By all accounts, the bike shop from around the corner should have disappeared years ago; at least, if you’d believed the predictions of the past two decades. Direct-to-consumer brands, online retailers and bike megastores. Add online bike configurators, virtual bike fits and the promise of a fully digital customer journey, and the local bike shop seemed destined for the same fate as the neighbourhood electronics store – just another empty shop window, or maybe a new pizza takeaway.
Yet despite all those predictions, the local bike dealer has refused to become obsolete. Workshops, showrooms and retail floors are still everywhere. People still help other people choose frame sizes, groupsets and e-bike motors. And while we, in the cycling bubble, tend to think in terms of brands and vibes, much of what makes cycling special still happens face-to-face, between a retailer and a customer.
So where does bricks-and-mortar retail stand today? What challenges does it face? And why has it proved more resilient than so many other industries?
To find out, we spoke to an organisation more deeply intertwined with independent bike retail than almost anyone else.
Where Pragmatism Meets Idealism
The Zweirad-Einkaufs-Genossenschaft, or Two-wheeled Purchasing Cooperative is something of a unicorn in the cycling industry. Product development, manufacturing, proprietary brands, wholesale distribution, marketing, workshop certification and retailer services – it does a little bit of everything.
And unlike most companies, ZEG belongs to its members: the retailers themselves. Founded more than sixty years ago, the cooperative’s logo now hangs above the shop windows of more than 1,000 bike stores across Europe.
We sat down with Axel Hintermaier, Head of Member Support at ZEG, to talk about step-through bikes, the future of bike retail and… running shoes.
E-MOUNTAINBIKE: What did a bike shop look like back in 1966?
Axel Hintermaier: Back then, bike shops were closer to small kiosks than the experience centres we know today. You might have seen five bikes in the shop window. Customers could choose between a diamond frame or a step-through frame, and maybe two colours. If someone had heard about a new bike or seen an advert in the newspaper, they’d go to their local dealer – not to compare hundreds of different models, but to buy that particular bike, assuming the shop had one in stock. Back then, the local bike shop was the only link between the brand and the customer.
E-MTB: How much idealism was behind the idea of founding a cooperative?
Axel: It wasn’t just a pragmatic solution to an everyday problem, it was about building a strong community. A single bike dealer had virtually no bargaining power with manufacturers. Eight dealers working together suddenly had a very different position. Instead of ordering ten locks, they ordered a hundred – and secured much better terms. That created the economic foundation that allowed them to build sustainable businesses over the long term.
Our retailers aren’t customers – they’re owners.
E-MTB: If you compare a bike shop in 1966 with one today, what’s changed the most?
Axel: Bike retailers sell a lot more than bikes. They sell mobility solutions, leasing contracts, service packages and software updates. Modern bicycles have become far more complex – and so has the role of the retailer. Back then, it was all about bikes, inner tubes and locks. Today you also have to deal with e-commerce, data protection, marketing, staff management and an ever-growing list of legal requirements. Running a bike shop now demands far more than simply selling bicycles. That’s why the need for support has grown so significantly.
E-MTB: How has that changed what ZEG offers its members?
Axel: In the early days, the focus was simple: buying together to get better prices. Today we support our members in completely different areas – from workshop training and digitalisation to marketing, store design and legal advice.
E-MTB: The word cooperative still carries a certain romantic idealism. How does the model actually work?
Axel: Our retailers aren’t customers – they’re owners. When someone joins ZEG, they buy cooperative shares and become part of shaping the organisation’s future. Through a range of working groups, the experience retailers gain on the shop floor feeds directly into product development, services and marketing. The principle is simple: decisions about the bike trade should be made with retailers, not for them.
The Value Chain Gang
Bicycles are emotional products. We buy bikes. We ride bikes. We talk about bikes. Hardly anyone posts unboxing videos of a toaster. Bike brands figured that out long ago. With clips, campaigns and activations, they target our reward centres directly.
The structures behind independent bike retail, by contrast, speak more to the prefrontal cortex. It takes a bit of brainpower to appreciate what ZEG actually does. Round tables instead of aero optimisation. Data protection instead of design language. Workshop certification instead of vibes.
Yet ZEG doesn’t just work behind the scenes – it also takes centre stage. In retail, that stage is the shop window. Brands like Pegasus and Bulls are exclusive to ZEG members. Then there are brands like Kettler, Hercules, Flyer, ROTWILD and i:SY, which also belong to ZEG, but are available through retailers outside the cooperative.
What began as a purchasing cooperative has grown into one of the most influential players in the European bicycle industry – including its own manufacturing facilities in Germany. The Kettler factory in Sankt Ingbert is home to one of Germany’s largest and most advanced bicycle production facilities. Up to 200.000 bikes can be painted and assembled there every year, using frames manufactured in Asia. ZEG has long since become more than a buying group. Today, it controls large parts of the value chain itself.
