Perhaps you've already heard: Harris Cyclery of West Newton, Massachusetts closed its doors on Sunday, the 13th. Their online ordering service--which I've used a few times--is also gone.
I stumbled over the bad news when Googling one of Sheldon Brown's tech pages. He, of course, is how I learned of the shop in the first place--about 40 years ago, if I recall correctly, when I read an article he wrote about wheelbuilding. At that time, of course, the website didn't exist, but when I got up to Boston, I made a point of visiting the shop. Alas, he was away. But I did get to meet him on a subsequent visit. He was about what you expected if you read any of his writing: warm, generous with advice and posessed of a quirky sense of humor.
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| Sheldon Brown |
Those are traits I also encountered in other Harris staffers. They, and Sheldon, did much to promote everyday as well as recreational cycling in and around Boston. So did their predecessors at Harris. They had to: When the shop first opened its doors 70 years ago (in a different building), it was one of the few anywhere in the US to offer high-quality, high-performance bikes and parts for the few adult everyday cyclists as well as enthusiasts of the time. In other words, they helped to keep the flame lit during what Sheldon has called the "Dark Ages" of American cycling, which spanned roughly two decades after World War II.
It's always distressing to lose any beloved small business. What makes the loss of Harris so disturbing, though, is that it shows us no shop may be immune to the vicissitudes of the marketplace. Being a New Yorker, my first thought was, "Their landlord wouldn't renew their lease--or wanted to increase the rent by an outrageous amount." From what information I've gleaned, however, it seems that Harris got caught in the vortex that sucked in many other shops during the past few months: After a COVID-fueled "boom" in sales, their showroom was bare. They were able to keep themselves going with repair work--until they couldn't get any more parts, due to disrupted supply chains. Customers, naturally, don't want to wait months for a new bike, much less a repair or tuneup--or to buy a helmet, lock or light.
My biggest concern, though, is Sheldon's pages. In addition to containing more useful information and insights--and well-informed, if at times cranky, opinions-- than just about any other site or guide, it's a continuation of his legacy, a dozen years after his passing. I hope we don't lose those pages along with the shop!
