This slipped by me, but apparently, a staple of West Newton Square has closed its doors. Harris Cyclery’s website says that it closed this past weekend.
Dear friends –
We, Harris Cyclery of West Newton, Mass., have come to the moment of saying good-bye. We do so with some sadness, but we do also without regrets. For seventy years, this family-owned business has served the bicycle riding community and it has been our pleasure. We’re proud of what our many thousands of loyal customers, both local and online, have allowed us to achieve over that time.
Earning the trust of the buyer and of the service customer in any business can be daunting. But over time, by our activities (school rider safety, police bicycles, raffles and community contributions, and many other engagements) and by word of mouth, we did feel that our reputation for value and integrity was part of the universe of cycling in Boston’s western suburbs and beyond.
For these successes we thank our many, many clients for their trust and support. We are thankful too to the many manufacturers’ representatives who supported us as a smaller business in the trade. And of course, in the years of our operation, there have been many smart, creative, and dedicated employees who contributed to the vision and helped build the reputation of our store.
So it’s hard to say farewell, there are so many memories for us all. But we say keep riding, keep safe. Good bye.
The Harris Cyclery Family
Sad news indeed. I vaguely remember them being located next to the cinema and trying out my first bike there, training wheels and all. That was in the late 70s. I’ve utilized their services many times since. Always a great place to do business. Obviously, this has been a very trying time for small business. I wonder what the impetus was for closing; lack of supply, competition from big box stores, etc.
I spoke with Jon Harris during the pandemic to see how things were going and he said demand for bikes was sky high but there were serious issues with the supply chain. My guess is that they couldn’t surmount this problem. Even without a global pandemic, these are tough times for indie brick and mortar shops.
Were they unable to secure bailout funds? Landlord jacked up rent?
Supply was definitely constrained but should be normalizing soon
Disappointing! Seems like bicycling is more popular than ever. Not sure who the competition was other than Farina’s which is good too.
This may come as a surprise to those who knew it only as a bike shop in West Newton, but Harris Cyclery had a truly international following that made it one of perhaps the 5 most influential bicycle retailers in the world.
Many years ago, I worked at a similarly regarded shop on the West Coast and we always had the utmost respect for Jon Harris and Sheldon Brown (RIP). While this is a loss for every kid in Newton getting their first bike, the shop leaves an unfillable hole in the broad cycling community.
My guess is that it was just time to hang it up, but I will be incredibly sad to drive by it’s old location to see the inevitable CitIBank or Bank of America branch that replaces it.
It’s actually hard to comprehend just how bad things were for bike shops during the pandemic. Huge demand for new bikes and a very disrupted supply chain meant literally no-that’s-zero bikes in stores or at supplier’s warehouses or distribution hubs. Some of the big stores like Wheelworks were able to be first in line for inventory (or had some on hand), but little stores had almost no chance. Landry’s put out ads asking for used bikes. (Farina’s in Watertown has the advantage that they are diversified somewhat with lawnmowers and snowblowers, based on a family business model.) At the worst of it, I don’t think there was a new bike less than $1400 available from a traditional local bike shop in the Boston metro area.
While new bikes are generally high profit margins for bike stores, they bring in people to buy accessories. Social distancing restrictions that prevented browsing at most stores (plus the internet) ate into that profit center. On top of that, employees like mechanics were hard to hold on to and keep hours in small workshops.
All this at a time of the biggest bike boom in half a century. Like dying of thirst in the middle of Lake Michigan. That’s got to add to the frustration of it all.
It’s really sad to see Harris Cyclery go. A great legacy. When other shops went “full spandex”, they still had Brooks saddles and nice traditional gear. Good people, good work. They stuck it out when it was “just” hard, but impossible is just impossible.
@Mike Halle: spot on.
Sorry, to correct my previous post, new bikes generally have very *low* profit margin. In addition, sometimes bigger shops can get preferential treatment (a little cheaper or a little faster). That can leave smaller shops at a disadvantage, pushing them to sell somewhat less popular or less well-known brands.
New bike sales establish a relationship between store and customer that includes after-purchase sales, service, and maintenance that somewhat evens out the seasonal challenges of local bike shops.
I haven’t talked to anyone from Harris about specific reasons for closing. However, it helps to understand what all bike shops are going through.
One of Harris’s big brands was Brompton, a legendary and premium British folding bike brand. Brompton bike demand exploded during the pandemic in the UK when mass transit ridership plummeted. Brompton sold 70,000 bikes last year, a 20% increase (probably all they could manufacture in the face of lockdowns).
At the same time people are begging for bikes (for instance, to help British doctors get to hospitals during the worst of the panemic), the company has steel and aluminum logistics shortages, tariffs, and supplier price increases. With electric bikes booming even hotter, they can’t get components from Taiwan because of the chip shortage. That’s on top of Brexit.
Once the bikes are built, worldwide shipping it still screwed up because of port backlogs and reduction in air freight. Just when they think things might be getting a little better, their supply chain literally runs aground because of the Ever Given in the Suez Canal.
That’s why there basically wasn’t a new Brompton for sale on this side of the Atlantic for much of last year (or this year for that matter).
So there’s Harris, with the local area’s largest supply of Brompton bikes (usually demo models to support custom orders), with no ability to get bikes and direct proximity to a commuter rail station that’s way below normal capacity.
A world desperate for bikes, and bike shops are going out of business.
My mother, at 88, still has her 1965 green Raleigh 3 speed, brooks seat, and Bermuda bell, from Aaron Harris. A pleasure.
Harris has been my go-to bike shop for decades. Their inventory on just about everything got really low over the past year, even compared to other stores, so I guess the writing was on the wall. I did my best but unfortunately not could not keep them afloat. I will miss them!
Has anyone heard anything regarding a new tenant for the BSC space? With Harris Cyclery leaving as well that’s a significant portion of the building vacant.
Sad news indeed. We purchased from HC, and have had service there despite being a stone’s throw away from Landry’s. Such a loss for the community.
When I dug my early 1970’s Raleigh Sport 3 speed from my mom’s basement last year it looked like it had sat for decades. It had needed a full overhaul. I called Harris where I purchased it as a teen and the got me the parts I needed. They also directed me to repair manuals that made the project a great success and a lot of fun. It was great knowing that old friends were still around. They will be truly missed.
I owe a lot to Jon and Sonny – true blue and seriously dedicated to the local cycling community. Their steadfastness, genuine care and love for bikes was felt World Wide. Can you imagine that? They gave Sheldon a platform and never stopped doing what they did. 70 years! I still work in cycling industry and it’s because of people like the Harris family. Salute to Harris Cyclery.