E-MTB: A purchasing cooperative with its own manufacturing sounds like a contradiction. Why does ZEG build bikes at all?
Axel: Independent bike retail can only succeed with high-quality products. Above all, we want to develop our brands through quality. That’s why we’ve invested heavily in raising our manufacturing and quality standards over the past few years. You won’t necessarily notice it at first glance. But when a customer still feels they’re riding a reliable bike after two or three years – that’s what builds trust in a brand.
E-MTB: When you talk about quality, what does that actually mean?
Axel: Quality begins long before the first ride. A good bike has to be easy to assemble, reliable, easy to service, and still feel like a premium product years down the line. Our goal is for both the mechanic building the bike and the customer riding it every day to enjoy the product. That’s what ultimately defines a strong specialist retail brand.
The Internet is Exceptionally Good at Selling Bikes. It’s Considerably Worse at Repairing Them.
E-MTB: What’s the biggest advantage local bike retailers still have over online retail today?
Axel: Proximity to the customer. Bike shops are part of the local infrastructure. If something goes wrong with your bike, you want someone around the corner you can rely on – whether it’s a puncture, a routine service or a technical issue with your ebike. A bicycle’s story doesn’t end when it’s sold. Ideally, the retailer supports the customer throughout the entire life of the product. That’s something online retail can only do to a very limited extent.
E-MTB: Can a bike shop still succeed today if it focuses purely on selling bikes?
Axel: No. Those days are over. The rise of online retailers made it clear that specialist bike shops can no longer compete on price alone. Service is what makes the difference. Sales and the workshop have become inseparable. Without outstanding service, a bike shop has no long-term future.
From Bike Buyers to Bike Riders
Anyone who’s followed the discussions around the cycling industry, overcapacity and the post-pandemic downturn has probably wondered what the future of the bike trade actually looks like. Leasing schemes have filled garages with premium bikes, countless basements are home to barely-ridden bicycles gathering dust, and even people who never thought they’d own one now seem to have a gravel bike.
But how do you turn bike buyers into bike riders? People who see their local bike shop as the go-to place for everything cycling. A place to meet for group rides, talk bikes, get repairs done – and, yes, spend money.
Perhaps that’s exactly where the next stage in the evolution of specialist retail begins. Not as a sales floor, but as a meeting place. A hub for group rides. A workshop, café, event organiser, route planner and trusted point of contact all rolled into one. In that world, the retailer isn’t just selling a product – they’re opening the door to a community.
The drop bar scene is already moving in that direction. Coffee rides, community rides and shop rides have become part of the business model in many places. In the ebike world, by contrast, the relationship between customer and retailer still too often ends at the checkout. Maybe it’s time to rethink what service actually means. Not just advice, bike fitting and repairs, but the ability to keep people riding for years to come.
Expert Advice Is a Premium Product
E-MTB: Why are you convinced that brick-and-mortar bike retail still has a long-term future?
Axel: Because bicycles remain deeply analogue products. You have to ride them, experience them and feel them. Twenty years from now, we still want to be out riding – not sitting on the sofa wearing a VR headset. That’s exactly why there will always be places where people can test bikes, get expert advice, and receive proper service. Digitalisation will complement specialist retail – but it won’t replace it.
E-MTB: Many people still believe that physical retail will eventually be displaced by online shopping.
Axel: I had an experience recently that made me think otherwise. I was shopping for running shoes with my daughter and, honestly, I assumed that business had moved online by now. The opposite was true. The shop was packed. Everywhere you looked, people were getting advice, and customers of all ages were taking the time to find the right shoe. Even I was surprised.
E-MTB: What ultimately brings customers into a bike shop – the bike, or the person selling it?
Axel: Our retailers are very clear about that: it’s the people. In fact, one of our marketing working groups recently confirmed exactly that. Many dealers now deliberately feature their own staff in brochures and campaigns because people build trust with people. Of course, some customers prefer to shop anonymously. But just as many value personal relationships. I see it among my own friends. They don’t say, “I’m going to dealer XYZ.” They say, “I’m going to see Thomas – he’ll have a look at my bike.” Once customers know – and recognise – the people behind a shop, a relationship begins to develop. That’s something brick-and-mortar retail will always have over online shopping.
We sell joy.
E-MTB: Do you think expert advice itself can become a product?
Axel: We’re already seeing that in other industries. When you buy running shoes, skis or tennis rackets, some retailers charge separately for expert advice, and then deduct that fee if you make a purchase. It shows how valuable personal expertise has become. Why should qualified advice always be free?
E-MTB: Why would you still open a bike shop today?
Axel: Because we sell joy. Customers leave the shop with a smile on their face, looking forward to their first ride. There are plenty of industries where people buy products out of necessity or obligation. A bicycle, on the other hand, is something you buy because you want to experience something. That’s a privilege – and one of the best reasons I can think of to become a bike retailer today.
Words: Nils Hofmeister Photos: ZEG
