The shop has served a number of generations of the identical households over the a long time.
A family-run bicycle store has introduced it’s going to shut its doorways for the ultimate time (Picture: Getty)
A family-run bicycle store has introduced it’s going to shut its doorways for the ultimate time after greater than six a long time in enterprise. Bent’s Biking, primarily based in Lakeland, Florida, is ready to close completely right now (March 28), bringing an finish to 65 years of buying and selling.
The shop first opened in 1961 after being launched by Roland Bent, and it has remained in the identical spot ever since. It later got here below the possession of his son, Steve Bent, who took over the enterprise in 1982. Through the years, the store grew to become a widely known a part of the native space, promoting bikes and gear to generations of consumers.
Bent’s Biking, primarily based in Lakeland, Florida, is ready to close completely right now (March 28) (Picture: Google Maps)
Steve Bent informed The Ledger the shop had served a number of generations of the identical households over the a long time.
He mentioned: “We’ve had second, even third-generation individuals which have been coming in, shopping for bikes for years now.”
At its peak within the Nineteen Seventies, the store was promoting round 1,500 bicycles a yr.
Nonetheless, enterprise later started to say no as demand modified and fewer individuals purchased conventional street bikes.
Mr Bent mentioned: “Once I purchased the shop from dad in ’82, we have been on a downslope that continued for years. A number of bike retailers went out of enterprise. It was an extended winter for biking.”
The shop first opened in 1961 after being launched by Roland Bent (Picture: Google Maps)
Though demand later barely recovered with the rise of mountain bikes and different traits, the enterprise by no means returned to its earlier peak ranges.
In newer years, the age of the constructing and rising prices have additionally performed a task within the determination to shut.
The store operates from a property courting again to 1923, and sustaining the positioning has change into more and more troublesome.
Insurance coverage prices and the situation of the constructing have been among the many components behind the closure.
Regardless of shutting the present retailer, there’ll nonetheless be a biking enterprise within the space.
Through the years, the store offered an estimated 32,000 bicycles (Picture: Google Maps)
Bent’s Biking supervisor, Zachary Kulp, is opening a brand new enterprise referred to as Lakeland Bicycle Co. close by.
Nonetheless, Bent’s Biking itself will shut for good after greater than six a long time serving the group.
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Through the years, the store offered an estimated 32,000 bicycles and stocked a variety of merchandise, together with manufacturers comparable to Cannondale and Specialised, in addition to electrical bikes in newer occasions.
It additionally supplied repairs, equipment and gear for each informal riders and extra skilled cyclists.
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