Bicycle Sports bites the dust

According to sources formerly employed by the enterprise, Bicycle Sports' principals are set to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation. The largest creditors are rumored to be a bank and several private investors.

John Cobb has twice faced imminent demise as a retailer, once in 1993 before local Shreveport businessman, Albert Katzenstein, stepped in to finance Cobb and act as his partner (the tale of Bicycle Sports history is recounted here). Then, in 2002, Cobb intended to exit the world of retail and work for Steve Hed, owner of Hed Cycling and manufacturer of race wheels and aerodynamic handlebars. According to Cobb, he was in the middle of making the transition from Bicycle Sports to Hed when approached by Cody Smith, a much more flamboyant partner than Katzenstein, with much broader business intentions.

Bicycle Sports grew to seven retail locations at its peak, barely a year after Smith's first meeting with Cobb. Also infamous was the "Big Red Truck," an entire retail store on wheels evident at many high-profile triathlons across North America during the 2003 season. Smith’s ambitions for Bicycle Sports exceeded his grasp, by all accounts, and a cycle of investors and loans could not fix what ailed the retail enterprise.

Cobb and long time employee Dave Bunce are not entirely gone from the scene, however. Cobb’s desire for several years has been to move into product manufacturing and designing and, indeed, working with Hed held out the promise of just that. Though the relationship with Hed did not pan out, Cobb spawned another company while he was at the most recent iteration of Bicycle Sports, and Blackwell Design was to be the fruit of Cobb’s creative endeavors in product design. Blackwell had been run out of St. Paul, Minnesota, by Ben Popp, an associate of the Heds. However, Popp resigned from Blackwell this week, and Bunce is now running the outfit. Popp has not been returned calls for this story, however he is rumored to have lost tens of thousands of dollars according to two sources close to Bicycle Sports, the sum representing a capital investment in the Bicycle Sports firm. He is also reportedly owed pay for his work at Blackwell.

Blackwell is not a part of the Bicycle Sports structure, according to sources, and so may be shielded from any attempt by creditors to attach its assets. Cobb’s interest in Blackwell might represent one clue as to his future plans. His recent interests also include setting up a sort of super training facility for triathletes and other athletes, headquartered in Tyler. Triathletes would receive a battery of physiological tests, bicycle positioning, and even wind tunnel testing, performed in a tunnel to be built on the premises. This all appears in question, however, due to the Bicycle Sports closure.