A bike store with a philosophy?
You bet! In an age of discount department stores, big box outlets, shady commitments, and profits before people one's business reputation and philosophy must be impeccable to succeed. So what is our commitment to our customer, and our philosophy in business?

1. Quality
Quality products are durable products, not disposable ones. Quality products are also safe and work properly. If we're not satisfied that the product is good quality, we won't sell it. We're often asked why we won't sell an adult bike under $200. It's because they're scrap metal - pure and simple. This philosophy of quality applies to bikes and accessories at any price point. If you won't be happy with it neither will we.

2. Value
Value is not about “The lowest price” or “Selling for less”. It’s about getting good return for the money spent. Value has to do with price in relation to quality, performance, and customer service. It doesn’t matter how cheap something is if it doesn’t work properly and safely and nobody can help you with it. Some stores will attempt to add the appearance of value by offering extravagant discounts from their regular prices when they have a sale. This is not value if they were charging far too much for the product to start with! Here we have sales for various reasons - product overstock, an unpopular colour, seasonal product changes, etc., but you'll always know that the regular price is a reasonable price. In fact, in almost all cases, our price beats the department stores on comparable features.

3. Service
The bicycle business is a service based business. A successful shop must go the extra mile for their customers. This is the biggest factor that separates us from the department stores and big box outlets. We provide top-notch service before and after the sale. Our employees are knowledgeable and honest about the products they sell and we make sure you are well looked after - beyond the sale. This includes product support in areas such as custom bike fitting, reasonable shop rates, experienced technicians and helpful information to make your cycling experience more enjoyable. We also get involved with the community through sponsorship of cycling events and charity efforts, as well as providing training courses on bicycle safety, maintenance, commuting and off-road clinics. These are all ways in which we help you make the most of your cycling experience. Service is also about relationship. We prefer the term “customer” over “consumer” as the former implies a reciprocal relationship that goes beyond “consuming” whatever can be gotten.

4. Choice of Product
In an age of mind-boggling options, our philosophy is to provide the cream of the crop for you to choose from. We combine innovation, quality, price and design to offer bikes and accessories from the best companies on the planet. We do not stock the brands that we do by accident or default. Each bicycle and accessory company that we deal with is chosen because it is the best in its category. Therefore, if we don't have what you're looking for, it's usually because we have something better. We spend a great deal of time purchasing wisely so that you can do the same. We also put high value on Canadian content. This is simply giving back to the citizens who make our success possible, as well as being the most environmentally and economically sustainable approach to business.

5. Community Involvement
We believe in giving back to the community that supports us. We do this with both our money and time. Staff members serve on many volunteer committees including the Minor Hockey Association, the Downtown Improvement Area Board of Management, and the Owen Sound Economic Development Committee. We support many community projects such as the Owen Sound Bike/Walk to Work Campaign, kid’s bike rodeos in public schools, and many local cycling and charity events. Our staff have been instrumental in the development of the Airtime Bike Park, Vision for Transportation Alternatives, the Owen Sound Pedestrian/Cycling Routes Map, and many trails including the Tom Thompson Trail. We see ourselves as culture builders, not commodity distributors. We give back because we love our community and we love what we do.

6. Sustainability
We believe in long term environmental and economic sustainability. There is too much short-term thinking in our society today. When we make decisions we think about how it will affect our children, our community, and our planet 5, 10, 50, or 100 years from now. Sometimes this means spending more money to make the responsible choice, but we believe that if everyone did the same we would live in a great society and leave a better legacy for our children. We hope you’ll join us.

7. Social Responsibility
We live in a very comfortable society, insulated from the realities of the rest of the world by our “stuff”. We don’t often think about the consequences of what we buy outside of the immediate benefits to ourselves. Because of the growing problem of inequitable global trade and manufacturing we have made a commitment to avoid all products that are produced under inequitable conditions. We will not support companies that profit from paying non-livable wages and inhumane working conditions. This philosophy also extends to how we treat our own employees. The current minimum wage is shameful and too many jobs allow for no creative input or “upward mobility”. We offer our employees satisfying jobs with livable wages.

8. Business Ethics
The age old Biblical saying “You reap what you sow” still holds true today. We believe that how we conduct ourselves ethically will come back around at some point. Ethical business means putting people, moral conduct, and creation before profits. This extends into areas of honesty, benevolence, environmental responsibility, fairness, and much more. No sense asking us to hide the tax on something; we won’t do it. You may need those tax dollars some day if you’re in the hospital.

Bottom line; we as a business care about our customers and we’re passionate about bikes and their benefits to society. We see the bicycle as a tool for social and environmental change and we conduct business around these principles.