Maryland Planning Blog

The Return of Neighborhood Bicycle Shops: A Sustainable Community Indicator

“The communities that embrace the bicycle and all that goes with it NOW will be the successful communities of the next generation.”

–Alex Obriecht, President Bike Maryland & Race Pace Bicycles

Did you buy that bicycle at the hardware store?

Baltimore Bicycle Works baltimorebicycleworks.com
Credit: David Whitaker

This was quite likely several decades ago. From the 1950’s through the 1970’s, you could often find a bicycle shop combined with a local hardware store in communities throughout the U.S. This was a unique 20th century retail combination that was often located on or near a main street or at a nearby neighborhood commercial center.

Retail operated differently decades ago and both bicycle shops and hardware stores often were located in the neighborhood. Sometimes that first paper-route bike or later the Schwinn Stingray, Varsity or Paramount 10-speed was purchased at one of these long gone local hardware & bicycle shops.

Several years thereafter there was a commercial transition More