February 3, 2020 - (Calgary, Alberta) Bow Cycle is a fixture in the Calgary bicycle market. Having been located in the city’s Bowness neighbourhood for the past 30 years it has become one of the largest bike shops in Canada. The legendary store has everything a cyclist could want under one massive roof as road, mountain bike, cyclocross and urban bikes are all represented on two floors. E-bikes have become an integral part of all of these categories and a big growth segment for Bow.
When an opportunity came up in the East Village, new trendy part of Calgary, the team at Bow jumped at the opportunity. Located beside the Bow River with a bike path, this a desirable neighbourhood, offers close proximity to the zoo, Fort Calgary and downtown.
The M2 building there will become the new home of Bow Cycle E-bikes as the renowned shop will venture outside of Bowness for the first time. Ebikes International caught up with John Frankzy, one of the partners, to get the lowdown on their new venture which plans to open in March 2020.
Ebikes International(EBI) : Bow Cycle has become one of the biggest shops in Canada, what’s the key to Bow’s success over the years?
John Frankzy (JF): We are one of the best well rounded bike shops and we still consider ourselves a family bike shop. We are trying to cater to all aspects of cycling and along the way, we have figured out a way to get some volume out of high-end bikes. To achieve our success we have had the right people and we’ve been lucky over the last 30 years to see some good growth.
EBI: Bow sells every type of bike… have e-bikes become one of the biggest selling categories ?
JF: We were involved with e-bikes at the old store and we saw this as an up-and-coming category, an interesting category. I’m gonna say even upwards of 20 years ago I bought some e-bikes. It’s not the biggest selling category in the store but it’s definitely the growing category and speaking to other dealers in our business group, everybody is seeing this as their growth category and the growth is good since it’s starting from infancy in some stores. The category that we see the strength in right now is the urban category. I would argue right now with the hybrid category shrinking and some of these consumers are moving into this bike category now.
EBI: You’re soon launching Bow Cycle E-bikes… what was the genesis for this second location ?
JF: Our customer base has been asking for a second store. A lot of our South Calgary customers that are driving 20 kilometers to come see us and wanted something more accessible. To replicate the main store, we just can’t do it in as a big factor as the original store. With e-bikes being on a growth curve it was important to focus on this exciting category. We also wanted to capitalize on this growing market and get into the downtown core where there is potential for rentals. The East Village is a newish community also with a base of customers already there.
EBI: Tell us about the M2 building in the East Village that made this “the” location for the new store?
JF: We started looking at locations for a second store and our current location has a lot of features that we wanted to incorporate into the new spot. We needed a safe area to test ride. Being a resident living in the core area and Bridgeland for 25 years I’ve been riding through the east village as it’s been growing to what it is today and I knew this building was going up And I actually knew the family that was putting the building up. This place is a winner partly because of the test ride just out front, and there’s bicycle traffic in the area to drive sales too.
EBI: What will be the focus of Bow Cycle E-bikes i.e. brands, styles, etc ?
JF: We’re going to be there with a full inventory of e-bikes in mountain both full suspension and hardtail, along with urban and road. The urban category is seeing the growth for the first time in 2019 and e-road has some growth starting with better models for 2020 that have a better feel when pedalling over 32km/hr. I’m a fan of the 32km/hr limit. For some customers, they will be fine with it getting them up to speed and then they have to just maintain it if they go above the assist level. The average road rider out by himself on a road ride is riding at 28 kilometres an hour while the fit guys are riding at 30 to 34 or 35 and can handle non-assisted pedalling over 32km/hr. We’ll have the full gamut of brands with Specialized, Cannondale, Norco, Electra, Cube, Kona, and Tern. We’ll have all of the major brands but the challenge will be getting enough stock to meet demand.
EBI: Do you see certain e-bike categories that are selling better than others in Calgary?
JF: One niche category that we can sell better than other areas of the country is e-fat bikes, and as mentioned urban is seing growth too. In the next few years we will see mountain growth take off as well.
EBI: Is the cost of an e-bike a limiting factor and what’s the average price-point that people are spending ?
JF: The mentality of the consumers is changing and the starting point is at $2,800 now. A good e-bike can cost $3-4,000 which is the same as a used car. An e-bike can now replace a car for a commuter and it provides exercise. As batteries get larger with more watts we will also see prices go up. The biggest volume is in the $3,500-$4,200 price range. A budget of $5,000 is good to get a bike with a rack and look good while riding.
EBI: Will rentals also be available to customers ?
JF: Rentals will be a big part of the business. In the core we want to tap into the tourist market and weekend recreational get-away type person. Guided rides will also increase rentals with destinations to art installations or other places of interest or even corporate team-building events. The key will be to rent bikes and show the rider how to use them.
EBI: Do you ever think that we’ll see the level of acceptance for e-bikes here as in Europe?
JF: Europe is really hopping! North America is behind and slower in acceptance. I was in France recently riding an e-bike and it was just so much easier to ride with the flow of traffic there and this isn’t the case here yet. The government is helping with legislation to make e-bikes in the forefront and e-bikes are the best tool to get people riding.
EBI: What’s it going to take to get more people on e-bikes?
JF: Test rides! More test rides and for current riders for other guys to let them try their bike.
EBI: What e-bike category has the potential for the biggest growth?
JF: Where we will see growth here is with mountain and trail bikes. We believe e-road has the potential to match road bike sales of 2012 when it was a hot category. With eMTB bikes there’s still a technical aspect, while e-road doesn’t have that. Also e-road will grow along with e-gravel as some people will want to explore quiet country roads.
EBI: Will we see e-cargo bikes take off here as well?
JF: The cargo rider is utilitarian instead of recreation. It can replace a car and can haul the kids so it can replace a car. The non-cycling community doesn’t get it yet. Corporate culture could integrate them as well, but only some couriers are using them so far.
EBI: The Tour De Bowness has been a mainstay on the Alberta road race scene, what is Bow’s commitment to the race?
JF: Bow Cycle is committed to the race. The community backs it up with a street festival and the entire community enjoys the entire weekend. The crit race is a really good time.
EBI: Are e-bike races on the horizon… ?
JF: They are done in Europe but they’ll be a demo or fun race here. Bow Cycle has put on races for quite a while but the priority is low for this aspect just now. We see the possibility for eMTB races which could be interesting but it will depend on the access to parks if they can go ahead.
EBI: What type of other ways does Bow Cycle support the community?
JF: We support Bikes for Kids and have done so for 28 years. We also put on bike rodeos at schools and have community bike days. We also support the cooperate area with some lunch and learns. Bow is delivering 2-wheel enthusiasm in Calgary and hopefully keep fun in mind. The new store wants to keep this top of mind as well and promote two wheels in the community.
EBI: Thanks for your time and we look forward to the opening of Bow Cycle Ebikes.
JF: Thanks as well.
