Dutch company acquires North Bay’s Mike’s Bikes

Mike’s Bikes, a Novato-based company that operates 12 bike stores in Northern California, has been sold to the Pon Group, a privately held transport business out of the Netherlands. The acquisition also includes San Francisco-based Public Bikes, a brand Mike’s Bikes bought in 2017. The transaction was first reported by Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.

Leadership at Mike’s Bikes, which operates three stores in the North Bay — Petaluma, San Rafael and Sausalito — will remain mostly intact.

“Neither we nor Pon want to change anything other than expanding and building on what’s already great about Mike’s Bikes,” CEO Ken Martin told BR&IN. “Matt Adams and I both remain in our respective roles and keeping our team in place in Marin is key.” Adams serves as co-owner and company president. Partner Mike Gabrys sold his shares and left the company.

The Pon Group in a statement said the acquisition of Mike’s Bike’s aligns with its strategy to expand its retail presence in North America. Pon’s bicycling brand portfolio includes Gazelle, Cervélo, FOCUS, Santa Cruz, Kalkhoff and Faraday, according to the company, which states it is one of the top five businesses in the global bicycle industry.

Pon and Martin declined to disclose the sales price.

The deal reportedly created a split between Mike’s Bikes and Specialized Bicycle Components, a Morgan Hill-based company. According to a Sept. 12 report in the Marin Independent Journal, in a letter to customers, Mike’s Bikes said Specialized terminated their retail relationship and would cancel more than 400 advance orders.

“The news from Specialized about our dealership is incredibly disappointing after being their largest retailer in the U.S. for years, and especially after building their brand across Northern California and beyond,” according to the letter published by the outlet. “We have pleaded with Specialized to at least do the right thing and ship the bikes that our customers have already bought and paid for, but they continue to refuse.” Mike’s Bikes stated it’s working with those customers to find an alternative or issue a full refund.

Specialized didn’t explain the separation but told customers in a message that it is “working quickly to ensure Specialized riders in Northern California not only remain supported but that their experience is better than it’s ever been before,” according to the outlet.

Mike's Bikes was founded in 1964 as one of Marin County's first Schwinn shops, according to the company’s website. In 1998, Martin partnered with Gabrys and bought the store from Dave Kaplan, who had owned it for five years. In 2004, Adams joined Martin and became an equity partner, with the two splitting duties of running the company.