BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — Full Cycle is the latest retailer to announce a move off of Boulder's Pearl Street, weeks after Vecchio's Bicicletteria announced a move.
Vecchio's, in business for 20 years, and Full Cycle, founded 38 years ago, are currently a few doors apart on the street. A Rapha Clubhouse is in between them, and University Bikes is less than a mile up the street.
But the owners of Vecchio's and Full Cycle each say ever-increasing rents and a lack of parking contributed to a decision to move eastward.
“As our rent downtown continued to soar due to regular annual increases in base rent and astronomical property taxes, we found ourselves in an unsustainable position at the end of last year,” said Full Cycle’s owner and general manager, Russell Chandler. “But with the recent resurgence in demand for bikes and the departure of two long term retailers (Performance in 2019 and Bicycle Village in 2020), moving east now makes a lot of sense for us. It helps that I was also able to purchase an ownership share in the new building.”
Early next year, Full Cycle will move to 2355 30th Street into a free-standing building that was the former home of Vitamin Cottage which later became Natural Grocers. The retail complex also includes a Whole Foods and a Barnes & Noble bookstore. The complex also was previously home to Bicycle Village, a Vail resorts-owned retailer that closed this year. The area is close to the Goose Creek Bike Path and Valmont Bike Park. (Vecchio's new location, which it will occupy early next month, is at Iris and 28th Street, about a mile north of the new Full Cycle.)
The new Full Cycle building is 8,460 square feet, 30% larger than the store's current space on Pearl. Chandler said the space will allow a larger and more open retail floor space, an expanded service area, a dedicated bike rental area, and a larger, more private, bike fitting room. The larger single location will eliminate the need for offsite storage and service, helping to reduce operating overhead, he said.
The new space will also include Full Cycle's coffee, beer, wine, and food cafe, called The Tune Up at Full Cycle. Full Cycle remodeled its Pearl Street location to add The Tune Up in 2017. Besides the food offerings, the Tune Up also hosts live music and community events. The Tune Up side of the business has struggled this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, Chandler indicated.
"We’ve got a lot of work to do this winter to build out the new space and move everything over in time to hit the ground running for the 2021 season,” he said. “Fortunately, we’ve got great momentum behind us this year, at least on the bike side, and our team is very excited about the change. Our hope is that once the pandemic situation subsides, that the Tune Up will bounce back strongly in its new home.”
Full Cycle carries Giant, Liv, Kona, Ibis, Bianchi, and Surly bikes.
