‘I gave it 40 years.’ After decades in business, Bicycle World closes up shop
It was just time for this Belleville business to close.
“All things in life have a beginning and an end,” stated a Dec. 25 post on the Bicycle World Facebook page, “and I’m sorry to say after 40 years of being in business in Belleville, IL, the end has come for Bicycle World, Inc. It’s been one heck of a ride.”
That’s right. The longtime family-run Bicycle World closed.
The store’s last day was in mid-December, according to owner Hal Leventhal.
Located at 4516 W. Main St., Bicycle World was owned and operated by Leventhal and his wife, Jeanne, since 1984, when they purchased the business.
So what happened to Bicycle World?
A culmination of things
The cause of the closing was really a culmination of things that happened at the same time, according to Leventhal.
A few years ago, during the pandemic, business was great, he said. As more people were taking part in more outdoor activities, more bikes were purchased. The business was making record numbers.
Soon after, “reality hit,” he said. A lot of things started to change.
The store’s numbers and profitability declined. Watchful of industry trends, Leventhal hoped it was just a fluke, but it wasn’t.
He said that the bicycle industry had become saturated. Because so many people bought bicycles during the pandemic, it got to a point where most people no longer needed a new bike.
The recession and rising product costs were also a factor.
“I was very watchful on our sales,” Leventhal said.
By then he said he was basically just trying to ride it out, and it was “a shock to me” that sales dropped.
Bicycle World became more of a repair, parts and accessories store when sales declined, he said.
The store’s location was another factor.
When the shop first opened, there was so much traffic because all of the businesses were there, Leventhal said.
Now, east of North Belt West, from West Main Street to the Public Square, everything is different.
The area is declining, said Leventhal.
“Anyone can see it. … I had my blinders on for years” and tried not to let the surrounding area’s decline affect business, he said.
Fewer viable businesses on that section of West Main Street, near North Belt West, meant less traffic passing by the store.
If you don’t have traffic, you don’t have business, he said.
That this has been happening for years was a major influence on his decision to close.
Leventhal said he often shared his concerns about the decline with city officials, but lack of development continued.
For years he even considered moving, looking for potential new locations for Bicycle World that included a larger space in a higher-traffic area.
In 2005, Leventhal told the News-Democrat that he was looking at multiple sites in Belleville. An offer to buy a former mechanic’s shop at 4300 W. Main St. around that time fell through. He also considered adding onto the current location.
He didn’t want to move too far from where they were because Bicycle World was a known location in Belleville. People knew where he was. For a time, that was enough, and it worked.
Until it didn’t.
“Sales … were declining rapidly,” and the building was sold in mid-2022, he said.
County records show that the property was sold to Arizona-based Property Cartwheel LLC in July.
The new owner’s plans were not a direction he wanted to go in, Leventhal said.
Leventhal realized that he could only do so much before things became worse.
“I gave until I couldn’t give anymore,” he said. “It was my ultimate decision to close the store.”
A Plan B
Leventhal always marketed Bicycle World as an “entry-level” bike shop; it wasn’t a high-end bicycle store. The store specialized in recreational bicycles that cost under $1,000.
His other store, Wheelhouse Bicycle, on the other hand, markets itself as a higher-end bike shop.
Located at 770 N. New Ballas Road in Creve Coeur, Missouri, Wheelhouse Bicycle is run by Leventhal’s son, Nathan.
Leventhal said that Wheelhouse was less affected by supply costs and the recession. This store focuses more on bike enthusiasts that want better products and are willing to pay more.
He said Nathan worked at the Belleville store for years until he started to see the decline and decided to open the new shop in Missouri.
“I trained [Nathan]” ... He’s done phenomenally, said Leventhal, adding that he and Jeanne fully support their son any way they can.
Customers say Nathan’s a chip off the old block, according to Leventhal, who admitted they needed that plan B.
Leventhal said when Nathan finished high school, he wanted to continue working in the bicycle industry.
Wheelhouse Bicycle opened in 2020.
Leventhal now spends part of his semi-retirement working part-time as a mechanic at Wheelhouse Bicycle.
He said that some longtime customers followed him there, saying that where he goes, they go.
Impact on the community
Since closing, Leventhal continues to receive messages from his Belleville store customers. Many express their shock over the closing and share how much the store – and Leventhal – meant to them over the years.
Leventhal said he never realized how much others were affected by the closing or the effect he’s had on them over the years.
The loyal customers are what really kept the business going, he said.
One of those customers includes avid cyclist and retired BND Answer Man Roger Schlueter, who said that learning about the shop’s closing wasn’t easy.
“I’m a terrible mechanic. If I walk the bike into Hal’s, he’d drop what he was doing” and take care of me, said Schlueter in a phone interview.
Leventhal is a “prince of a man,” and the shop was “just a treasure” that always sold top-quality gear and had a top staff, said Schlueter, who always walked his bike to the shop for maintenance.
He’s had his current bike since about 2004 and still rides it often.
“[I have] so many wonderful memories of that shop,” he said.
Bicycle World was “one of the great family operations of all time in Belleville,” said Belleville Ward 7 Alderman Phil Elmore in a phone interview.
“We hate to see a business retire, but I’m very happy for the Leventhals,” Elmore said.
One of the things Leventhal will miss is being a sponsor for Tour de Belleville, an annual community bicycling event that raises funds for cyclists in the Belleville area.
The event helps provide safety along and maintenance for bike trails and has over the years raised more then $260,000, according to the event’s website.
Leventhal said he’s been with Elmore, who started the annual event, since day one.
“My wife and I started Tour de Belleville in 2007-2008,” said Elmore.
“The first person I went to talk to was Hal,” who said he’d “do whatever he needed to do” to help, continued Elmore.
Elmore said that Bicycle World was a sponsor every year since and that Leventhal serviced participants’ bikes at no charge. Bicycle World served as a registration site for the event.
And Tour de Belleville was good for business.
“It brought in customers” for years and was “a huge help for us. I hope [the event] continues to grow,” said Leventhal.
Tour de Belleville is still “alive and well because of Hal,” who’s done so much for Belleville, said Elmore.
Tour de Belleville 2023 takes place Saturday, June 10, according to the website.
Elmore said he’d like to see another bike shop in Belleville one day and won’t be surprised if that happens sooner than later.
“I hope in the future Belleville can … get more businesses in the area,” said Leventhal.
For other business owners in the area, Leventhal advises that excellent customer service and being in a high-traffic area are the top two traits that can make a business successful.
A business has to have customer service that’s above and beyond. Whatever you’re selling, “I think customer service has to be the number-one priority,” he said.
“I was doing some kick-ass service.”
Leventhal said that his own wheelhouse (not the store) is that he’s pretty good about understanding what happened to the store and being able to talk about it.
“I gave it 40 years … I feel good about that,” said Leventhal.
As for riding, he said, “I love it … [and] will continue to ride a bike until I can’t.”
About Bicycle World
Leventhal worked at the shop when it was known as the Belleville Bicycle Center, which opened at 4516 W. Main St. in 1983.
The following year, when the owner at that time decided he wanted to close the store, Leventhal offered to purchase the business.
Leventhal said he was told that if he could pay for the inventory, he could have the store.
With the help of his father-in-law, Dick Crane, he took out a loan to make it happen.
Since then, the Leventhals’ Bicycle World was the go-to place for bicycles and was known for providing excellent service.
In a 1997 interview with the News-Democrat, Leventhal said, “Service is what I’m known for. Bikes are probably secondary.
“I take care of my customers well the first time and when they have bike-related needs, they come back.”
