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Victoria firm takes its vintage bike designs for a spin

There’s a new player on the Victoria bicycle retail scene, and though the look may be dated the business approach is something new.
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Brothers Brian, left, and Richard Kirk are part of the team behind Lochside Cycles, which offers locally designed vintage-styled bikes, some of which feature chrome, leather, wicker baskets and wooden boxes.

There’s a new player on the Victoria bicycle retail scene, and though the look may be dated the business approach is something new.

Lochside Cycles, the brainchild of brothers Brian and Richard Kirk, and long-time friend Jeff Zamluk, started selling locally designed bikes in January through a small network of bike shops in Victoria, Vancouver and Courtenay and through a direct-to-consumer online service.

The team behind the bikes, which have designs that harken back a few decades, launched without a storefront to save money.

“What we wanted to do was build stylish and affordable bikes for a lower price point,” said Kirk. “At that level, you find a lot of ugly, junky kinds of bikes, but we wanted something that anyone would think is pretty cool.”

Cool and stylish appears to mean retro, complete in some cases with chrome, leather and wooden boxes attached. The bikes are a throwback with eight styles from fixed-gear to cruisers designed to appeal to the commuter cyclists scene.

And the bikes, designed by the team in Victoria but built in China, start from about $400. “They’re classic-looking bikes with a modern twist to them,” said Kirk, noting they are marketing to the hip, urban person living downtown.

As for the marketplace, veteran bike retail competitors say it’s a challenge but bike use continues to increase steadily.

“Usage and sales in Victoria are pretty strong. It’s kind of firing in all segments,” said Marty Clermont, owner of Russ Hay’s, a Victoria staple since 1959.

Clermont noted the commuter and city-bike market is especially robust and there is growth in the category that serves short-course triathlon and duathlon. “It’s all categories and that’s excellent news.”

Tapping into a niche market is probably a good idea, at least for now, said veteran bike retailer Karl Ullrich, owner of Oak Bay Cycles. “It is one very complicated environment making sure you are relevant and providing value, and that’s something the vast majority of new folks to the game would totally underestimate,” he said.

Ullrich said while Victoria is a thriving market in terms of bike use, there are plenty of challenges — the cost of keeping inventory and expert staff, online retailers that allow for easy comparison-shopping and sourcing of equipment as well as strong existing retailers like Mountain Equipment Co-op and Sport Chek expanding their bike programs.

“You have to run a tidy business in this environment to be in the black,” he said. “The market is pretty well served as much as people might think that Victoria could use this or that, but you would have to be one awesome operator to come in and bite off a decent enough piece.”

He also warns serving a niche can be trouble if you’re successful.

“What some companies forget is that when they set up to deliver X, we step back and see if it’s required, and if it is, we start delivering X,” he said. “If a category has volume as soon as that is evident, then the big guys may step in and may be able to do it for a fraction of the price.”

Kirk said the market may be tough, but the Lochside look seems to be catching on. He won’t divulge hard sales figures but he estimates there are now 20 Lochside bikes on the roads of Victoria.

“I saw my first one last week. That made me smile, thinking ‘Hey, that’s us,’ ” he said. That temporary euphoria aside, the Lochside team is tackling the challenge of breaking into the market slowly and steadily. Kirk said they still have their “day jobs,” but want the business grow into a full-time occupation.

aduffy@timescolonist.com