Anyone who spends serious time on a bike has probably spent serious time in bike shops. And in New York City it’s hard not to notice that bike shops have become more and more tribal, turning into “lifestyle destinations” as much as anything else. At TrackStar, for instance, kids drink beer in brown bags and compare tattoos. At Cadence, however, an ambitious new “cycling and multisport center” on the corner of Vestry and Hudson streets in Tribeca, you can probably get some good stock tips and a line on a Bridgehampton share next season. Tribeca is now the wealthiest zip code in the country, and Cadence believe they have a potential customer base that will appreciate the extremely attentive service and club-like atmosphere of the world’s premiere cycling centers.

In practice, Cadence is like an alternative theme park for fitness fanatics, with indoor cycling classes featuring twenty-four networked Computrainers broadcasting on an overhead projector; a physiology lab for lactate threshold, Wingate (max wattage), and V02 max testing; a biomechanical lab for bike fitting with Dartfish software; an Endless Pool room; a weight training room; a wall of treadmills; a café with a big cappuccino machine; and top of the line bicycles and accessories. The basement even features a concierge service that allows for busy people to drop off their bikes on their way to work, and use them for indoor cycling classes on their way home, after they’ve been cleaned and set on trainers, just waiting for your arrival. Think of it as bicycle day care.

When you enter the store you are politely asked to park your bike in a carpeted bike lot. I wondered if I’d be asked to remove my shoes, too. The place is immaculate (imagine Interbike at the Soho Grand), with high ceilings, a sparse modernist aesthetic, leather club chairs and elegantly presented hi-zoot bikes. Everything has obviously been selected and displayed with the greatest care.

Here’s what’s best about their strategy: they are totally up front about not trying to be all things to all people, but at the same time it’s worth noting that everyone is very helpful and knowledgeable. Every employee at Cadence puts a premium on being friendly, even if your attire is less than adequate for a meal at Nobu, conveniently located just across the street.

All kidding aside regarding bike shop culture, Cadence is very serious about the business of testing and coaching its clientele. “Performance drives the business,” explains Jed, the store manager. And they are working hard not to miss a beat. As training technology trickles down and more people have access to sophisticated pieces of testing hardware, Cadence is determined to stay ahead of the curve. Already there are too many shops and testing facilities that simply unfold a Computrainer and some Lactate-Pro strips, with results then deciphered by a coach doubling as a salesman. It may even be a nice experience, but it makes for an unconvincing exercise physiology lab. At Cadence, they use state of the art testing hardware (including a Parvo metabolic cart), evaluated by dedicated and certified professionals. To read more about testing at Cadence click here.

I had a chance to sit down at the Cadence Café to speak with store manager Jed Kornbluh.

NYVC: Jed, how did you come to Cadence?

JK: I’ve been in the bike industry for fifteen years. Friends told me about an ad on Bicycling Retailer, so I applied and went through an extensive and rigorous screening process; I think I met everyone in the company, and I got the job. I’m really very happy here now.

NYVC: Why did Cadence enter the NYC market?

JK: We have been open for three years in Philly and we started to get clients who came from New York, so we started to look at New York City and we realized there was no cycling center of our caliber there. We have plans to keep expanding, but we’ll settle in here first.

NYVC: How is it going so far?

JK: We had some delays. When you engage in a building project as extensive as this it’s no surprise, but it made us open later than we’d originally hoped, and we had a very “soft opening” – we didn’t make a lot of noise about it. But the response has been tremendous, and we ended up having as stellar month in July.

NYVC: Are you worried about how the loan crisis may affect the Dow Jones and in turn hurt the financial industry you are trying to capture here?

JK: Well any leisure business is affected, but there are people who will always make it [their fitness] a priority.

NYVC: Tell us about the much-rumored “Bike Valet” service.

JK: You can leave you bike with us, drop it off, rent a locker, and then walk to work – if you work on Wall Street. After work you can come back and we will have it waiting for you on the Computrainer — cleaned and tuned up if it needs it. We want this to be your center. It’s like a cycling fitness club for cyclists and triathletes of all calibers. There is a stigma associated with “the bike shop”. Too often it calls to mind a picture of a guy behind the counter who gives you attitude when you walk in. We may have a fancy shop but we are not snobs. We don’t care what you ride, when you walk in this shop you are always treated well, and with respect. Mark Purdy our head mechanic has a saying: “The coolest bike around is the one on my stand right now.”

NYVC: Obviously, to establish yourself as a top tier shop in New York City you need great mechanics. Tell us about your wrenching staff?

