YPSILANTI, Mich. (BRAIN) — When Two Wheel Tango unexpectedly closed in early October, many customers who had purchased bikes from one of its three stores wondered where they would take them for service.
The same week Two Wheel Tango owner Dennis Pontius made the decision to close after the vendor agreement with his primary bike supplier ended, nearby Tree Fort Bikes stepped up and offered to extend lifetime standard tune-ups to the former Ann Arbor retailer’s clientele, for as long as Two Wheel Tango is closed.
“We heard the news that they were closing, so we talked about how we could best help out the community,” said Michael Wirth, manager of Tree Fort Bikes. “We know Dennis and Leslie (Pontius) really well and are sad to see such a fixture in the cycling community close their doors.”
Tree Fort Bikes opened in Ypsilanti, about 15 miles east of Ann Arbor, in 2003 and specializes in mountain bikes, fat bikes and cyclocross. It expanded with an online store in 2007 that operates out of an office and warehouse space two doors down from its 1,500-square-foot brick-and-mortar store. Tree Fort stocks bikes from Giant, Cannondale, Salsa, Niner, Surly, Foundry and others.
Tree Fort also hired three former Two Wheel Tango employees after the closures, which Wirth said is ultimately good for the tight-knit local cycling community. “I’d be lying if I said it was wasn’t a good move for us to honor the tune-ups, because it has driven traffic for us, but we’re not looking to make money off of it,” he said.
“We really just don’t want people to stop riding because they don’t know where to take their bike for service,” Wirth added. “It’s something that just makes sense.”
