With more young adults and gainfully employed people looking to leave the suburbs in favor of the inner city, bikes are becoming the preferred mode of transportation. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of bike riders in America has grown 40%. And with gas prices rising every year and more parking meters popping up, cars aren’t as attractive as they used to be.
The “Black Mecca†of Atlanta is no different and Mikel Madison took notice.
In 2010, Madison opened Fixie Bicycle Gallery in the city’s Edgewood section just as it was undergoing a facelift. About 15-20 years ago, one block over from the shop, “Sweet†Auburn Avenue was associated with danger and crime. But at the top of the new decade, new developments and city officials sought to revamp the neighborhood. Ironically, Madison’s life was going through a makeover too.
Originally from California, Madison went to school for design and was working for San Francisco-based brand builder Landor. After being let go after a major downsizing, Madison moved to Arizona and then Atlanta doing freelance work and bartending to pay the bills.
“Like any other designer, you look around your surroundings to see what’s needed,†he said. “Me doing design wasn’t really benefiting my neighborhood. But I did see how the biking community could use some improvement.â€
Noticing that there were a lot of bikers around where he lived, Madison, using mechanic skills he picked up being raised by an electrician, set-up a bike shop in his loft where he built customized single-speed bikes for his neighbors or whoever wanted to buy one off eBay.
As his clientele grew, so did their want for top of the line bike brands and accessories. Seeing that he would need a brick and mortar to impress bike companies, Madison opened up Fixie Bicycle Gallery and he’s been riding ever since.
The shop has become known for it’s lively, custom made bikes and is becoming increasingly popular among the Atlanta’s hip. With some of its more exotic work hanging in the window, it also doubles as a box of eye candy for passersby.
BlackEnterprise.com caught up with the biking enthusiast to talk about biking culture, how Blacks fit into it and why and how this lane should be one that entreprenuers should consider, soon.
BlackEnterprise.com: Atlanta is a larger city, but not known as a bike city yet. What convinced you that opening this shop was a good idea?
I saw that there was a void in the market. I basically rebuild things that none of the other shops in town want to mess with; I know a lot of stuff. You can bring in your “beater†and they look at you like they don’t even have time for that, and I get it. I have thousands of random parts over here. I got some older guys that come in here and can’t afford to fix their bikes so I’ll help them out. Right after that, somebody might come in here and spend $2,000, that’s where I make it up. I have a niche market. There aren’t many shops who specialize in track bikes. They don’t delve into getting you what you want.
How much research was put into this?
Before I even opened my doors, I was doing research and development for over 2 years. If you don’t know, people who like bikes are usually snobs as they know a lot of history about stuff, the parts, and what they are made of. Half of it is about status too. They want certain brands of stuff so that people will envy them. People have an attitude of spending money; it drives the economy.
So it’s similar to car culture?
Absolutely. But, no matter what, you’ll always save more money on a bike, no matter how much you spend. To own and drive a car costs you at least $8,000, yearly. That’s just to drive it, gas, maintenance, insurance, and lets say parking tickets. We’re not even talking about your car-note. You’re not going to spend $8,000 on a bike, even if you’re balling. People that do spend a lot of money on bikes, race and have sponsors, and those materials cost money.
The bike market is weird because you have the common folk who don’t understand that you have to spend $500 on an entry level bike. They see $150 bikes at Wal-Mart and go for those. I know they look new and clean, but the parts will break in 6 months. When I was doing research, people said I needed to order parts from China. I could have ordered 500 bikes at $40 a piece from there. But that lets me know the parts aren’t about nothing. I sell handle bars that cost $40. I don’t want to be known for selling a bike that’s cheap. Every bike here is touched by human hands and thought about from functionality to style to what this person will get out of this bike. People will get a bike but people will only buy the bike if they get compliments about it. Just like why people buy a nice car. You can get a Benz or BMW and say it’s because of safety. But you also got that car because of status.
How much was your initial investment in getting this shop off the ground?
It’s been a constant investment. It’s not a thing where I had $50,000 or a loan to use. I was open for a year and a half before I even got a wholesale distributor and a bike frame company to mess with me. I would buy fra
mes off eBay or search for discount stuff, from the same people. I’m going to get them and strip and repaint them anyway. That’s how I was able to get distributors. I took those bikes, made better ones, took pictures and showed them my work and that I had a brick and mortar. It was a two year process to get to that. We are now in year 3 and my shop is looking the best it ever has. People are calling me now because I’m an authorized dealer for a certain company now.Would you say that the bike business is one that more entrepreneurs should consider entering?
Yes. Rich people used to live in the suburbs, now they are moving in to the city because gas is high and they don’t want to make the commute. Then, people who aren’t as rich, want cheaper rent so they move out to the suburbs. So, as more rich people move into the city, they are going to want status symbols. It is a smart business to get into, gas is not getting any cheaper and people are looking for alternative transportation, period.
You have to be smart about it. Especially the racial thing. The bike community has been predominantly white for the last 80 years. They keep the price points at that. But don’t be mistaken, there are so many black riders out there. If you have a black store and you’re a good owner and can hustle up the black riders, you will have a solid clientele. I don’t know of many other black owned bike stores. I’ll say we are one percent. We only have two black owned bike stores in Atlanta and I am one of them.
You don’t have a “black owned†sign hanging up anywhere, but did service to that community play a part in wanting to open the shop?
Yes. A lot of black people ride bikes, but when we go to a bike shop, we don’t get treated right. I know this from experience. I expect it. When I was doing R&D in Atlanta, I played dumb. I wanted to see who was going to really help me, who was going to sell me something I know I didn’t need or want, or see who was going to have time for me. Those are the things I didn’t want to do. I didn’t want a store with a bunch of inventory that I had to get rid of just to make a dollar. And I didn’t want to be a bike snob, treating people who didn’t have nice bikes like they weren’t good enough.
Boutique shop owners, especially in clothing, have claimed that some brands discriminate against them. Does that also apply in the bike world?
Yes, but it’s all about how that company wants their product perceived. Coming from a branding background, I totally understand that. A lot of times when I come to these companies, I ask them a lot of questions so they are more comfortable with me. I have Brooks Saddles on all of my show bikes. I have Leaders and Brooks on my site’s frontpage. Companies love that type of product placement. Sometimes you have to do that and our counterparts understand that. They know that when I get Leader Bikes, that I‘m stripping and painting them; but they are cool with that. But you have to be cool on how you treat people’s stuff, they put a lot of work into their work too. With Brooks, I can sell some of their products, but they won’t even send me certain lines until I get my shop looking a certain way so that their product can be highlighted.
Tell us why you chose to open in this neighborhood, this space specifically.
When my wife moved out here to join me, we saw this place. I needed to open a brick and mortar, and the way it is built, I could live upstairs and work downstairs and design it however I wanted to. Plus, I didn’t have to worry about two rents – here I’m just paying one rent. This was before the area underwent its makeover. There weren’t any other cool restaurants or hangouts here. I’ve been trying to stay on this block because I think it’s important for something like this to be in this neighborhood. I think it is important for black business to be in this neighborhood, especially with Sweet Auburn being gentrified, I want to keep my little foothold in the community.