A bike shop with close ties to Portland is the latest to announce that it’s closing.
Veloce Bicycles opened in 2003 in Portland and was located on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard until 2017. Original owner Demetri Macrigeanis sold the business to current owner Brent Engstrom in 2011.
Engstrom announced earlier this week on the shop’s Facebook page that the shop will close and their last day will be May 31st. “After 17 Years in the Portland area, Veloce Bicycles is closing,” he said. “We have been very proud to serve our great customers throughout the years. Thank you all! Unfortunately due to various reasons we forced to close.”
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Veloce was known for its high-end road bikes. The shop was a dealer for Orbea, Pinarello, Masi, and others.
Engstrom moved Veloce from Portland to Beaverton in January 2018. In 2017, Engstrom told the Willamette Week that the emergence of two Biketown bike share stations near his shop hurt his business and forced him to leave Portland. The shop is now located at the Progress Ridge shopping center about 13 miles southwest of downtown Portland.
Veloce is the sixth retail bike shop closure we’ve reported on so far this year. Since the start of 2020, we’ve lost Rivelo, Norther Cycles, Revolver, and the brick-and-mortar retail operations of Western Bikeworks (which remains open online) and Universal Cycles (which is open until the end of May and plans to move to Washington County).
Engstrom is having a sale on all inventory. Bikes are 20% off and all accessories and clothing are 30% off. I’ve asked him for a comment about the closure and will update this post if/when I hear back.
CORRECTION, 3:28 pm: Please note that the Universal Cycles retail store on East Burnside remains open through May and then plans to open at a new location in Washington County. The original version of this post made it seem like the shop had already closed. Sorry for the error and the confusion it caused.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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