The Chain That Binds
Cycling and Coffee's Unlikely Partnership
By Rebecca Ragain

If you haven't been on a bike since grade school, you may not be aware that bicycling and coffee go together like meat and potatoes. "It's a pretty simple equation: coffee + bikes = fun," wrote Mark Harrison in a recent blog entry for Bicycling magazine.

Coffee calls to all kinds of cyclists: mountain bikers who live for adrenaline rushes, commuters who matter-of-factly pedal to work or to the grocery store, and "roadies" whose perfect weekend involves a 30- to 60-mile ride on paved roads. "Cyclists, in general, do enjoy a strong cup of coffee, whether to get going in the morning before a ride or to unwind after a long day in the saddle," says Minneapolis bike shop owner Tom Everson. "I would say that a good 75 percent drink coffee," says Darrin Duhamel, who owns Revo Bicycles & Espresso Bar in Dana Point, Calif. "Caffeine is one of those elements that cyclists want to put into their bodies."

ONE-STOP SHOPS FOR CYCLISTS, COFFEE LOVERS

If you raised your eyebrows when you read the word "espresso" in Duhamel's business name, you wouldn't be the first. The concept of combining bicycle retail, bicycle service and a coffee shop with a full-service espresso bar can be confusing to people who aren't cyclists. "People just don't think about 'bicycle' and 'espresso bar' in the same sentence," says Duhamel. Cyclists, on the other hand, tend to ask Duhamel: "Why didn't someone do this sooner?"

Actually, someone did.

Twelve years ago, triathlete Craig Crawford founded Sedona Bike & Bean in Arizona. It was one of the first U.S. businesses, perhaps even the very first, to combine a full-scale coffee bar with bicycle retail and repair services. "Craig, like a lot of us cyclists, thought that cycling and coffee go hand-in-hand," explains Sedona Bike & Bean manager Anthony Fanelli. "He just went ahead and did it. It was that straightforward."

Today, Sedona Bike & Bean is known for high-end bike sales and rentals, a full-service bike shop, and a cozy coffee bar, which brings visiting mountain bikers from all over the world together with locals for coffee, snacks and conversation. "We have a very loyal local following from both the coffee and bike aspects," says Fanelli. "There are people who have bought very high-end bikes who come in every day for coffee . . . plop down for an hour and talk to us and each other." Current owner Jimmy Monahan attributes Sedona Bike & Bean's success partially to the fact that the business doesn't "shortchange the java." The coffee bar serves organic drip coffee and locally roasted espresso.

Serving top-tier coffee is essential to the success of One on One Bicycle Studio in Minneapolis, says Gene Oberpriller, who owns the shop with his wife, Jennifer. Because Caribou Coffee, Starbucks and Dunn Bros Coffee locations surround the 2,400-square-foot shop, which has dedicated areas for both bikes and coffee, the Oberprillers knew they had to use the best roaster they could find; they settled on locally based B&W Specialty Coffee Co. One on One's coffee shop attracts a lot of customers who work at nearby downtown businesses but aren't cyclists. Not at first, anyway. "Some have become cyclists because they come in and catch the bug," says Oberpriller.

CONSISTENT COFFEE, TEMPERAMENTAL BIKES

The bike shop portion of One on One is six years old, but the coffee shop is only five. The Oberprillers wanted to open both portions of the business simultaneously, but it took them a year to acquire the foodservice permits for the coffee shop.

In Dana Point, Duhamel went through a similarly irksome process. For six years, he operated a smaller bike shop across the street from his current location. When he decided to move into the bigger space and add an espresso bar, he found it challenging to obtain the permits to operate what technically qualifies as a full-scale restaurant in the same space as a retail store. "It took a Herculean effort to pull this off," Duhamel says. "Maybe that's what kept others from doing this in the past." However, once they've successfully negotiated the red tape, bike shop owners find that their coffee bars are worth the startup hassle. "The coolest thing about the coffee business is that it's super-consistent, where the bike business is not," explains Oberpriller. "Cycling is, from a financial standpoint, a huge roller coaster."

On a dreary winter day, for example, One on One might do $250 in bike-related sales, while in the summer, daily sales of bikes and accessories reach $6,000 or $7,000. Meanwhile, the coffee shop reliably pulls in about $1,000 per day. "The coffee shop keeps everything going," Oberpriller says. "We're on track for the coffee shop to do a third of the business."

