Our History
Oak Ridge Bicycle Center was opened for business in 1973 by C.F. Harrison and Michael Yurconic. By 1976 Yurconic was gone, Harrison moved out of state, and I took over as manager. I bought the business soon after, and I still own it today.
In the 70’s there were no mountain bikes, comfort bikes, hybrids or fitness bikes on the market. They simply didn’t exist yet. When I took over Oak Ridge Bicycle Center, we had road bikes from Jeunet, Beacon, Panasonic, Atala, Campania, and Speedway, and early BMX bikes from the original Mongoose, Redline, Dirt Squirt, and others.
It was a crazy time toward the end of the “Bike Boom of the 70s”, and bike brands and companies appeared, and disappeared quickly. None of the iconic brands from that era still exist in their original form, and many continue today only as a sticker or familiar logo on something far different from their ancestors.
Oak Ridge Bicycle Center also sold French, Italian, and Japanese bikes, and American BMX bikes during the early years. By the late 70s and early 80s, Japanese component manufacturers were making life tough for European brands like Campagnolo, Huret, Simplex, Mafac, and others. The next revolution had begun, and, quality and reliability improved dramatically on the better bikes, driven by consistent improvements from Shimano.
Oak Ridge Bicycle Center bought four of the new-fangled mountain bikes in 1982, as soon as the first early models hit the market. These early versions were, for their time, a high quality Japanese bike with 12 speeds, road components, and funny looking motorcycle type plastic brake levers. We put one of them in the shop window, sitting at eye level on top of whiskey barrels, and enjoyed the reaction from people walking by who stopped to check it out, and then came in and asked “what is that thing?” They sold for $600, and we should have bought more. By the next year, 1983, we bought several different models, and sales took off. For the next several years, everyone wanted a new mountain bike, and road bike sales fell, slowly at first, then dramatically.
BMX was huge in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. We had a lot of fun with BMX and Freestyle for years. Craig S., Mark L., Eric S., Chris H., and many others helped keep it crazy around here. The sidewalk in front of Oak Ridge Bicycle Center was always full of 20” bikes, and the shop was always full of teenaged hoodlums. I don’t remember how we ever got anything done at the shop. Good times. It was great.
In the 80’s, mountain bikes dominated sales, but by the early 90’s, the first hybrid and comfort bikes appeared, aimed at the rider who wanted to sit up more upright, but didn’t ride off road. By this time, there were many skinny tired 27” road bikes sitting in basements and storage buildings, unloved by their owners. Sore body parts, tingling and numbness of various areas, and concern over flat tires made first the mountain bike, then hybrid, comfort, and all the other bike types we have today, much more attractive.
Road bikes came back strong in the 90s and new technologies and materials created some amazing machines. The drama and beauty of the Tour de France each summer brought to our televisions by the old Outdoor Life Network, and what was then thought of as inspirational race wins by an American Lance Armstrong, helped make riding a fast, sleek road bike popular again.
Since the Oak Ridge Bicycle Center opened its doors, bicycle brand names and companies have come and gone through takeovers, bankruptcies, and middle of the night disappearances. The bike industry is very volatile. Our brands have changed over the years, too, as we’ve always tried to offer the best brands and best values to our customers.
No history of the Oak Ridge Bicycle Center would be complete without a tip of the hat to the outstanding folks we’ve had working here over the years. From smart, energetic teenagers and 20 something’s to middle aged teachers working summers and weekends, we’ve had some really good ones, and the shop owes a lot of its success to them. Too many to name, but I appreciate them all. And our list of employees would not be complete without including my kids, Shauna and John. John worked here more than Shauna, but long time customers watched them both grow up here at the shop.
Thanks for visiting with us.
Bill Winters
Bill, Shauna, & John at the shop in the 80s
Employees Matt Stegall and Chad Busby at a mountain bike race in the 90s
The current crew: Shane and Gordon, 2014
Bill, 2014
1960’s Western Flyer Search
If you own a nice, early 60s Western Flyer in red, chrome, and white (like I rode as a kid), I’d love to have it. I’ve been looking for an example of that bike since I got into the bike business in ’76. I’d probably pay stupid money for a good one!