Elitism Is Killing Your Bike Shop

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Are you a bike shop owner or dreaming of starting your own shop but feeling stuck with low margins, long hours, and no time to enjoy life? What if I told you there’s a better way—a way to run a simpler, more profitable bike business while living the life you’ve always dreamed of?

Hi, I’m Matthew Fox, founder of ReCycles Bikes, a unique shop that thrives by bringing Pre-Loved bikes back to life. I’ve built a profitable business by serving everyday people who need trustworthy bikes—not the flashiest, lightest, or fastest. In doing so, I’ve doubled the industry average salary for shop owners, earning over $100K annually while taking 15+ weeks of vacation each year.

Sound too good to be true? Here’s how it all started:

📖 A Brief ReCycles Bikes Story:

At 8, I swore off bikes after a traumatic bloody knee incident while out on a ride.
At 15, I discovered biking to school instead of taking the bus meant more sleep. I am not a morning person. Suddenly the past trauma wore off.
At 19, I started tinkering with bikes in my garage and found my passion.
By 23, I had finished a grueling degree and had a “fancy” chemical engineering job, but couldn’t stop dreaming of bikes.
At 25, I took the leap, and gave up a more than healthy salary to open up my shop.

Despite making mistakes, I doubled my first-year projections, and by 28, I was taking home double that of the average shop owner.

At 30, we posted yet another record year while creating a program to help others replicate our success.

Today, ReCycles Bikes has cracked the code for running a smaller-scale, higher-margin bike shop. We cater to an underserved demographic—everyday people who need everyday bikes—and have built a business that’s as rewarding personally as it is financially.

But here’s the thing: too many bike shops are struggling. Many owners work grueling hours, make little profit, and eventually close their doors. I created this channel to change that. Let's bring bike shops back.

🚴‍♂️ What You’ll Gain From This Channel:
-Proven strategies for running a profitable bike shop.
-How to serve an overlooked yet highly lucrative customer base.
-Ways to simplify operations and increase margins while working less.
-Stories, insights, and mistakes from my journey to empower you.

This isn’t just another business channel—it’s a movement to bring back the local bike shop, minus the snobbery, elitism, and outdated business practices that don’t work anymore. Whether you’re looking to start your shop, scale an existing one, or simply trying to survive in this tough industry, I’m here to help.

—Matt

[tedthoman]

My retired uncle's garage wood-shop in a ghetto neighborhood fronted on the street. It had an air hose by the door,
where the neighborhood kids could air up their bike tires, and a wrench and oil can they could use, also.
His shop became a neighborhood tool library, helped kids learn skills, and fostered good relations around the 'hood...

[tboneoutdoors]

The elitism of many bike shops here in Colorado is the reason I shop online and learned to do my own work.

[rustyspokes]

A valuable message that cannot be said enough across all, especially small, businesses. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

[JeffWagley]

I own a small bike shop in Elk Grove Ca. We are 100% a no judgement zone. We are here to help and get you riding. The majority of bikes we sell are comfort bikes for the family rides or e-bikes. I would say 5% of our clientele are "cyclists". You are absolutely correct in that our customer service is what brings people back. We have an excellent mechanic and we're all just happy you are here. I hear the complaints about other shops almost daily. We serviced almost 1000 bikes this year and sold 350 bikes. Not bad for 1100sqft and our first year in business. Soooo, the point is, you are spot on and thanks!

[abdul-kabiralegbe]

Important lessons that apply even beyond cycling.

[joules]

This is so true.
As a teenager, I remember admiring the Campag parts in my local bike shop window, here in the UK.
And then, one day, I had saved up enough from my paper round to buy a few Campag parts.
And you know what the lady behind the counter said?
"Those parts are not for the likes of you".
I remembered that.
I also remember visiting another shop, where I was engaged in conversation with the shop owner, but my conversation was cut short when that owner saw a well known rider enter the store.
Finally, in another local bike store, the owner stopped serving me, in order to chat to a bike rep; almost as if I didn't exist.
Looking back, I get the impression that many bike shops are indeed elitist.

[philipcaldwell]

Elitist have one common fatal flaw - they can not do math.

[hardluckvintagegarage]

Years ago, I went to my local bike shop and purchased my first mountain bike. I had the bike for a couple of years and got in much better shape and went back to the shop and bought a much higher quality mountain bike. Later that year, I got interested in watching the Tour de France and decided to get a nice road bike and again visited the same bike dealer. At the time, the shop owner had a very trick road bike hanging from his ceiling over the top of all his new high-end road bikes. The suspended cycle had these solid disc wheel covers, and I have never seen them before. I reached up with one finger and touched the disc wheel wondering if it was carbon fiber. Just then, the owner screamed across his shop and told me not to touch his bike. It caught me so off guard that I quickly mumbled an apology and excited the store. I never went back there again and a few years later he was out of business.

