Bicycle Cafe

[benviermann]

Hey Guys and Girls,

Il be opening a Cycling Theme Cafe soon. But having a hard time figuring out a name.

Please help me with this. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks
ben

 

[ridein]

direct name or a hint

If the primary business is coffee/drinks/food, then I'd suggest a name with coffee and biking intertwined giving a hint to a potential customer. If actually selling, renting or servicing bikes, then I'd suggest a more direct name.

Just a few ideas:
The coffee ride, rolling brew, velo cafe, road buzz, Bike club drip,
the quick release, Joe's club ride, Handlebar java, 2 wheel Perk

Others which have already been used:
Bike & Bean, Velo Rouge Cafe, Cars-R-Coffins, “look mum no hands!”,
Uphill Grind Bicycle and Coffee, Ride Studio Café, Pedal-a-Latte, The Hub,
Roll for the Soul, OTB (Over The Bar) Bicycle Café

 

[King Boonen]

Sur la Plaque.


I reserve the right to use it myself.

 

[mrhender]

I don't know... But you should certainly serve a secret coffee called "Omerta"

 

[oldcrank]

I always liked 'the HandleBar' at the Dunc Gray
Velodrome. It has been closed a few years now
so I suppose that name, if you like it, is available.
(I see ridein proposed something similar upthread.)

 

[King Boonen]

You could always go with one of the standards like "Panache" or "Chapeau" although some might say that picking a name like that is a bit elitist and will put off general customers.


Do you have a favourite route, race, mountain etc?


My local cafe:

http://www.siemprebicyclecafe.com


Why do I go here? Well, the food and coffee are fantastic. Yes, I first went in because of the bikes in the window but I would go back even if I didn't like bikes and I know many people who do.

Bikes can be taken inside!!! Stands and wall hooks are provided and bikes are out of the way. If you want people to turn up on $1000s of dollars worth of bike, and you do, then this is very important.

They show what racing they can. I'm encouraging them to show downhill MTB as well but having a place to watch the Tour and other things Eurosport show is always nice.

The staff are all friendly. There is a mix of bike riders and non-riders, road, MTB, BMX, commuters, cyclocross, racers and hobbyists etc. working there and they all seem to be given the leeway to chat to customers and even start friendships. I now know pretty much everyone who works there and it's a great place to go. Other customers sitting around also seem to like the friendly atmosphere and it encourages them to talk to both other customers and the staff.

The place is not full of gear they are trying to sell. They stock a lot of things for commuting, lights, locks, messenger bags, waterproof jackets etc. The stuff they stock is good quality only, to me that's important as if I want cheap rubbish I will buy it online, if I want good quality I want to see it and have it in hand. They have their own kit (if you do this makes sure it's visible on the road, so many are different shades of dark colours) and they stock general maintenance stuff. It is all out of the way and not intrusive, so it doesn't feel like the cafe is a secondary concern and you don't have to try and squeeze past shoppers to find a seat. Basically it is a cafe and they do not seem to be reliant on product sales to stay solvent.

They have a long table/bench. Personally I love this, it just encourages friendliness and chat.

They have a very good mechanic. A very good one. Initially it was slow but they now have a steady stream of bikes coming in from junkers to high-end. The main point, their mechanic is as good as a good LBS and he has the right tools to do the job. Do not offer a sub-par maintenance service, you're better not offering it at all.


Don't feel you have to try and match online retailers prices for tubes, tyres, merchandise and the like, we'll pay more locally as always, but a little discount on list makes us feel good . And speak to your customers about what you can get in. I spoke to the owner about bags for commuting and ended up ordering the Especial Vuelo Timbuk2 through them. He even beat the big online retailers on price without me even asking.


I realise you didn't ask for advice, so feel free to ignore me, but more cycling cafes in the world is what we want

 

[BigMac]

Chalet-Bar [du] Petit St. Bernard.

Cafe-Bar [du] Petit St. Bernard.

Just because the name is awesome.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Good post by King Boonen. Lots of great info there.

The idea' place would have a few really old posters, a couple old frames, the barista's all wearing berets, maybe a cobblestone floor (maybe not!).

I also love the idea of a coffee that's not on the menu, called the Omerta.

If you want to look at history, you could call it something like Eddy's, but that may not mean enough to enough people. Rhyming names also are easy to remember for customers.

Café Tourmalet
Café Galabier

But the foreign names may confuse a few commuter type cyclists.

Tour de Café would be another simple name that gets the concept across.

 

[Granville57]

Hey Guys and Girls,

Il be opening a Cycling Theme Cafe soon. But having a hard time figuring out a name.

Please help me with this. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks
ben

Hey dude,

Your question was posed nearly three months ago.
You've gotten some good suggestions.

So how about responding, show some signs of life, and perhaps provide some more details on what you have in mind, and at least a hint of what general area of the planet this place is going to be located.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Now that it's been almost a year, would be curious to know what came of this?

 

[Bustedknuckle]

Hey Guys and Girls,

Il be opening a Cycling Theme Cafe soon. But having a hard time figuring out a name.

Please help me with this. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks
ben

Fausto Coffee