WilliamKT2025
On Training Wheels
My city, Chattanooga, TN, had a bicycle shop downtown known simply as The Bike Shop beginning some time in the 1920s and running into the 1980s or early 1990s. They changed locations a couple of times, but were in their final location beginning some time in the 1940s. Dad got his Schwinn World Traveller 3-speed there sometime around 1955. They were a Schwinn shop for years. I think they closed in part due to the last owner's children not having any interest in keeping the shop going. There were other shops in town, but it seems like they were the Schwinn dealer for a long time.
By the time I got my first bike shop bike, it was a Schwinn, though their bankruptcy wasn't far into the future at that point. My bike came from Owen Cyclery in the Hixson area near Chattanooga. The receipt still has their Hwy 153 address, though I distinctly remember buying the bike at their shop on Northpoint Blvd. They have been in existence since 1973, so that may very well make them the oldest continuously operating bike shop in this area. Their inventory these days skews heavily toward Cannondale. A few years ago, they had a Yakima or Thule bike rack display in which a late-70s Paramount with its owner's manual still wired to the handlebars was being used to demonstrate how the rack held a bicycle. I was in there a couple of weeks ago and no longer saw that.
Another shop near me was Best Bicycles. The owner sold the Schwinn Signature line, which was the LBS line of Schwinns during the Pacific Cycle era. The owner was a kind, elderly gent and the shop was like walking into a treasure cave of all things vintage bicycle. He had old Schwinns, Raleighs, Peugeots, and all kinds of other brands and a variety of parts. The owner died and his family seems to be unsure of what the next step is. They had a new sign made for the business, but since it's not open at this time, the city made them take it down.
By the time I got my first bike shop bike, it was a Schwinn, though their bankruptcy wasn't far into the future at that point. My bike came from Owen Cyclery in the Hixson area near Chattanooga. The receipt still has their Hwy 153 address, though I distinctly remember buying the bike at their shop on Northpoint Blvd. They have been in existence since 1973, so that may very well make them the oldest continuously operating bike shop in this area. Their inventory these days skews heavily toward Cannondale. A few years ago, they had a Yakima or Thule bike rack display in which a late-70s Paramount with its owner's manual still wired to the handlebars was being used to demonstrate how the rack held a bicycle. I was in there a couple of weeks ago and no longer saw that.
Another shop near me was Best Bicycles. The owner sold the Schwinn Signature line, which was the LBS line of Schwinns during the Pacific Cycle era. The owner was a kind, elderly gent and the shop was like walking into a treasure cave of all things vintage bicycle. He had old Schwinns, Raleighs, Peugeots, and all kinds of other brands and a variety of parts. The owner died and his family seems to be unsure of what the next step is. They had a new sign made for the business, but since it's not open at this time, the city made them take it down.
