Retail roundup

Catherine Eberhard

In these tense times, many people have been hesitant to travel and

vacation out-of-state. An alternative to vacationing elsewhere, is to

spend some time exploring the surrounding neighborhoods close to home.

One great way to relax and enjoy nature, is to take a bicycle ride or

even a mountain-biking-camping trip to our local mountains.

Huntington Beach Bicycles, on the corner of Springdale Street and

Edinger Avenue, sells bikes to fit everyone from toddlers to adults. In

business since 1965, the store is small, but offers a service department

for bike repairs and additions.

Children’s bikes at Huntington Beach Bicycles include the brand names

Mountain Lion and Mountain Cub. Trek mountain bikes and Schwinn cruisers

are also available.

Besides bicycles, the store has accessories for everyone from the

casual beach cyclist to the serious competitive racer. Sportswear, seat

cushions, water bottles and other various cycling gear can be found at

Huntington Beach Bicycles.

For more information, you can visit the store at 15862 Springdale St.

or call Huntington Beach Bicycles at (714) 892-5519 for details regarding

merchandise in stock.

A second bicycle shop in Huntington Beach is Jax Bicycle Center on

Main Street.

In business for over 15 years, Jax is a chain of five stores that sell

hundreds of types and styles of bicycles for every age and activity

level.

“Jax is a one-stop shop,” said the manager of Jax Huntington Beach,

Tom Basa, “We sell everything from tricycles all the way up to $6,000

professional bikes.”

Jax does have a huge selection and when you enter the large building

in Downtown Huntington Beach you will be impressed with the more than 500

bicycles displayed on the sales floor.

Basa, 35, has a history of working for bicycle companies and is a

former competitive cyclist. Jax sponsors its own grass-roots cycling team

and serious racers can apply with their resumes to be considered for the

Jax Bicycle Center team.

“Jax supplies its racing team with bikes, gear and in some instances

money for entry fees. This year, the Junior National Champion of the Road

Team represented Jax,” Basa proudly reported.

The service department at Jax is open seven days a week for frame

alignment, frame painting and other repairs you may need. It proudly

claims to be able to deliver one-day service to most customers.

Jax Bicycle Center is filled with accessories for serious cyclists,

but there are plenty of extras for the casual biker as well. Baskets,

padded bicycle shorts and animal-shaped horns and streamers for

children’s bikes are for sale. Jax also carries an assortment of cycling

shoes, helmets and trail maps.

“Currently, mountain bikes are very popular,” said Basa. “They outsell

real bikes 10 to 1 because they are the SUVs of bicycles. They can go

anywhere and do anything.”

Basa said the Huntington Beach location of Jax does huge business in

beach cruisers. These one-speed leisure bikes can frequently be seen all

over the bike path along the ocean or coasting down Main Street.

For small children, Jax sells child seats that fit on the back of an

adult bike and durable running strollers that are padded for comfort.

Cycling is a fun sport, but it can be dangerous. All children under

the age of 18 are required by law to wear a helmet when biking. Jax sells

plenty of lightweight helmets in fun designs for kids, as well as adult

safety helmets and gear.

For more information on the different bicycles and accessories

available at Jax Bicycle Center, you can call (714) 969-8684 or visit

it’s Web site at o7 https://www.jaxbicycles.com.f7 Jax Bicycle Center

is at 401 Main St. in Downtown Huntington Beach.

* CATHERINE EBERHARD is a Huntington Beach resident and her column

focuses on local businesses. If you have items for Retail Roundup, e-mail

them to RetailRoundup@aol.com or fax to (714) 965-7174.