Located between San Diego and Los Angeles, Revo Bicycles & Espresso Bar is attracting groups of far-pedaling cyclists from both cities. That's unusual for a bike shop. Duhamel explains, "Most bike shops are local. You won't go more than four or five miles to a bike store. This has extended our sphere of influence by 50 or 60 miles."

As more cyclists hear about the combination of services that Revo Bicycles & Espresso Bar offers, the shop is becoming a destination. Cyclists appreciate the option of having a flat tire fixed or a component adjusted while they sit down to re-fuel with coffee and food, knowing that their bikes are safe in Revo's secure parking area. At other coffee shops, Duhamel says, "You'll see 20 to 30 cyclists holding their bikes while five or six people go in and get coffee for everyone else." Although these groups of cyclists are welcome—indeed, the niche market was part of Duhamel's business plan, which incorporated the input of former Diedrich Coffee executives—they do create unique customer traffic patterns. "There are moments when it's insane," Duhamel says, particularly on weekends. "A pack of 60 cyclists will roll up all at once and 50 want coffee." Duhamel recalls that one of his baristas "snapped" the first time that a big group of cyclists came through. To solve that problem, Duhamel learned how to pull shots so that he can help behind the counter when a cycling club arrives en masse.

Duhamel's new location opened in August; the coffee shop portion of the business has not yet turned a profit. That's fine with Duhamel, who projected that the coffee bar would run in the red for the first 18 months. At present, revenue from Duhamel's previously established bike business keeps the new 10,000-square-foot store afloat. The coffee shop is also attracting local regulars who love the Lavazza coffee that Duhamel serves; Duhamel estimates that non-cyclists buy 50 to 70 percent of the coffee sold. He's also selling a lot of beans, which he didn't expect.

PROFITABLE FOR ROASTERS

Professional, competitive cyclists not only enjoy coffee, they also utilize it for its effects on the body. "Caffeine is one of the last legal drugs," says Mark Ritz, a former bicycle racer and co-owner of Kinetic Koffee Company, a micro-roaster in Arcata, Calif. "Many, many people—racers and riders—carry their own espresso machines when they travel." With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that pro cyclists have been buying coffee from roasters, branding it and selling it to raise money for the sport. Three-time U.S. pro champion "Fast Freddie" Rodriguez and pro cyclist Tom Danielson both advertise exclusive blends with their respective names on the labels.

Jittery Joe's, a roaster based in Athens, Ga., has sponsored a cycling team since 2000. The roaster claims that its 10-year deal with "The Bean Team" is the longest contract in professional cycling history. Proceeds from the sales of Jittery Joe's organic "Morning Ride" coffee support The Bean Team. On its Web site, the company sells a 45-minute DVD about the team, as well as jerseys and cycling caps.

Bike shops can buy these cyclist-centric packages of coffee through the very same distributors that sell bike parts, explains Oberpriller. For example, a manager might order 15 chains, 10 tires and a pound of Jittery Joe's coffee.

In the two years since Kinetic Koffee became a private entity, Ritz and his wife, Charlie Jordan, have built their business on the strength of this niche: The vast majority of Kinetic Koffee sales are to bicycle and outdoor shops. "There's an incredibly high correlation between outdoor enthusiasts and caffeine addiction," says Ritz, whose customers range from Bad Beaver Bikes in Butte, Mont., to Champion Cycling in Jacksonville, Fla.

Although many dealers immediately understand why they would want to sell coffee in their outdoor shops, others take some convincing. Ritz compares coffee sales to the energy bar market: "Twenty years ago, if you would have gone to a bike shop and told them that a substantial part of their business would be selling what is essentially a candy bar, they would have laughed at you."

Today, most bike shops sell energy bars and other pocket-sized pick-me-ups such as energy gels. "So why not coffee?" asks Ritz. "It's just the natural extension of cyclists' needs." So far, Ritz's business model has proved successful. Kinetic Koffee is continually growing, to the point that Ritz is now considering hiring his first employees.

COURTING CYCLISTS

Business owners outside the bicycle industry are starting to embrace cyclists as well. In Portland, Ore., Amanda Felt decided to include a bike-thru window as part of her Black Sheep Bakery Cawffeeshop. At first, she considered the bike-thru window mainly as a way to increase the capacity for sales in her tiny operation, which features a sliding corner window with pylons to protect the bike-thru space from cars. The window is hip-height with a ledge. The coffee shop happens to be located near a major bike route in a city repeatedly hailed for its high numbers of cyclists. In other words, all the pieces just fell into place. "I was actually shocked to find that no one else was doing this," Felt says.

ON THE GO