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The Wheelworks Story

Boston’s Bike Shop Since 1977

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

It all began in 1977, when Peter Mooney and Clint Paige struck up a friendship while working at a bike shop on Mass Ave in Cambridge, MA. Peter had just returned from England where he'd learned frame building from steel maestro Ron Cooper. He was living in his parents basement to save money when he met Clint who was working as an assembler in the shop, but was quickly promoted to front shop manager. Money was tight, but the dream was alive.

Peter, Clint and their friend John Marcy decided to go for it. They quit their job at the shop and opened a bike shop of their own, the original Wheelworks! Some would say it was a risky move, between them all they had only $2000, Peter’s tools and the Reynolds tubing that he brought back from his time abroad.

They rented a small storefront in Winchester. Space was limited, there was room for only a dozen bikes and the nascent frame-building business, but they made it work and the risk paid off. They managed to sell 129 bikes their very first year in business.

EXPANSION IN THE 1980s

Wheelworks only grew in popularity, business was booming and the original tiny storefront couldn’t handle the demand. The store doubled, then doubled again, and then expanded to a second location in North Cambridge. Peter, Clint and John bought a shop called Ace Bicycles and renamed it Ace Wheelworks. In 1983, the original Winchester location relocated to three adjacent storefront locations in Belmont. That same year, three-time Olympian and U.S. national road champion John Allis joined the shop as an owner and headed up a new bike-fit program.

By 1986, the Belmont store expanded to eight storefronts and in 1988, the North Cambridge location moved to its current location in Somerville.

Fast forward to 1997 and business is still rockin’ and rollin’. There was a growing need for a kids’ and family specific store, and poof, Wheelworks Too was born. Wheelworks Too opened up on the very same block as the main Belmont store and remains there today.

PRESENT DAY

Wheelworks is renowned not only in Boston’s cycling community but also in the cycling industry as a whole. We've repeatedly been Best Bike Shop from Boston Magazine, three times Best Pro Shop from Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, and Bicycle Shop of the Year from the Adventure Cycling Association. We are consistently among America’s Best Bike Shops, as awarded by the National Bicycle Dealers Association.

Wheelworks Bicycle Stores stand out due to our longevity, experience, and range of product. Today we carry both large, established brands and smaller, boutique options.

Our business prides itself on having every model of bicycle, apparel, or accessory available in every size and color for customers to lay their hands on and test. We do this so that customers have everything they need in order to make the most informed and satisfying purchase decision.