The History of Bikesport

Bikesport was founded in August 1990 by Rich and Ginny Politz and was originally located in a small strip mall on Main Street in Harleysville, PA. The store's receipts were done in pencil on columned paper. The logo (albeit ugly) was drawn at our dinner table the month before opening. Spending money on designers and computers was not an option back then.

Originally called Bikesport Bike & Fitness, it didn't take long to realize that fitness equipment was not going to be a specialty for us. So, in 1992, upon incorporating the small but rapidly growing company, we dropped the fitness line and became Bikesport, Inc. The town of Harleysville had been identified as the fastest growing area of Montgomery County, which it proved to be. They welcomed us as their only bicycle store. We catered to them and they were loyal to us. Their bike path became our "test ride" trail. Trek Bicycles was our main brand and still is. In our first year, Trek gave their "Rookie of the Year" award to Bikesport.

Life was good, business was great. Cyclists loved shopping in our store. Staff members loved working here. We got the bug to open a second store. The timing seemed right. We opened store number two in April 1997 in Trappe, PA. A much larger, more state-of-the-art shop, the Trappe store grew rapidly, as this was now the fastest growing area of the county. We patted ourselves on the back for picking two great locations. The Trappe store grew so quickly that our staff doubled rapidly, and so did our customer base.

But...having two stores was draining us physically, emotionally, and financially. The business was becoming more and more stressful. We were starting to lose sight of our original purpose, which was to do something we loved, something really fun and challenging. Well, challenging it was! Fun, we weren't so sure anymore. The answer to the problem was obvious, but painful. In October of 1998, we closed the doors of our Harleysville store to focus on just one location. This enabled us to have better control and to provide even better service to our customers.

Now celebrating start of our 21st season, Bikesport continues to be the largest bike shop in the area and carries a vast selection. In the fall of 2006, an exciting career change moved Rich to Florida and I took over as sole owner.  As always, Bikesport's focus has been, and continues to be, to serve our customers in the friendliest manner. Everyone who works here has an interest in bicycle riding at different levels and can provide assistance to any customer confidently.    I hope you'll stop by to shop or visit sometime - we'd love to see you!

Ginny Politz
Owner