Two years ago, we opened Shifting Gears in a town of 5,700 people and hoped for the best. We had a plan, some tools, a great team of advisors, and a lot of enthusiasm. Not to mention a firm belief that Evansville needed a good bike shop.
What we did not have was any guarantee that anyone would show up. Long story short, they showed up. And that still gets us.
Here is what two years in this town have actually taught us.
We Got Some Things Mostly Right
Let’s start there, because we like to be positive. What went about how we expected?
We had a feeling there would be variety in what people would walk in looking for. Not just in the bikes themselves, but in what they needed from us. A kid getting their first real bike. A retired teacher who wanted to start riding again after twenty years away. A neighbor with a bike stashed in the shed for decades that needs to be brought back to life.
A serious cyclist who knew exactly what they wanted and just needed someone to source it. A parent who had no idea where to start and needed someone to slow down and walk them through it.
We learned fast that there is no single kind of rider. Our goal is to help everyone who wants to get on a bike and ride. No shame, no intimidation. Just help and encouragement.
What Surprised Us Most
Honestly? The conversations. They were the most amazing part of the whole small-town experience. People do not come into a bike shop just to buy something.
They come in to talk about riding, to ask questions they’ve been sitting on for months, to share a story about a childhood bike, to be around people who care about the same things they do.
That part of the job is not the part we expected to love as much as we do. But we do. Those conversations are why the shop feels like the shop.
What We Love About This Town
This community took a chance on a new bike shop and kept taking that chance week after week. People brought their kids in. They told their neighbors. They came back after a repair with a kind word about how the bike felt.
One woman came in for a flat fix and ended up learning how to do it herself because we took the time to show her what she needed to know.
One family keeps coming back because kids keep growing and their bike needs to grow with them. We love that we can help keep everyone riding with new bikes, used bikes, replacement parts when something “just falls off.”
That is the part that stays with you. Not the transaction. The moment after, when we see how we helped someone solve a problem, and they realize that riding is going to be a bigger part of their life than it was before.
What Keeps Us Going
We believe in something simple: everyone deserves a great bike. Not a perfect bike, not an expensive bike… a great one. The right one. The one that fits, that works, that makes the ride feel the way a ride is supposed to feel.
That belief is easy to hold in a town like Evansville, because this community keeps reminding us why it matters. Every kid who rolls out of here on a bike that actually fits. Every person who comes back six months later with more miles and more confidence. Every neighbor who waves at us when they walk by because they know us and we know them.
Two years in, we are more certain than ever that this is the right work, in the right place, with the right people around us. Here’s to many, many more.