River City Bicycles’ David Guettler named Retailer of the Year

David Guettler showing off his
BRAINy Award at Cross Vegas
last night.
(Photo © J. Maus)

David Guettler, owner of River City Bicycles in Portland’s central eastside, was named Retailer of the Year by Bicycle Retailer and Industry News at an award ceremony last night following the first day of the Interbike trade show.

I bumped into an ecstatic Guettler at the Cross Vegas race shortly after the awards ceremony. Guettler has been in the bike industry for 31 years and says this is by far the biggest honor of his career. “I’m still floating from the awards ceremony… this is a big deal!” Guettler said being a part of the bike industry is such an honor because the bicycle is such a powerful force for good that can help solve so many of our world’s problems. “I think this is the most important industry in the world. To be selected by my peers… it’s just staggering.”

“I’m still floating from the awards ceremony… this is a big deal!”
— David Guettler

The award was presented by Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, the leading bike industry trade magazine that serves the over 4,400 bike shops in America. At Guettler’s request, his hero Eddy Merckx — whose jerseys hang in the rafters at River City — presented the award.

River City is consistently recognized as one of the top bike shops in the country. The shop is also know for its provocative ads and generous support of racing. The 15,000 square-foot shop has 60 employees (at its busiest time of year) and has been in business for 15 years.

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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Kman
Kman
13 years ago

Congrats Dave!

Juan C
Juan C
13 years ago

rad.
congrats!

fredlf
fredlf
13 years ago

Wow, the award presented by The Cannibal himself! That’s impressive.

Tonya
Tonya
13 years ago

Congrats! What an honor!

Candi
13 years ago

So deserved. Congrats Dave and the entire shop!

Jim Lee
Jim Lee
13 years ago

Also known for provocative employees.

TonyT
TonyT
13 years ago

Props to Dave! A great (former) boss.

Dan Kaufman
13 years ago

Way to go, River City!

rrandom rider
rrandom rider
13 years ago

A well-deserved honor indeed. Their quality, service and reasonable pricing are the reason my family has bought 5 bikes from them over the last few years.

f5
f5
13 years ago

Good for RC. Love their shop. Sad they don’t really carry much in the way of trail bikes anymore tho.

Stochelo
Stochelo
13 years ago

Congratulations to Dave and his excellent staff and store. He should get a second, separate award for RCB’s fantastic ads!

middle of the road guy
middle of the road guy
13 years ago

I stopped shopping here a while ago for several reasons…some personal, some economic.

I noticed that the previous co-owner (Mark) is no longer associated with RCB. Couple of my friends are former employees of RCB – they did not have flattering comments.

Still, it’s a compliment to the Portland bike community. This city certainly has the best selection and concentration of bike stores than any other city I have ever lived or visited.

Tom Durkin
Tom Durkin
13 years ago

Congratulations Dave. Thank you for all your support of cycling and racing.