An Interview Article By Liz Donahey | June 2026 Issue 18
Beyond a Bike Shop
On any given day in Half Moon Bay, the fog rolls slowly over the coastline, surfers head toward the water before sunrise, and riders drift in and out of Straight Wheel Cycling with sandy shoes, dirty bikes , weekend ride stories, coffee in hand, and plans for their next adventure.
Inside the shop, the atmosphere feels different from the moment you walk through the door.
There is music playing. Someone is laughing near the service area. A customer is talking trail conditions with another rider they had never met before five minutes earlier. Others reminisce at the classic bikes hanging on the walls while longtime locals stop in just to say hello and talk shop with the mechanic on duty.It does not feel transactional.
It feels alive.
And that is exactly what Amy Thompson and Bart Draper set out to build.
“We wanted this to feel welcoming to everybody,” Amy explains. “Not intimidating. Not exclusive. We wanted people to walk in and feel comfortable, whether they’re getting a simple tube change, buying their first bike, or they’ve been riding for twenty years.”
That philosophy has quietly transformed Straight Wheel Cycling into something much bigger than a traditional bike shop. In many ways, it has become the heartbeat of the local cycling community — a gathering place where mountain biking, surf culture, family life, mentorship, and genuine human connection all intersect.
And in today’s increasingly digital world, that kind of authentic community space has become increasingly rare.
Built From Passion, Grit, and Vision
The story of Straight Wheel Cycling began humbly. Before there was a storefront, before the organized rides, before the busy weekends and loyal customer base, there was simply a mobile bike repair operation started in late 2019 by Amy and a former business partner.
Then came Bart.
At the time, Bart owned a window cleaning business, but mountain biking had already become deeply woven into his life through his 10 year old son. When the opportunity came to move Straight Wheel Cycling into a physical storefront in Half Moon Bay in 2022, Bart took the leap to make it happen . He helped shape the shop’s identity, design, energy, and long-term vision.
You can still feel that leap inside the walls of the shop today.
Unlike sterile retail spaces built around inventory and margins, Straight Wheel Cycling feels deeply personal. Every corner reflects the personalities behind it. Bart’s passion for gravity riding and trail culture shows up in conversations about suspension setups, downhill lines, bike builds, and trail systems. Amy’s calm leadership and operational focus create warmth, structure, consistency, and stability behind the scenes.
Together, they operate with an almost yin-and-yang balance that customers immediately recognize.
“She keeps everything grounded,” Bart says, laughing. “I’m the dreamer. I’m always thinking about the next thing we could build or create for the community, and Amy’s the one making sure we can actually pull it off.”
Amy smiles at the comment because it is clearly true.
The balance works.
And perhaps that balance is exactly why the shop resonates with so many different types of riders.
A Shop Built for Everyone
On one side of the business, Straight Wheel Cycling carries premium mountain and road bike brands like Yeti, Ibis, Marin and Ritte. On the other side, they intentionally focus on approachable rentals, beach cruisers, and accessible entry points for casual riders and visiting families exploring the coast.
That accessibility matters deeply to them.
“We never want people to feel like cycling isn’t for them,” Amy says. “A lot of shops can feel intimidating if you’re new. We want the opposite of that.”
The result is a shop culture where serious mountain bikers, beginners, tourists, kids, local families, and longtime riders all coexist naturally under one roof.
That inclusivity extends far beyond the sales floor.
Straight Wheel Cycling actively supports local schools through raffle prizes and gift certificates. They work with organizations helping refurbish and provide bikes to farm workers and restaurant workers who rely on bicycles for transportation. They host community rides and continue looking for ways to make cycling feel approachable instead of exclusive.
For Amy and Bart, those efforts are not marketing tactics.
They are simply part of being involved in the community they love
Rebuilding Local Cycling Culture
“A bike shop should be part of the town,” Bart explains. “People should feel like they can come hang out, ask questions, learn something, meet people, find riding buddies. That’s what the old-school bike shop experience used to be.”
And increasingly, that experience is disappearing.
As online shopping continues reshaping the cycling industry, many independent bike shops have struggled to survive. But Straight Wheel Cycling has doubled down on the one thing the internet cannot replicate: human connection.
Inside the shop, they have a simple philosophy:
Every interaction matters.
One of their mottos is that “tiny jobs can lead to massive connections .”
A quick repair might turn into a future bike purchase. A short conversation could become a friendship. A nervous first-time rider might eventually become a confident member of the riding community.
That long-view mindset has shaped the entire business.
And people notice it.
Customers return not only because of the bikes or the service, but because of how the shop makes them feel. Seen. Welcome. Included.
There is also an intentional effort to grow riding opportunities locally, especially for younger riders. Bart spoke passionately about the lack of downhill opportunities and organized youth development in the area compared to traditional cross-country programs. It is something he hopes to help change in the future by creating more opportunities, events, and pathways for younger riders to experience the sport.
That vision reflects a larger theme behind everything Straight Wheel Cycling does:
They are not just building customers.
They are building future riders, friendships, and community leaders.
This is just a preview. Catch the complete feature in our upcoming issue!
