Revel Bikes beefs up Colorado assembled bike shop in Carbondale
The new Revel Bike shop in Carbondale in Colorado's mountains is not just a fancy showroom, which you see right when you walk in the door. Just behind that modern, clean front room is a warehouse with busy workers, moving stock of bikes and others standing at bike stands, meticulously adding piece by piece to a bike frame until they become the full deal.
It's a far cry from their former home, still in Carbondale, but much more efficient than the previous room, according to Revel Bikes CEO Ben Coates.
"I think we're now in our fourth location," Coates said. "Not including the founder's house, so maybe fifth location and we just keep needing to have more space, better space, and now we're lucky we've settled into an appropriate sized space that's right near Main Street and right down the street from great riding and couldn't be happier."
The new facility, located at 398 Merrill Avenue in Carbondale is proof the Colorado-owned and operated bike store is continuing to grow, and eat into the mountain bike market with its products. That new shop is also about making sure they're able to reduce costs where they can while making a boutique product with an intense focus on quality.
"We are building bikes in Carbondale, and it is very expensive to do that," Coates said. "We have to do everything we can to make it as fast and as efficient as possible, space matters."
From their old spot to their new one, they've increased their speed of putting together bikes simply by eliminating obstacles in the process of assembling the bikes. From the receiving bay where the parts are delivered, all the way to the end stage of the production and boxing for inventory, the system is streamlined. Coates puts it in biking terms.
"It flows through and our old area, there was no flow," he said with a smile.
His team is right alongside him; bike fanatics who can talk shop with any bike enthusiasts until they're blue in the face (this is a real experience for this reporter.) While the bikes they're selling are in the higher price range, they're more accessible to the average rider than other bikes built to push boundaries, sometimes to the detriment of anyone but pro racers themselves, according to Coates. But he argues his bikes can do both... they're intended for those who love to get in the dirt and ride, and his employees are an example of that.
"Everybody that works here kind of came to the valley to be in the valley and has an expectation of lifestyle and outdoor-ness, if you can call that a word," Coates said with a laugh.
Once spring trails open back up and the snow has thawed, Revel extended an invitation for free demo rides to anyone looking to upgrade their bike to one of theirs. Revel does ask you to book an appointment online before so they can make sure they have the bike you're hoping to ride.
