The Cap’s name is pedalling off into the sunset.
On Oct. 1, Cap’s Westwood Cycle's four bicycle shops, including the flagship store in Port Coquitlam and another in Port Moody, will become Trek Bikes Canada corporate stores.
It’s the end of era for an iconic Tri-City business that started 85 years ago when Cap and Bert Hobbis opened their original shop in Coquitlam, taking bikes apart, rebuilding wheels, welding frames and repairing drivetrains.
But it’s not the end of the Hobbis name at various events and charitable causes around the community, said Westwood Cycle owner Kelly Hobbis. She and her husband, Glen, whom she met at Cap’s Como Lake location in 1976, will now be involved in causes like the Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation’s Wheel 2 Heal, the Ride to Conquer Cancer, Light the Night and Douglas College Foundation as private citizens after a many years of community support by their business.
“The community has always been very kind to us,” Hobbis told The Tri-City News. “That’s why it’s important to support the community.”
Hobbis said the decision to sell the stores didn’t come lightly. But with Glen’s chronic lymphocytic leukaemia that was diagnosed in 2010 taking a toll on his health, it was time for the couple to switch their focus from business to family. Their daughters, Ellecia and Chelsea, will still be involved with the business but conversations at family dinners will definitely take on a different tone.
“When you own a business, family life revolves around that business,” Hobbis said, noting numerous family events that were interrupted by an alarm or other crisis at one of the shops (besides PoCo and PoMo, Cap's has stores in Maple Ridge and Burnaby, too). “Now we’ll just hear about that excitement from the girls.”
Hobbis said she wasn’t actively looking to sell the business but when Trek approached her about a month ago, the fit felt right.
Trek was started by a cyclist and a bike shop owner who partnered to build about 900 custom steel bike frames in a barn in Waterloo, Wis. in 1976; it established its first dealership, in Richfield, Minn., a year later. There are now more than 1,700 Trek dealers across North America and distributors in 90 countries.
“Trek really care about everything to do with the business,” said Hobbis, whose shop has carried the brand for years. “They care about the customer experience.”
Hobbis said all four shops will remain open and staff will be retained.
But she and Glen are going riding.
“We’ve got a lot of the world to see on our bikes.”
