News
Local Bike Shops
By Matt Mullins
[Reprinted from The Wisconsin State Journal , 6/12/02 ]
"The only jobs I've had are bikes and paper routes," said Saltvold, a resident of Minnetonka, Minn., and owner and founder of the chain of stores.
Now 38, Saltvold began his career by purchasing 50-plus used bicycles with saved-up newspaper route money, fixing them up in the barn at his parent's house in a Minneapolis suburb, and selling them.
That was 25 years ago.
The 13-year-old's business sales have climbed steadily since. In his senior year of high school, Saltvold opened his first store and enjoyed annual sales of $150,000; by 1994, he had three stores and $4 million in sales.
Today, Saltvold's enterprise enjoys sales of more than $8 million and employs up to 120 in peak season.
In the early years, Saltvold had a simpler approach: He carried BMX bikes, 10-speeds and 3-speeds.
Using catalog images, he would sell a bike to a customer, but make them wait until his mother could take him to a downtown Minneapolis bicycle distribution warehouse, where Saltvold would buy a display model to hand over to his customer.
"I didn't have (much) inventory," he said. "Sometimes I wouldn't
have the model, and I would just have the catalog."
It was on such an inventory pickup that Saltvold was asked for a business name, and hastily answered Erik's Bike Shop.
"It was kind of a hand-to-mouth existence," Saltvold recalls.
Saltvold's soft-spoken and thoughtful manner cracks a little when discussing his school days.
Juggling high school and a business offered its perks, he admits. An honors student, he joined a developmental business education program in which students spent half a day in school and the other half working.
Saltvold worked for himself, and graded himself. "I did well," he said with a sheepish grin.
"He is really our No. 1 customer," said Mike Sinyard, founder and president of Specialized, a leading specialty bicycle manufacturer.
In addition to Specialized, Erik's will carry Cannondale, Raleigh, Haro and another half-dozen lines of bicycles, as well as accessories from companies like Madison's Graber Products, a maker of bicycle racks.
Saltvold intends to open his 7,000-square-foot, Whitney Square Shopping Center space by the end of June.
The space features 17-foot ceilings (suitable for overhead racks full of bikes), enjoys extensive parking, and copious test-riding space out back.
The lines Erik's carries can be found at shops around Madison. Williamson Bicycle Works, Budget Bicycle Centers and Atkins Verona Bicycle Shop carry Specialized. Williamson and Budget both carry Cannondale.
Furthermore, the terms of service on bikes sold at various Erik's Bike Shops do not differ from those offered by Madison's shops.
Yet Saltvold contends his shop will feel different to customers, because of the service plans, the sales staff, and an on-site inventory of each manufacturer's full line of models and accessories.
Some in the Madison bicycle community remain skeptical. Some wonder if Specialized has pushed Saltvold into Madison in a skirmish against Trek Bicycle Corp., the Waterloo-based giant that dominates the specialty bicycle market, specialty bikes being bicycles designed for specific uses like off-road or long-distance tours.
Saltvold has heard the rumors. He shrugs them off, pointing out that Specialized is just one of 10 bicycle lines he carries.
Sinyard admitted his company competes with Trek, and that Specialized would like a stronger presence in Madison.
But he dismisses rumors that Specialized wants a prominent place in Trek's back yard or that the company has pressured Saltvold.
"(The Madison store) is of course good for us," said Sinyard, "but that's not a catalyst.
"Erik is making his own decision."
Always has.
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