New Niwot Wheel Works opens at new location

Niwot Wheel Works bike shop is up and running at its new location and under new ownership, next to Fan's Chinese Cuisine, in the southwest corner of Cottonwood Square shopping center.

Fernando Tapia, who worked at the original Niwot Wheel Works since its inception eight years ago, took over the ownership reins of the business from his friend and former colleague, Eric Bergeson.

Bergeson announced in December that he would move on from the bike shop business and that he would not be renewing the shop's lease at 101 Second Avenue. The Wheel House property, which includes the former Niwot Wheel Works area, was purchased by Cornelia Sawle in 2024, who is also the owner of the Niwot Inn & Spa.

Since mid-February, Tapia and Tapia's high school employee, Jackson Hudgins, have been servicing bikes at the space formerly occupied by the Niwot Gig. Since turning the space into a bike shop, Tapia has closed off the location's north door to allow ample room for bike repairs. Both he and Hudgins are urging customers to use the south door, which faces the Eagle Place Apartments.

Tapia said it was difficult to find a new location for the bike shop.

"There's not that many spaces, let alone spaces that fit our needs," he said. "And this is not perfect, but we're going to make it work."

With the bike shop officially opening at its new location as of March 1, Tapia said people have been asking him about a grand opening to mark his new venture, but he remarked, "That just doesn't sound like me."

But what sounds enjoyable for Tapia is continuing the connection with high school students who work at the shop. With a grin and an outward gaze when reflecting on that connection, Tapia said, "I love that."

"The way Jackson has grown just working here and learning. It fills my heart. He's not the first one and hopefully not the last one. We have another kid that works here. His name is Colin. He hasn't started this year, mostly because we don't have work, but he'll be coming this spring."

Along with working with high school students, Tapia said, "our following" is what made him decide to keep operating the shop in Niwot.

"I had a feeling I'd be leaving money on the table if I went somewhere else and started completely anew."

As Tapia faces new challenges in operating a business, he said that the administrative side of the business has been the most challenging.

"I know that there's some much smarter people that could do it with their hands behind their back, but it's not so easy for me," he said. "I'm good at fixing things, not administrative stuff."

Fixing things comes second nature for Tapia, who started a career in the bicycle industry by being a mechanic for racing teams over 35 years ago and eventually meeting Bergeson, who wanted to start a bike shop in Niwot over eight years ago. "And here we are," said Tapia.