How many bike shops did your town have between the war's?.

[ren531]

Found this advert for George Moss and Son's in a booklet about the history of Preston, the shop was sighted at the top of NewHall Lane Preston looks impressively big by the late thirties, with Preston having 47 cycle dealerships when the bicycle was king before cars moved in, what an experience it would be to have a look inside.
There must be a lot of history books in our colections at home how about searching them for old adds of long lost bike shops, older the better and bigger the better Preston must be small fry by comparison lager towns and cities, how many bike shops would there have been between the war's in, Birmingham or Manchester I

wonder, to support all those shops there would have been a vast army of cyclist out and about all hours.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Moss used to have a second shop in Chorley, right next to the market. A corner shop with big windows just full of bikes with Simplex and Benelux kit. Made a little boys gape in wonder.

 

[ren531]

I can imagine.
When you look the photo of the larger shop front it must have made you stop and gaze a while, nose pressed against the glass.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Yup. That was me.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I think you need to consider this question on the basis of how many shops in a square mile or how many within a recognized neighbourhood. Somewhere like London would have had a vast number, but bike shops tend to cater for a largely local clientele. It's more a question of saying how many bike shops could be found on any typical High street, where you would also expect to find a main Post office and various bank branches.
Cities are not generally homogenous, but in reality are subdivided into a plethora of cells, local neighbourhoods easily recognised by their inhabitants who would have done most of their shopping, banking, and socialising within that area.

 

[carpenter]

Not between the wars, but my "home town" - Letchworth Garden City (fairly small town in Herts) had three bike shops, that I remember, in the '60's.

I still remember the masses of blokes on bikes cycling home for lunch from the local factories

 

[ren531]

I think you need to consider this question on the basis of how many shops in a square mile or how many within a recognized neighbourhood. Somewhere like London would have had a vast number, but bike shops tend to cater for a largely local clientele. It's more a question of saying how many bike shops could be found on any typical High street, where you would also expect to find a main Post office and various bank branches.
Cities are not generally homogenous, but in reality are subdivided into a plethora of cells, local neighbourhoods easily recognised by their inhabitants who would have done most of their shopping, banking, and socialising within that area.

Yes this really was the age of the LBS and as you say very local, but a shop like Mosses must have been a super store of its time.

 

[Drago]

To answer the thread title...none.

I've only briefly lived in a town, and that town didn't even exist between the wars. All the rest of my life ive been in vilages with no bike shops - although blacksmiths may have offered some relevant services - or the arriss end of nowhere.

I'm afraid that I'm simply not a townie and would likely become homicidal very quickly were I forced to live in one.

 

[weareHKR]

To answer the thread title...none.

I've only briefly lived in a town, and that town didn't even exist between the wars. All the rest of my life ive been in vilages with no bike shops - although blacksmiths may have offered some relevant services - or the arriss end of nowhere.

I'm afraid that I'm simply not a townie and would likely become homicidal very quickly were I forced to live in one.

I can imagine Gotham City been fairly quite

 

[palinurus]

Interesting question- I'd have to have a look in an old Kelly's directory but the library is shut for now (the reference part is anyway)