. 10 at 11 a.m., to be followed by an informal lunch gathering at Chipotle. Come out and meet your fellow Culver City Bicycle Coalition members.
When: Saturday, Dec. 10
- 11 a.m.: gather at Culver Hotel, sign waivers, make bike adjustments
- 11:15 a.m.: ride
- Noon (or so): lunch at Chipotle/Culver Downtown Plaza
- Requirements: bicycle, helmet and a signed waiver for each rider.
The CCBC hosts family rides each month to highlight the best routes in Culver City. Join them for fun, friendship and exercise. The rides are suitable for children and adults alike.
Bike Safe, Bike Smart! is a weekly column to promote responsible cycling by providing information, education and advice about riding. It’s written by members of the Culver City Bicycle Coalition (CCBC), a local chapter of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. The CCBC hosts a family ride each month. More information can be found at ccbike.org.