Phat Tire becoming cycling hub in region

Phat Tire Bike Shop co-owners Chris Brosh (left) and Tim Robinson have sold nearly 13,000 bicycles since opening the shop 10 years ago. Phat Tire now has four Arkansas stores as well as two in Tulsa.
Phat Tire Bike Shop co-owners Chris Brosh (left) and Tim Robinson have sold nearly 13,000 bicycles since opening the shop 10 years ago. Phat Tire now has four Arkansas stores as well as two in Tulsa.

Tim Robinson and Chris Brosh were in their early 20s when they recognized a glaring omission in Bentonville's blossoming mountain biking scene.

It became evident whenever one of their bicycles was damaged while traversing some of the area's trails. To get them fixed, the Bentonville residents typically had to haul their bikes to a repair shop in Fayetteville. Sometimes it would take two or three weeks to get them back.

"We thought, 'How is anyone ever going to enjoy this cycling experience we're trying to build here if that's what you have to do to get your bike repaired and worked on?'" Robinson said. "We kind of looked at each other and said, 'Instead of waiting for somebody else to do it, let's open our own shop.'"

The conversation proved to be the beginning of Phat Tire Bike Shop, which Robinson and Brosh opened on the Bentonville Square in summer 2007. Nearly 10 years later, the longtime friends -- who are now 33 years old -- remain co-owners of a business that has become a fixture in the region's thriving bike culture.

Phat Tire operates four Arkansas-based stores -- in Bentonville, Springdale, Fayetteville and Fort Smith. The company took another step late last year, acquiring two locations in Tulsa. Phat Tire has sold nearly 13,000 bicycles since opening and employs about 50 workers.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

The size of the business is a far cry from its humble beginnings, when the inexperienced owners set up shop in a 2,200-square-foot store in Bentonville. The space is now occupied by Table Mesa Bistro, while Phat Tire's flagship store has moved a couple of blocks away to 125 W. Central Ave.

According to their website, the pair decided to name the company after a beer they were drinking one night -- New Belgium Fat Tire. They changed "Fat" to "Phat" and obtained copyright restrictions on the name.

Robinson had a background in economics and finance, while Brosh's focus was in small business management and marketing. Together, they put together a business plan that enabled them to secure just enough funding. They leased a store and worked around the clock to prepare for opening day.

Phat Tire only had about 30 bikes on the sales floor on opening day and an equally small selection of merchandise. In order to fill up some of the empty space in the store, Robinson and Brosh brought in a couch, some chairs and a rug, putting them in front of a TV that showed bike videos.

"When you walked in it was like, 'Oh, this is kind of a cute little shop,'" Robinson said. "But I think because we were from the area people wanted us to be successful."

Robinson, who also works at Wal-Mart's home office, focused on the financial side and never held a regular role in the day-to-day operations at the store. Brosh was the store's original manager and had two other employees with him.

PROMOTE BIKING

Even then, Brosh had big plans for Phat Tire's role in the region's efforts to promote biking.

"Growth was a goal and creating something that can grow in not only locations and scale, but in being able to reach the community in positive ways," Brosh said. "We felt like we could make that difference. That was always in our minds."

Phat Tire had good timing, according to area biking advocates, tapping into the region's collective efforts to grow as a mountain biking and cycling destination.

"The cool thing that has happened here is that cycling has grown, the trails have grown and the bike shops have benefited from the growth for sure," said Alan Ley, the former director of the Arkansas chapter of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association.

The Walton Family Foundation, local nonprofit organizations and community leaders took active roles in funding, designing and developing both hard and soft trail systems throughout the region. It has produced miles of accessible trails, including the Slaughter Pen trail system and the Razorback Regional Greenway.

"We're going to keep building trails and they're going to keep putting people on bikes," said Brannon Pack, the executive director of Ozark Off-Road Cyclists. "It takes a community and Phat Tire is one piece of that."

GRASS-ROOTS APPROACH

Phat Tire didn't spend much on traditional advertising to spread the word because there wasn't much money in the early days. Instead, Robinson and Brosh adopted a grass-roots approach, setting up group rides, participating in events and creating social media posts to gain interest.

It remains an effective form of advertising for their business. The company has been active in supporting area events, such as the Fat Tire Festival in Eureka Springs and the Slaughter Pen Jam in Bentonville.

Phat Tire has been active in laying the groundwork for future mountain bikers as well, becoming a founding sponsor of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association. The organization was founded in 2009 and develops mountain biking programs for students. The Arkansas program, known as the Arkansas Interscholastic Cycling League, was organized in 2015 and held its first races last year.

"I think that's going to be the next big wave of how this evolves in this state and in this region is really more of a family focus and getting kids on bikes at a much younger age," Robinson said.

Now, Robinson and Brosh are hoping their blueprint in Arkansas will be a success in Tulsa.

Phat Tire's expansion into the market began when Brosh met Adam Vanderburg at last year's Fat Tire Festival. Vanderburg, 55, owned two bike shops in Tulsa. One of them was Lee's Bicycles, a historic shop that had been in operation since 1914. But he was considering ways to exit a business that had been run by his family since 1972.

POTENTIAL IN TULSA

Phat Tire was looking for opportunities and saw potential in Tulsa. The sale was finalized late last year. The company decided to rebrand Lee's Bicycles as Phat Tire, but retained much of the Tulsa team -- including Vanderburg.

"I did have a lot of pride wrapped up into it," said Vanderburg, whose new role is as a bicycle advocate. "I wanted somebody to come into the market and have that same passion and pride and connection with the community. So when I [piqued] their interest, I was really excited that they would also be excited about the Tulsa metro market and the culture."

Brosh believes Tulsa is a good fit because it's in close proximity to the company's home base. Phat Tire will continue to look for other expansion possibilities within the region, mentioning southeast Kansas, southwest Missouri and Kansas City as potential markets "if growth continues to prove to be smart."

"Sometimes it's certainly a little dangerous or risky to grow, and just to grow fast, but I think we, as intelligently as we could, have grown with that understanding and just trying to strike while the iron is hot with people getting into cycling," Brosh said.

They're not planning to shift their focus from Northwest Arkansas while pondering future opportunities, evaluating ways to expand and diversify their business locally as well.

The company plans to open a Phat Tire Demo store in downtown Rogers next month. The space will be a hub for repairs and bike rentals, while also serving as corporate office space where they can book shuttle services and guided tours all over the state.

The store also will begin a new venture with water sport rentals for nearby Lake Atalanta.

Phat Tire is hoping to open a similar repair and rental shop in downtown Siloam Springs by July.

"It wouldn't have happened at all without the infrastructure and investments that the Walton Family Foundation has made (in the trail system)," Robinson said about the success. "But because that was there, it enabled the private sector to come in and fill that void and I feel like we've done a pretty good job in terms of being a small business and taking on the ownership of what that should look like in the community."

SundayMonday Business on 03/12/2017

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