Ann Arbor’s bike business has been booming since the pandemic began, and that includes two bike shops on the city’s west side.
Michigan chain D&D Bicycles got its local start sharing space with Sun & Snow Sports in the mini-mall on Jackson in front of the GQT Quality 16. Now it’s moved a mile and a half east, to the former Art Van PureSleep just west of Maple Rd. Wheels in Motion then took the Sun & Snow spot as its second Ann Arbor location.
Ian Connick, manager at Wheels in Motion, says they began moving into the Jackson location in September. But the ramp-up has been slow, because of a shortage of bicycles and parts from factories in Asia.
Connick said in mid-November the pandemic “shut down the factories and killed production for this year. We are just now getting bikes we ordered in May and June.”
The shop is receiving forty to fifty bicycles a week, and “as soon as we get them, we build them,” he says. But Connick fears customers will be disappointed if they come in the shop expecting to purchase bicycles as holiday gifts. Orders placed now won’t arrive until mid-2021.
Wheels in Motion also doesn’t have many accessories; he says the store will stock up on those in the spring.
D&D, whose seven other stores are mainly in the Detroit area, gets 3,000 more square feet of selling space, says Felicia VanBocxlaer, a corporate manager.
“Having our own location will allow us to support our customers not only in the summer months, but in the winter months as well,” she says. “This is becoming increasingly important as we are seeing a rise in year-around commuters as well as ‘fat tire bikers’ when the snow falls.” (Though other D&D stores also carry hockey equipment, this one does not.)
She says D&D’s inventory “has improved” since summer, including its main brands—Giant, Liv Cycling, and Thule. Availability depends on the bike, and D&D is taking orders for 2021 delivery.
Wheels in Motion, 3780 Jackson Rd., (734) 707–0130. Tues.–Sat. 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Closed Sun. & Mon. wheelsinmotion.us
D&D Bicycles, 2570 Jackson Ave., (734) 522–1300. Mon.–Fri. 11 a.m.–7 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.–6 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.–5 p.m. ddbicyclesandhockey.com
