Rob and Charlie's bike shop passes on to new owner

Sep. 4—Rob and Charlie's.

That's it.

That's all Charlie Verral has needed to keep his bicycle shop humming for 44 years.

Everybody knows Rob and Charlie's is a bike shop.

Now it's Rob and Charlie's under the ownership of Tennyson Hulcy. It became legal June 1, but Hulcy has been running the show since December.

He is not going to change the shop name to Rob and Charlie and Tennyson's.

"That sounds like a law firm," Hulcy said.

Rob and Charlie's has been the name since Verral and Rob Hedrick started the shop downtown in 1979 in a former gas station at Galisteo and Water streets. Hedrick left the business after the first three years but Verral has never changed the name, even as Rob and Charlie's moved to St. Michael's Drive in 1982 to escape increasing rents and soon after that into the present location in the St. Michael's Village West shopping center.

"We didn't want to be limited," Verral said about the simple two-name business name. "Initially, we sold skateboards. Rob was an astute skateboarder."

Rob and Charlie's still sells skateboards and mountain bikes and both low- and high-end bikes, electric bikes and accessories.

Verral has wanted to retire for a few years. The pandemic got in the way.

"The conditions to sell were great during the pandemic," Verral said. "I don't know. We were just too busy."

Last year, Verral placed a for-sale ad in a trade publication, and Hulcy, working at another Santa Fe bike shop, responded. Four years ago, Hulcy was on the verge of buying a bike shop in Los Angeles but that fell through.

"For me, it was the next logical step," Hulcy said. "For me, it was the right place at the right time."

Hulcy, 47, has been in the cycling business for nearly 30 years and arrived in Santa Fe eight years ago. Before that, he worked full-time for eight years aa a race mechanic for professional racing teams in China, Australia, Japan and South Korea.

Verral found an ideal fit in Hulcy.

"He's a great mechanic," Verral said. "He has a great background. He knows all about the merchandise. He fills the bill. He's nice to the customers as well."

Hulcy strives to have a family-oriented bike shop for all ages, down to helmets and baby seats for 2-year-olds.

"We have bikes for entry-level riders looking for a $500 bike," Hulcy said. "We have different price points of bikes from $500 to $2,000 to $5,000, all the way up to the person who wants to buy a high-end bike for $15,000 with electronic parts, ceramic barings, carbon fiber frames, aerodynamic wheels."

Electronic bikes now make up 10% of sales at Rob and Charlie's.

"E-bikes will definitely take over the bulk of any bike shop eventually," Hulcy said. "Right now, it's a little more a pride thing for older riders. Young folks still like the lightweight pedal bikes."

Half of the staff is certified to work on e-bikes using Giant, Bosch and Shimano motors, Hulcy said.

The bike has been Charlie Verral's life.

Verral, 76, has never owned a car. That didn't matter for the first 25 years as he grew up in New York City. Even in his 51 years in Santa Fe, Verral has stuck to his bikes, electric bikes for the past three years. He still bikes the 3.5 miles from home to Rob and Charlie's on most Saturdays.

"You can't feel the motor," Verral said. "You just feel 20 years younger."

Back in the 1970s, Verral and Hedrick worked at a bike shop that closed. They started a bike shop of their own but could raise only $1,000 from Hedrick's father so Rob and Charlie's for the first year was a bike parts shop.

"We didn't not want to sell bikes; we just couldn't afford [them]," said Verral.

Bikes were added a year later. But Rob and Charlie's has always stuck with its bike parts legacy.

"We have 4,000 parts in inventory," Verral said. "Most stores have 400. Chances are the parts are in stock. It's better to fix it right away if possible."

Business kept growing. Verral knows why.

"Being nice to people, fixing flats for people, accommodating the public," he said.

Verral said he never advertised and word-of-mouth worked great. Hulcy will do Instagram promotions, have booths at events, and offer CPR classes, too. He also plans to add bike rentals.

"Next spring is my goal," Hulcy said. "Most of the rentals will be city bikes or mountain bikes to take to the trail. It will be a day-rate environment. It's another way to gain customers. Also, people considering buying an expensive bike, they can try it out."

As Hulcy charts the future for Rob and Charlie's, Verral will dig into the past as a retirement project.

"My dad was a writer, 900 published works," Verral said. "I have all the manuscripts."

His father, Charles Spain Verral, wrote the scripts for three years for the 1940s radio series Mandrake the Magician. He also wrote sports and adventure books for young people. The New York Times wrote an obituary about him.

"I need to find out how to pass on the 900 published works my dad produced," Verral said.