Owners of a major bike shop in downtown Portland are throwing in the towel. West End Bikes has announced a closing sale after 14 years in business. The shop opened with a bang in 2011 on the corner of SW Harvey Milk and 11th (just one block south of Burnside). Co-owners Mark Ontiveros and Mike France stocked the “palatial” showroom with high-end bikes and had the backing of Specialized Bicycles, one of the largest brands in the industry.
West End offered a wide selection of bikes, apparel, and parts; but was known for its selection of high-end road bikes from brands like Wilier, Pinarello, and locally-based Sage Cycles. Ontiveros, who worked as head apparel buyer at River City Bicycles from 1995 until he left to team up with France, filled the shop with top clothing brands like Outlier, Assos, and Velocio.
In 2022, the shop moved to a smaller location on SW Washington Street when the historic building it was located in underwent major renovations. Around that same time, original co-owner Ontiveros sold his shares in the business (he’s now working at Lakeside Bicycles in Lake Oswego) and France brought in another co-owner.
In a post on Instagram, West End wrote, “After 14 years of following our passion, the time has come to slow the roll.” France added in a comment that he’s been planning to retire this year for a while.
The closure of West End Bikes leaves a vast swath of the central city without a major bike shop. The Trek Portland store moved from SW 10th and Salmon to the Nob Hill/Slabtown neighborhood last year. Once West End is gone, there will be a bike shop desert across downtown for 1.7 miles between NW Raleigh and 20th all the way to the Portland State University Bike Hub at SW Harrison and 6th.
I’ve asked West End Bikes owners if they’d like to share a statement about the closure and will update this post when I hear back.
The shop is having a closing sale with discounts on all bikes and products. More info here.
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When I worked downtown it was often most convenient to have any work done at a downtown shop (usually Bike Gallery). Drop it off in the AM, pick it up after work. Haven’t checked, does anybody work downtown anymore? Seems like this is an opportunity for a repair-focused bike shop, but maybe that’s not where the money is?