A community bike shop comes to Hailey
By Mike McKenna
Hailey has become one of the best bike towns in the West.
From the bike path to the new Gravel Grinder map to being home to the one of the best “biker” bars in the world (Power House pub), we sure do love our bikes around here.
That’s why it makes sense that The Trailhead Bicycles has opened a year-round bike shop in the Meriwether Building by Java.
After Formula Sports closed down, Trek was looking for another vendor in the area. Word got out to the teams at Fitzgerald’s Bicycles shops in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Victor, Idaho. Kyle Wiess had worked for Fitzgerald’s for 14 years and Andy Solomon had been with them for four, and they liked the idea of opening up a year-round bike shop in a ski town.
Kyle had been here before and they both had friends in Hailey. After coming over from the Teton Valley to check things out, Andy was quickly hooked. He called to tell his wife, Erin, “Hey, the riding is pretty sweet here.”
After originally looking at Ketchum, they decided Hailey was the ideal location for the shop.
“Hailey just had more ingredients to run a shop successfully,” said Kyle, mentioning the better options for staffing and housing. “The riding from the shop is fantastic, too.”
The Trailhead opened earlier this year and has quickly gained a solid clientele. A big reason why is because their motto is that they are “a community bike shop” and, as it states on their website, they simply want to “inspire people to ride.”
“We want people to feel comfortable, supported and welcome here,” Erin said. “Bike shops are community-oriented, so being here has been amazing.”
You can often find the entire Solomon family at the shop; Erin, Andy, their daughter Finley, and their Old English sheepdog, Elliot, who “sometimes is the greeter and sometimes he’s the rug.”
Andy grew up in Colorado, Erin is from New Hampshire and Kyle is originally from Montana, so they get the small and friendly mountain-town vibe of Hailey. They have quickly adjusted to life here and report that even though it was a little scary to make the move at first, “things have really worked well,” Kyle said.
The Trailhead is a full-service bike shop. In addition to Trek, they carry Pivot and BMC, and build custom bikes of all kinds. They offer everything from kids’ bikes and ebikes to gravel, road and fat bikes. They also carry just about anything you need for a bike, besides clothing.
“There’s not a category of bikes we won’t sell,” said Kyle, who is a very well-respected bike fitter. “As a bike fitter, I’m creating a long-term relationship with the client.”
The Trailhead is open Tuesdays-Saturdays and everyone is welcome and encouraged to come by.
“People are sometimes intimated to come into a bike shop,” Kyle said, “but being a community bike shop means everyone’s bike is important to us.”