[DaveCM]

I live in Raleigh NC and we have Oak City cycling. I love that place because is a no-judgment zone. They help every the same and they don't make new cyclists feel stupid. The last time I was in there, a homeless dude needed help with his bike and they fixed him up and treated him the same way they treat me. The shop is a bit less convenient for me, but I go anyway.

[twolaneroad]

I'm about to start a shop in my small town that will certainly be serving a majority of ppl who aren't big cyclists, and focusing on used bikes and service. I really appreciate this take. I'm gonna watch your other videos today and get a better sense of how your shop works.
thanks for sharing your perspective.

[scstinger]

Completely agree! I went to my LBS 2 times. The 1st time I told them I was interested in getting a single speed mountain bike. The guy rolled his eyes, laughed at me and said “no you don’t”, then walked me over to look at a 12 speed enduro bike. I left without a bike or ordering a bike from them and felt a little embarrassed as I was planing on getting or ordering a bike that day. The 2nd time I went back (after riding my new single speed that I ordered on-line a year ago now) and asked if they had any flats bike shoes. A different guy this time rolled his eyes at me and said with a lot of sarcasm in his voice (oh we don’t sell much of “that kind of stuff” so we don’t stock it) and kinda had this “please leave the store” attitude. So again I left without shoes or ordering shoes and feeling a little embarrassed again lol! The place is in Maryville Tn and I will get no joy in seeing them or any LBS go out of business so maybe I’ll give them another try and see if they have nicer people working there now.

[arleydial]

Thank you for this content. I hope it moves the needle. Twenty year bike commuter here. I’ve never felt like “one of the tribe” for exactly the reasons you describe.

[Major_Woody]

💯I worked in the industry for 12 years and all through the '90s. This included time in manufacturing, customer support, shop wrench and sales. A tendency toward elitism by many in the industry is why I left.

[tarobyte]

Watching this while too scared to even start biking For me it’s a combo of lack of safe infrastructure, previous bike accident, and absolutely a trepidation about dealing with bike people. I feel so outta my depth trying to get into biking, but just KNOW I’d love it! If only I could get my bike fixed or buy that ebike that’s been haunting my waking thoughts!

But hey, you’re giving me the courage to apply to some local bike shops and see if I can be that enthusiast non-biker they need! Maybe that’ll help get me to start biking, too.

[noampitlik]

Right. I have certainly seen my share of snobbery and superiorty complexes trying to shop at the Specialized store. I found a great down-to-Earth shop now.

[peachmelba]

Bravo, dude. I just had an interview to be a salesperson at a local independent shop and I made it clear to them that my strength is in the customer experience and customer service area of thingsand that while I am a cyclist of over two decades, I don't really have a high level of technical knowledge. I hope it was a good angle and that the owner is as smart as you clearly are.
My own shop would be great to have. I just want asses on bike seats, ya know?

[dgreenpete]

100% agree. Meet people where they are at. Don’t be a jerk. Shop employees need to be welcoming and NOT LOOK DOWN OR TAKK ONLY ABOUT YOURSELF. Be cool and inviting.

[MrRSCHECK]

Appreciate you making this video. As a mountain biker of 25 years, I was subjected to a different type of elitism with almost an ageism angle. I went to a shop to ask for a removal of the old tire sealant and reseal etc. The mechanic/salesman I believe was trying to avoid the service and said "well we don't do much of those jobs because our customers usually wear out the tire first." I guess implying all of their customers were shredders and I being around 49 years old at the time, apparently I wasn't riding the same frequency as his other customers. Really bizarre excuse and I chatted with the manager and he happily did the service. Many of us riders from the 90s are getting older and ride differently of course so employees with that kind of attitude just kills a shop. It was a shop that I had done business with before but now more reluctant if I know other shops that will just perform my needs. I used to be in the industry as well and remember someone saying it takes an average of 4 years for a disgruntled customer to come back to that place of business.

[dwbates]

As a novice I had some negative experiences with certain bike shops in the area. One time I ended up walking out because of how belittling an employee was, which was a shock.

Luckily I found a local bike shop that is fantastic and I’ve been going there for over a decade now. They helped me fix an older bike and showed me a few tricks to fix and do certain things, like how to seat a tubeless tire. I’ve learned a lot since then and continue to spend my money there, even though I can sometimes get a better deal online. I’ve made a point to refer people to them. One time they even invited me to a group ride.

They have a customer for life because of a little bit of kindness.

[johnmills]

I agree with you. I have worked on bikes as a hobby since a boy in the 70's. I took a wheel set to a LBS to get some tight tire on the tube less rims. The owner said they were cheap and a good wheel set costs $800. He failed to get a tire on an punctured holes in my Ryde Trace 25 double walled rim with a metal tire lever. He didn't tell me he did this and I found out after I got home. I gave a negative review on Google and he deleted it. FnA Outdoors in New Lenox, IL I repaired rim with JB Weld and have the tire tube less now.