Whether a logical next step for a struggling industry, or just the latest fad, cycle cafés have spent the better part of the last six years sweeping the country.
Logically, the concept of a place in which you can take a pit stop, get your flat tyre fixed and replenish your energy levels with a cup of coffee in a social environment seems like a stellar idea, but is the reality of running a cycle café truly as idealistic as it seems? We caught up with three of London’s premier independent cycle cafés to find out who they are, what they do, and whether the idea is transferrable to struggling bike shops.
The Founder:
LOOK MUM NO HANDS
Sam Humpheson,
Owner & Mechanic
Can you tell us a little about the company’s history?
We opened in April 2010 and there wasn’t anything like this around when we started. I’d been in the bike industry for the best part of 15 years before we opened. One of my partners was in the café business and was very into the coffee scene. We’d been riding for a long time together and the concept was that by merging the two worlds, we could change the traditional bike shop environment that isn’t necessarily that welcoming.
Does the shop have a strong community surrounding it?
We were lucky in that we were almost instantly accepted in the local community. Our customer base is incredibly diverse. Half our customers come here just because we’re a good café, but there are also people here getting their bikes fixed, and there are kids outside using the pump service all the time.
Do you organise events?
We were overwhelmed by the amount of people who came to us straightaway to put on events. We’ve had people coming to us with films and exhibitions and suddenly there was this whole group of people who were keen to do these things but didn’t have a space in which to do them. We’ve had everything from speed dating for cyclists, down to the quite serious Tour de France talks.
How is the café side of the business run?
You can’t just open a crap café and put a picture of a bike on the wall and call it a cycling café. When we launched there was a bit of an explosion in the London coffee scene that we were part of and we’re often featured in good coffee guides. There’s also been a real boom in the popularity of the craft beer scene and we’ve always had a massive interest in that scene too. We have craft beers on tap and we’ve got a lot of support from independent breweries.
How successful has the concept been so far?
It’s interesting because this is my first time opening a business so it’s really great that it’s been a success. Pretty much straight away we needed to bring in extra staff, and not many bike shops ever get past that stage where the owners are constantly working their asses off. So that’s a very good place for us to be.
Is the cycle café idea viable for struggling bike shops?
The concept is sound. Bikes and coffee are good bedfellows. It’s not going to work for everybody but bike shops definitely need to be a more welcoming space. I think shops need to soften up a bit. Engagement is important and community is a very big deal. Offer early and late drop-off, suddenly you’re a good option for fitting into people’s busy days. Having friendly staff is a massive need, and if you’re in the right location having a small café could work well. If you’re in a great location and you have a lot of room then I think providing some sort of a social space is a really great idea.
Kieran Howells
