Time passes and things change. Kids don’t do paper rounds anymore (many won’t touch a newspaper in their entire lives), and it seems that young Saturday staff in bike shops are experiencing a similar extinction event. And this will cut off an entry point into the cycling world that has existed for decades, a leading industry body has said this week. But why are many bike shops no longer employing weekend staff?
According to Jonathan Harrison, Director of the Association of Cycle Traders (ACT), it is mainly down to rising costs and onerous employment obligations. However, retailers we spoke to cited changing bike trends, such as electronic gears, hydraulic disc brakes and tubeless tyres as major factors.