JK: Our mechanics have at least five years of experience and must be Barnett certified; we don’t want “bike builders.” We ask a lot of our prospective mechanics if they’ve worked on Campy Delta brakes; do they really know the difference between Campy and Shimano? Mark has nineteen years of bicycle retail/mechanic experience. That’s what we’re looking for. We actually found it very difficult to find mechanics who were willing to leave their comfortable locations, or ones who had the chops. It’s a tough commodity to come by, but obviously you can’t open a shop like this without first-rate mechanics. We have to have them.

NYVC: What kind of bikes do you carry?

JK: We carry Cervelo, BMC, Kuota, Wilier, and Cyfac. Cervelo is our top-selling brand. They have a lot of market cache – Cervelo outsells the rest of what we carry.

NYVC: And clothes?

JK: De Marchi, Assos, Castelli, Rapha, Capo Forma. People come to us for the Rapha stuff; we can barley keep it on the racks, it’s hard to come by.

NYVC: Why does a bike shop or even a “cycling and multisport center” need a café?

JK: Coffee and cycling cultures go hand in hand, and in Philly we have a lot of great cafés around the area, and we realized that was central to the experience of going to the shop. We didn’t have that luxury here so we put one in this center. We wanted to make it a whole experience: you come in, we work on your bike, you take a class, you have a BMI test, maybe you pick up a jersey, and then drink a cappuccino while you walk the floor. We want you to feel comfortable. That’s why we have a “lifestyle center” with a nice leather chairs.

(At this point I was actually following Jed on the whole Cadence experience. The picture he was painting was compelling and original. But calling a couple leather chairs and a coffee table a “lifestyle center?” That started to crack me up. But when I started laughing, so did Jed.)

JK: (Laughing) Okay, I call it a lounge, but it’s a nice space and in the winter we’ll show race videos.

NYVC: What kind of cycling classes do you offer?

JK: We have classes in general fitness cycling, climbing, time trailing, and triathlon. Classes ranging from beginner to intermediate. We are looking to help our clients have a positive power increase. On September 10 we will start a fall class that runs twelve weeks, 6:30 a.m. or p.m., and you will receive three months of our Bronze-level coaching. On average we have seen a 12% increase in lactate threshold power from similar classes held at our Philadelphia location.

NYVC: What about physiological testing?

JK: We do bike fitting, Wingate power testing, lactate and VO2 max testing , Basil Metabolic rate testing, and pedaling analysis. The Director of Performance is Mikael Hanson and Chad Butts is our resident exercise physiologist . Many of your readers are already familiar with him as a force in local racing (Chad is a very competitive Cat 2 racer) and has a Masters Degree in exercise physiology. We have a strength and conditioning room, and starting in early November we will offer weight training – all endurance based, no power lifting. An endless pool downstairs will be open soon and we have a partner, TriSmarter, who offers nutrition services for our clients.

NYVC: Can I walk in and buy a bike here?

JK: We sell our bikes with a “Concierge” level service. When you walk onto the retail floor you will not see racks and racks of bikes. We do have some assembled, but we have a different concept here; we want to custom build a bike for every customer. They can select the frame and parts from our floor and then we will build it for the customer. We feel bikes should be built like suits are tailored. Our bike fit is part of the process. We look at your riding biomechanically: are there discrepancies in your leg lengths? What are your strengths and weaknesses? We want to know all of that information before we assemble your bike.

NYVC: Are the bikes more expensive?

JK: We strongly adhere to MSRP, so our prices are the same as everyone else, although we do charge for the fitting.

NYVC: What if I just had a bike fitting by Mike Sherry that I already like?

JK: That’s great. We have a machine that enables us to duplicate your current bike position, and of course in that case we will not charge you for the fit, but would prefer to offer the service to you. We also offer free lifetime maintenance on all our bikes..

JK: What is the cheapest bike on the floor?

JK: The Kuota Karma is $2100, for a complete bike with Shimano 105 and Fulcrum Racing 7 Wheels. We also carry the Cervelo Soloist Team with a mix of Ultegra and FSA components for $2200.

NYVC: Thanks for your time Jed, looks like you are off to a great start here!

Cadence is located at
174 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10013
USA

cadencecycling.com
Tel: (Or toll free, 1-8PRO-CADENCE)
Fax: 212-226-4407

Monday through Friday, 9:30 to 8:00
Saturday, 9:30 to 5:00
Sunday, 11:00 to 6:00

Cadence Cafe:
Monday through Friday, 7:00 to 7:00
Saturday, 9:30 to 4:00
Sunday, 11:00 to 5:00

NYC Pricing
Performance Products

Swim Package 5 for the price of 4 $500 ($125 x 4)