If you’ve been following Melody Wheels online, you may have noticed that I haven’t been active on this Blog or Social Media in the last few years. I’m now 12 years into the business, and its 11 years since I started here in Fremantle. When I first used social media, it was a young and fairly naive space in which it was fun to share your thoughts, ideas, processes and insights into your work; and connect with others who shared the same interests. I met (digitally) lots of cool and amazing people from all over the world. However, sometimes as you get older this digital “share” house goes from being a fun place to hang out, to becoming more of a s**hole, and you just want some time and space for yourself. I’ve been fortunate to have many excellent customers who’ve supported what I do and kept coming back to see me, even when I keep moving shop. My work doesn’t scale, and if I tried to take on too much, I’m not sure if I’d still enjoy doing it. Hence I’m happy to be tinkering away in my shop without a big sign or much of an online presence.
In terms of the bike industry, not much has changed in 2025. The bike industry is still grappling with the same issues of oversupply, low profitability, and anaemic growth since the Covid boom. Concept stores seem to have had their day, direct-to-consumer will always be, Chinese bike brands are becoming more established, and the professionalised “service department” is still the great remaining hope for Local Bike Shop profitability. EBikes are still one of the few areas of genuine growth, despite ongoing concerns about what is and isn’t an eBike. In the wheels department, carbon spokes have become more mainstream on road bikes, and this has brought with it a number of challenges around serviceability, repairability, and the use of proprietary components. If it wasn’t already obvious I’m not a fan of this, because I prefer simple technologies and standardised componentry … but I’m also the guy who rides an allegedly “heavy” steel frame bike with rim brakes and external gear cables…. so my opinions are best ignored. Thankfully there are still a good number of people who understand the difference between abstract performance and better quality products which will work well and last a long time.
Outside of the shop, 2025 has been a good year for me, in which Ive generally been more happy and less rattled than I was in 2024. The biggest change was not in my own life, but in that of my partner Pia, who returned to full-time study and subsequently back to “professional” work. This shift in our household, has meant that Ive needed to step up do more with the family and that’s been a good thing. I’m still riding with my cycling friends, but I don’t always have the time for coffee. The weeks are filled with family activities and a lot of “rinse and repeat”. In 2025 I was unable to race the Numbat Cup (cyclocross season) and I missed the Tour of Margaret River for the first time since 2021. The biggest cycling event of my year was the Spartans Pemby Heroic which was just a few weeks ago. This event involved an epic cycling adventure from Fremantle to Pemberton and a mini-tour of South-West WA, amongst the wonderful Karri forests. We covered around 270km each day, with the challenge of backing up each day to 800km in total. I was very nervous about how I would go on the ride. I had some “hotfoot” issues on Day 1, but felt increasingly better in the subsequent days. I hadn’t done a ride like this for many year and it was awesome.
In 2026, I’m not expecting a huge amount change, but you really never truly know what’s around the corner. Like every year, I’m hoping for a better year on the bike, and I’ve had my eyes on the upcoming Road Nats Grand Fondo in early January and the 2026 WA cyclocross season. On 1 Feb the Old Traffic Bridge (about 300m from the shop) will close for the last time, and then they’ll be a period of at least 12 months before a new bridge is built in its place. This has been referred to as a coming “carmageddon” for North Fremantle, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens. In the short term, I’ll be reducing my working days to 3 days a week during the January School Holiday period, and when school recommences I’ll be reviewing my regular hours (Monday to Friday) once I get a handle on how these changes will impact getting my kids to two different schools in 2026.
From 25 December to 2 January 2026 Melody Wheels will be closed for the Christmas break. Please keep an eye on the website and google business profile for changes to the shop hours 2026.
A big thanks to my many friends, customers, and industry suppliers who’ve supported Melody Wheels in 2025. I hope you have a fantastic holiday break and look forward to seeing you again in 2026.
