DANA POINT, CA (BRAIN) Monday May 7 2012 2:48 PM MT—Bike Religion is expanding to a third Orange County location, taking over the space in Dana Point that was most recently home to Revo Cycles. A June 1 soft opening is planned, co-owner John Tzinberg said.
The 4,700-square-foot Dana Point store will enable Bike Religion to expand beyond its current main focus of high-end road and tri bikes and accessories. “We’re going to really make a play on mountain bikes. We feel we can do that well there,” Tzinberg said, admitting that Bike Religion has been “spatially challenged” up to this point.
Bike Religion got its start in 2007 with a 200-square-foot showroom on the campus at the University of California, Irvine, where it continues to do a steady business in cruisers and city and BMX bikes from the likes of Schwinn and GT. A second store in nearby Newport Beach opened a year later with its emphasis on tri and road bikes from Cannondale, Scott, Cervélo and Felt.
The increased emphasis on mountain at the Dana Point store will be underscored by a 40-bike demo fleet from Cannondale and Felt, the latter of which Tzinberg sees as an underappreciated brand in the off-road market. “It’s sort of underrated. We’re trying to lift the profile a bit,” he said, noting that Bike Religion has done well with Felt’s 29er hardtails.
A special Lefty Rebuild Center will enable mechanics to service and overhaul the Cannondale forks in-house, and Tzinberg said a café is planned, though it won’t be built out by the June 1 opening.
The café and extra space in Dana Point will also help Bike Religion supplement the full calendar of events and rides it currently stages out of the parking lot of its Newport Beach store. Additionally, Tzinberg hopes the café will prove a draw for both the local community and the weekend cyclists who zip by the store along a popular stretch of Pacific Coast Highway.
