Brickyard Bicycles set to open in March 

A new service-driven bike shop is opening up in Tisbury in March that will offer in-house and on-the-go mechanical support.

Greg Politz, owner of Brickyard Bicycles, said the bike industry has been drastically affected by online sales — one of the reasons he wanted to orient his new business more toward the service element of things.

Politz has been around bikes his whole life. Since 1990, his family has owned a bike shop outside Philadelphia, where he spent many fond years of his young life working, and learning everything he could.

“Since I was 4 years old, I have been knocking over bikes, and learning how to work the wrench since I was 8 or 9,” Politz said. “It’s definitely in the blood.”

While working as an inside sales representative for Fuji Bicycles, Politz saw that one of his clients, Edgartown Bicycles, was looking for a manager, so a mutual friend put him in touch with the owner.

He ended up getting the job and moving to the Island, where he has been working with bikes for the better part of a decade.

“I ran Edgartown Bicycles for seven years, then had two years at Martha’s Bike Rental in Vineyard Haven,” Politz said. “There aren’t many better places to be in the bike business than on Martha’s Vineyard.”

Currently, Politz said the bike industry is in “a really weird place,” because of a significant bike shortage that is likely to continue for the next 6 to 12 months.

This means that for any bike shop that relies heavily on sales, it will be difficult to get stock consistently. 

For years, Politz said, bike manufacturers relied on dealers to sell their products, much like the car industry. But the internet sales market is “exploding,” Politz said. He stressed that he believes the future of mom-and-pop bike shops will be in the service industry. 

“I don’t like that idea, but times are changing,” he said. “It’s an adapt-or-die situation. Change your business model, and service the customer in the way they want to be serviced. Tons of mom-and-pop bike shops have gone under because of internet sales.”

Politz saw the changing market, and figured it would be a good opportunity to utilize his mechanical experience and focus largely on bicycle maintenance and service.

He will be providing both in-house and mobile bike services to his clients, operating out of the CrossFit warehouse building behind Vineyard Grocer on Cook Road. 

“I am servicing that market without having to pay the rent of a storefront that requires a lot of foot traffic,” Politz said. “I am off the beaten path, and I’m not paying a ton in rent for a million-dollar building.”

And since Politz has most of the tools he needs to run the shop from his 30 years in the industry, the startup cost is relatively low. He added that he already has loyal clients supporting his transition.

Apart from the endless trails, bike paths, and old dirt roads to explore on-Island, Politz said, biking on Martha’s Vineyard is special because of the potential and willingness to strengthen bike infrastructure, and ensure safer and more accessible biking for all.

“We are already one of the closest things to Amsterdam biking that you see in the U.S.,” Politz said. “People like to paint a picture of it being unsafe, but this is one of the safest places in the country to ride.”

Politz is on the bicycle/pedestrian advisory committee of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, and said that group is always looking to make biking safer, while not disrupting the character and beauty of the Island.

“It is such a magical place to be in the bike business and be a biker. There is no bad ride, no ugly view, and in the summer you can get most places faster by bike than you can by car. This is a truly magical place for all things bikes.”

Politz plans on a soft opening at the beginning of March, with business going full-bore by mid-March.