Recently named best pro bicycle shop in the country for the third time, the managers of Belmont Wheelworks say it is all about the customer.
"Whether you're looking for a used bike for your kid or a top-of-the-line bike, we try to treat those folks equally," said store manager Peter Mooney of Waltham. Mooney runs the Trapleo Road store with Waltham resident Clint Paige and John Allis.
"We take a real grassroots approach," Mooney said.
For the third time in five years, Wheelworks received the Bicycle Retailer and Industry News' BRAINy Award for Best Pro Shop. Mooney said the BRAINy award is selected by national vendors and using consumer feedback.
But the awards don't end there for the bike shop.
Wheelworks has received the League of American Bicyclists 2008 Highest Rated Consumer's Choice Bicycle Shop, BicycleResearch.com Top 100 Retailers for five consecutive years and the Boston Pheonix Best Bike Shop for 2009.
Mooney's bicycle background is part of what makes Wheelworks unique.
Mooney moved in 1974 to England, where he spent a year and a half riding in cycling competitions and learning how to build steel bicycle frames by hand.
Despite the rising popularity of the lighter carbon fiber frames, Mooney said he still has a following of riders who prefer the steel frames that he makes in the store.
When Mooney returned to the United States in 1976, he decided he wanted to set up his own bicycle business like the European model, where "any good bike shop would have an in-house frame builder," he said.
While working in a bike shop on Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, Moody met Paige, who at the time was the manager of the store. Over lunch one day in 1976, the two decided to open their own bike shop.
The first Wheelworks opened in 1977 in Winchester. It has been at its current location since 1984. At that time Wheelworks was one of the only shops that built custom bikes, Mooney said.
Although now most bicycle stores do fittings, Mooney said, "we've been doing this longer."
"We've put more people through various clinics and educational sessions," Mooney said.
The bike shop works with the customer, adjusting details on the bikes like the height of the saddle in relation to the handlebars.
Both Paige and Mooney say the biking industry has changed over the past 30 years.
"When we first started, there were road bikes, children's bikes and three-speeds," Paige said. "Over time, as the industry evolved, we had to as well. We expanded our product offerings as well, but we're still true to our core mission of offering the best possible service to customers at the best prices."
Paige said Wheelworks has customers who have stuck with them since they first opened in 1977.
Mooney attributes much of Wheelworks' success to the staff.
"It's all about the ability to motivate your staff and keep people moving in the right direction," he said.
Mooney and Paige spend a significant amount of time in the store, so that they are managing by example, Mooney said.
"Most people motivated to work in bicycle shops are doing it purely because they love bikes, but that can backfire if the staff has an arrogant attitude," he said.
Mooney said in the end it is all about the customer.
"People in here shopping for their first bike ... on a tight budget, that person is hugely important to us in addition to the person looking for the best thing we've got."
Looking toward the next five years, Mooney, who rides his bike to work year-round, said he hopes to see more people commuting to work on two wheels.
"I love to see people starting their bike rides from home, finding a nice route from the city to country areas," he said. "There are so many short trips that people take, and it's just a crime to have to start up your car to do those."
Wheelworks has two other locations: ACE Wheelworks in Somerville, at 145 Elm St., and Wheelworks Too at 22 Church St., in Belmont.
