Reinventing the wheel
Local bike shop hopes to score big with home-grown model
By RICK BARRETT
rbarrett@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Dec. 30, 2004
At first glance, the name Milwaukee Cycle conjures up images of Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
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Milwaukee's Own Cycle
Even the orange and blue paint scheme on this new brand of home-grown bicycles looks a little Harley. Add to that a metal emblem with a beer mug at its center and you have a classic Milwaukee product.
Milwaukee Cycle is the creation of Ben's Cycle and Fitness, a bicycle shop that's been in the same neighborhood on W. Lincoln Ave. for 76 years.
The brand is starting out small, with just one model of bicycle, but already bikes have been shipped as far as Georgia to buyers seeking something that stands out from the mainstream of Taiwanese-made products, said Vince Hanoski, owner of Ben's Cycle and Fitness.
Milwaukee Cycle frames are hand-built in southeast Wisconsin by Waterford Precision Cycles. That company is owned by Richard Schwinn, whose family once owned the legendary Schwinn Co.
Local artists were used for the color scheme, graphics and emblem.
"The color is almost a Harley orange," said Russ Jobs, Milwaukee Cycle's principal designer. "We didn't do that intentionally, although the legendary bicycle racer Eddy Merckx rode bikes with an orange motif."
Milwaukee Cycle's first bicycle is a single-speed road machine that's lightweight, fast and similar to the bikes that bicycle messengers ride.
"It's a simple design with less things to worry about," Jobs said.
The company wanted to create a bicycle that messengers would like, partly because it would appeal to young adults who admire that image and rugged lifestyle. The single-speed bike is developing an almost cultlike following, with enthusiasts logging on to chat rooms to discuss frames, wheels and components.
"There are actually very few bike messengers and a lot more people who want to look like them," Jobs said.
It made good business sense for Ben's to create its own line of bikes, said Hanoski, whose family has owned the store in Milwaukee for three generations.
Although a sale of a $750 Milwaukee Cycle road bike nets a profit, such a purchase builds customer loyalty and keeps people coming back for higher-margin accessories at Ben's Cycle. Jobs has sold about two dozen bikes and has moderate expectations. He didn't disclose a sales goal.
Through the Internet and eBay, Ben's has built a customer base that extends across the United States, Canada and into other countries. About 5% of the store's eBay sales are from Canada, Jobs said.
"I think it's a way for all businesses to increase their market share," he added. "If we had to rely on street traffic from the store, business could be kind of sparse in the winter. But with the Internet, it's always summer somewhere."
Hanoski bought the shop from his father, Larry, in 1991. He remodeled it and tripled the size of the showroom floor, and five years later expanded into an old Vaudeville theater across the street. That's now a warehouse with 12,000 square feet of storage space.
Many years ago, it wasn't unusual for bicycle shops to have their own line of bikes. But it's pretty much unheard of now, said Jobs, who has worked in the business for 16 years.
The bicycle industry has gone through many changes, said Fred Clements, executive director of the National Bicycle Dealers Association, a trade group based in Costa Mesa, Calif.
Most of the manufacturing is now done overseas, he said. "But we have a fascinating industry of entrepreneurs and people driven by passion for bikes. So starting a bike line, even when there's so much mass production, doesn't surprise me too much."
Ben's Cycle and Fitness will measure the success of Milwaukee Cycle in dozens, or perhaps hundreds, of bikes sold, rather than the tens of thousands sold by big companies such as Trek Bicycle Corp. based in Waterloo.
"We aren't betting the entire store on this," Jobs said. "But you never know. Trek started out small, too."