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Rollin’ On

by Brandon Johnson

In the 1970s Tim Brick’s father planned to open a restaurant.  He wanted to start his own business and he had a passion for cooking, so it seemed like a good idea.  Tim and his brother talked him out of it- they hated the idea of their father getting burnt out on his passion.

This all happened during the 1973 oil crisis.  The brothers saw an opportunity for their father and suggested he open a bike shop.  “The price of gasoline went from twenty-five cents a gallon to a dollar a gallon pretty much overnight,” Tim explains.  “There were all these hippies buying $100 ten-speeds.”

Tim worked at Brick Wheels as a young man before leaving to play football and eventually coach at University of Montana.   Later, when his father wanted a less active role at Brick Wheels, Tim came back to Traverse City to help out.  Eventually, he bought the business from his father.

What is really interesting is that the recent downturn of the economy means many of the same things that made Brick Wheels successful in the beginning  are helping business today.  “Commuting’s become more prevalent,” says Tim.  “People have been moving in to town, buying bikes.”  Also, with less money for travel, people are spending more locally for recreation.

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