Jim Lewis, 47, owner of the two Hutch’s Bicycles and two Hutch’s Rack-n-Roll stores in Bend, has been around bicycles most of his life. Lewis started assembling and fixing bikes as a 14-year-old at Hutch’s Bicycles in Eugene in 1971. That store was owned by Bill Hutchinson.

In 1981 Lewis came to Bend to open up a Hutch’s on Third Street, with Hutchinson as a partner. He opened a westside location in 1989, followed by a store selling multisport automobile rack systems in 1997 at the original Bend Hutch’s, and another rack store in May 2003 on the west side.

Do you think you are a businessman first or a biker first?

I’ve been blessed in that what I love to do is a way of making a living. A lot of people make a living in something they’re not excited about. I’m an ambassador for the sport, a spokesman, no pun intended.

Are more of your sales for adults’ or children’s bikes?

It’s mostly adult-oriented, as far as big-ticket bike sales we have. We do have entry level bikes. Department stores are getting a lot of that business.

But people are getting a product that isn’t as durable, because those bikes aren’t designed to last as long. If people were educated about a good bike and a bike that wasn’t as good, they probably wouldn’t put a child on that bike.

Has the Tour de France done anything for the sport?

It’s huge. Lance Armstrong, he’s an ambassador for cycling. He’s putting a period on something Greg LeMond started years ago.

Most people aren’t racers, but they can get excited about something an American team has done. Before, American racers couldn’t even enter because they couldn’t hold a candle to the other racers. (Greg LeMond was the first American to win the Tour, in 1986. Armstrong is the only other American to win the race).

And the one-two punch is with the Cascade Cycling Classic. People from Bend have embraced it, whether they’re spectators or involved in the race.

There’s been an resurgent of road bikes locally and nationally. It’s the only segment of the business that’s seen growth, especially locally. Our sales in road bikes were up 15 percent last year from the year before, and we’re expecting 20-25 percent growth this year over last year.

How is the market for bicycle shops in Bend?

I think the market is saturated. The sport is still growing, but in terms of how busy you are, your busy months are between May and August.

The other eight months of the year, you’re going backward in terms of overhead; you have to try to stay busy.

The racks help to take the heat off – it gives us something extra we can do. It gets us involved in other sports, with ski mounts, kayak mounts, luggage.

Do you make more profit off the bikes or the mounts?

The rack systems have a modest markup and the bikes too.

The markup is higher in soft goods, the small stuff you sell thousands of, like inner tubes and water bottles.

And the markup hasn’t changed much in 15 or 20 years in the industry. The cost of business seems to go up in whatever the market will allow, whether it be rent, wages, advertising, or utilities.

Why did you open up a Hutch’s on the west side of Bend?

There was the opportunity, a building available. In 1989 when we opened there, we felt we were losing the connection with our westside customers. A couple other bike stores sprang up there at about the same time, and we wanted to be closer to our customers. It was a defensive move.

The westside store is the leader of our two stores, in number of bikes sold and revenue.

Would you consider closing down the eastside store and consolidating?

We would potentially consider consolidation, but we’d need more square footage, and this store has a key location for the east side. But for things working pretty darn well, it’s hard to pull the plug on that. And the back end of the eastside store lets us receive freight and assemble bikes. And with the westside Rack-n-Roll, indicators are positive so far.

You’ve been established here since 1981. What are some of the mistakes you’ve seen other bicycle shops make?

Underestimating the length of winters in this town. When you’re committed to high rent and cost of employees, there’s only a couple things you can cut in the off season. If you don’t have a good grasp of that, it will be a rude awakening. You have to adjust your buying accordingly. By the time you commit to a product, the stopwatch starts when you need to pay for it. It could be months before anyone walks in to buy it.

We have a good relationship with our vendors. We have some clout in our terms because we pay our bills on time and the length of time we’ve been in the business.

How much of the bike sales do the big box stores take?

More than the cream off the top. In terms of number of bikes sold, big box stores have command in the entry level range, $150 to $200, about 35 percent to 40 percent of the entry level and children’s market. We don’t focus on that range. We have an opportunity at the service end for the department store bikes. We can do a tune-up and educate people on the differences between a department store bike and our bikes.

What effect does tourism have on your business?

Many people, if they make it to Bend, already have bikes and mounts. The opportunity we have with them is in smaller sales, like an inner tube, or recommending a ride to them, rather than someone plunking down $1,000 for a new bike.

What is the future of the trail system in Central Oregon?

There’s a fairly good relationship between the Forest Service and the mountain bikers and the Central Oregon Trail Alliance (COTA). The Forest Service wants to manage existing trails better, rather than expand the number of trails. COTA is doing some fund raising for trail maintenance. Maintenance is important and we’re trying to get groups to adopt trails and take care of them.

Chris Young can be reached at 541-383-0350 or at cyoung@bendbulletin.com