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.
It’s now been 10 months since I moved into the new shop in North Fremantle. The great news is that the space is working out really well. I feel like I won the trifecta in terms of home, family and work. I’m able to get a lot more done in juggling my work hours and family/after school responsibilities. I even have a bit more time in the day for early morning groups rides. That said there have been some negatives. Despite my best efforts to describe where the shop is located, occasionally customers have difficulty finding the shop. The curse of being on a large corner block is that our street address is confusing. The street address is Unit 9, 210 Queen Victoria Street, however the actual shop frontage is on Tydeman Road. If you drive down Queen Victoria St, you won’t see us. If you don’t pull over before the corner, you’ll either have to drive around the block or find yourself heading over the old traffic bridge into Fremantle. There is dedicated parking on site, however its a bit of rabbit warren trying to find it. Eventually our new and returning customers work it out. I’ve written a guide on where to find us and parking HERE.
Another difficulty we are going through is that we are entering a phase of construction where the old Fremantle traffic bridge will soon to be closed (and demolished), and will not reopen, as new bridge, until late 2026.
The flow-on effects of this major infrastructure development is that traffic has become more congested in North Fremantle, particularly in the afternoon peak, and it will no-doubt get worse. There isn’t much we can do about this but ask for patience. Eventually it will get better. However, if you are coming to the shop, we recommend trying to get there earlier in the day, or late on Thursday, when we are open until 9pm every Thursday night.
On the topic of hours, I’ve just adjusted my hours to close early on Wednesdays at 2:30pm (it was previously 4pm). I like to keep my hours as regular as possible, however I need to finish early for school pickup and after-school sports training. Eventually there will be time when I can maintain more consistent shop hours, but for the time being it’s a juggling act.
It’s that time of year.Again, it’s been a while between blog posts but I thought it would be timely to reflect on what has been another big year at Melody Wheels.
Snakes and Ladders (again)
Image credit: https://stevethings.wordpress.com/
Coming after the Covid19 Bike Boom, the bike industry is well and truely into its “bust cycle”. I’ve heard, although not confirmed, that up to 15 bike shops in Perth have closed in the last 12 months. Less than ideal. Covid was like a big drug hit for many in the bike industry – an unnatural high of demand – in an industry that typically “limps” along. It seems that many of the industries that did well during Covid are suffering a similar fate. As my business is niche and serviced focused, the “bike bust” hasn’t affected me as badly. Most of my customers are seasoned riders who care about their bikes and value the services that I offer. However, there are fundamental changes in the broader economic environment with heavy discounting of new bikes and components, and purchase decisions that were brought forward a few years. Massive discounting and “clearance” pricing is a market signal that affects all players whether you choose to engage in such practices or not — everyone looses. Perceptions of value are lowered, discounting becomes normalised with a “race to the bottom” on price, and all good practices for maintaining a profitable and sustainable business get thrown out the door. Ironically, while there has been aggressive discounting on many bike goods, this hasn’t always “trickled down” to retailers.Amongst a number of product categories I sell, Ive noticed significant price increases from wholesalers. It’s hard to understand these fluctuations in pricing dynamics. Some blame the lower Aussie dollar, inflation, geo-political uncertainty… whatever, but its made it harder to be profitable and or take more considered approach to inventory. I wouldn’t describe myself as a ruthless business person, but I am ruthless when it comes to making sure that the products I stock are reasonable “profit earners” and not so-called “loss leaders”. Small bike businesses like my own have felt increasingly squeezed on profitability. This issue is nothing new, but it’s accelerated in the last 12 months.
The Big Move
2024 was the year I/we made the big decision to move shop. Like choosing a place to live, choosing a place to physically locate your “bricks and mortar” workspace is a big decision – full of pros and cons, hopes and compromises. The process took around 4 months in total. I would have liked it to have been quicker but I am confident that we made the right choice. I’m now based in a much smaller 60sqm shop in an active urban centre. Ive gone through the process of getting rid of years of accumulated “stuff’ and only keep the things that are core parts of my business. My workshop has never been better organised. Ive even developed some new habits like cleaning the shop every day. It takes about 5 mins. Previously it would have taken me about a days work to dust and vacuum the old factory. I’m now working much closer to home and finding a lot more time in my day for the ever growing list of after-school kids activities that fill up our week. The workshop space is small and cosy and easy to keep cool or warm. In my small shop, I’m now surrounded by fitness studios, physiotherapists, legal offices, and cafes. I miss the camaraderie of the tradespersons I used to work next to. I can’t run a noisy air-compressor anymore, but I’m managing just fine without one.
About the Bike
2024 was defiantly not a great year on the bike if my fitness was anything to go by. Ive found myself drifting backwards through the bunches. I used to enjoy pushing myself on the bike, but nowadays I feel more like “the little engine that could”. Not having a road bike ride for 2 months didn’t help. Unfortunately my old titanium Guru frame cracked so I had to find a new frame. Finding a replacement frame for a rim brake, mechanically geared, external cabled traditionalist wasn’t exactly easy. Thank you Mr Ritchey:
In spite of my declining fitness I still did a full cyclocross season and even managed to get an Equal 1st on points in the Open Category of the Numbat Cup. I am reminded of the old saying: “Showing up is half the battle”. My best result in any race over the entire series was 3rd place, however I did manage to complete every race. I love the WA Cyclocross community and how it manages to balance competitiveness and inclusivity at the same time. It’s been awesome to be part of it for another year, as both a racer and sponsoring business.
This year I also did the Tour of Margaret River for the fourth year a row with my teammates from the South Perth Rouleurs. Again, I’ve found myself drifting back into the lower grades… which one teammate, Ash Brown, aptly named “Joy Division” aka Div J. I was hoping to build fitness and train properly for this event but found myself going through a bizarre cycle of sickness and recovery in the two months that preceded the race. We scraped through the 3 days of hard racing and just managed to hang onto 2nd place in the teams classification. Not an entirely bad result.
Tour of Margaret River 2024, Stage 3, Presentations – Photo:Daniela Tommasi
Christmas and 2025
Christmas is peak period of cycling activity and this year I’m expecting this year to be one of the biggest ever, with advent of the AusCycling Road Cycling National Championships here in Perth. Currently I’m fully booked for wheel builds until Friday 22 December. However I will have time available for repairs before Christmas and right through the Christmas to New Years break. This year I’ll be working throughout the festive season and into early January. I’ll then take time off in the later half of January before school goes back.
Image source: AusCycling
As far 2025 goes, I haven’t consulted my crystal ball or tarot card reader yet. My motto for this year has been “Survive to 25”. 2024 was a tough year because of cashflow challenges and so much uncertainty while I moved shop. Thankfully, I/we managed to get through it. Our online retail shop at Bicycle Spokes Australia has ticked along but I’d like to put a lot more energy into it in 2025. And despite the current “bust phase” the bike industry is in, there is certainly no shortage of demand for professional bicycle mechanics. One has to be optimistic for this work, however I still feel that the business model for serviced focused bicycle business needs to evolve to ensure that the business fundamentals are sustainable.In spite of these challenges, I’m still excited to continue working in and being a part of the community of people who love riding bikes.
