RETAILERS


RIDE.RENT.REPAIR O


n the east coast of Scotland, a stone’s throw from the scenic views of Aberdeen Bay, sits Velohub. Initially launched around 12 months ago, Dale


Robertson, founder of Velohub, officially opened the doors to the store in January this year after spotting a gap in the market for an IBD in the city.


“Locally in Aberdeen, there were no independent cycle shops anymore sadly,” he explains. “It is quite a challenge for independent stores to compete in the current market, especially with online discount and such like, but that’s just the nature of how it is. “I was doing pop-ups last summer, just coming along with some BMX and electric bikes to gauge interest. I was doing that here and at a farm shop just down the road as well. “It was good, but I felt we needed the bricks and mortar for people to come in, touch and feel these things.” An opportunity arose to take an empty unit at Transition


18 | May 2024


Daniel Blackham speaks to Velohub founder, Dale Robertson


Extreme, a modern social enterprise and Scottish charity which houses a range of indoor and outdoor facilities including: rock climbing, a high ropes course, skatepark, pump track, martial arts space, creative arts zone and café. The initial focus for Robertson was electric bikes. That


“e-bike smile” – which has become a much-used term across the trade – can only be achieved by getting people on them.


“I’ve been a keen mountain biker for as long as I can remember and BMX before that, so I’ve always loved bikes,” says Robinson “Electric bikes are a great way of getting people back on their bikes and getting out and doing things. “There were a couple of people in our [riding] groups making the switch, and I could start to see the advantages of that for them and for other users. “So Velohub was born.”


www.bikebiz.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68