43
Lisbon company top seller in nation of unique product
lisbon
Just by looking at the outside of Libson Rail to Trail Cycle Shop, it’s tough to tell it’s the world’s No. 1 seller of Catrikes.
Even when you get inside, the product looks a little different. The Catrike is a recumbent tricycle, which is designed to be more comfortable for people to ride long distances.
The Catrike products they sell aren’t cheap. They start around $1,900 and can cost more than $3,000, depending on the options, but they do have benefits.
“Typically, we find that someone who gets onto one of these can instantly go about twice as far as they can on a two-wheel bicycle,” said Wayne Wallace.
Price doesn’t appear to be keeping away customers. The company has sold seven of the trikes in the last week, he said. The shop has sold Catrikes for only about six years, but by 2010 it had the second-highest sales in the world, and a year later claimed the top spot.
Customers come from all over to the nondescript shop in Lisbon. The company ships the products all around the country and even internationally, said Travis Wallace, Wayne’s son who helps run the business along with Cindy Wallace, Wayne’s wife.
Those who travel to the store from longer distances have their hotel stays covered by the cycle shop, and are typically taken on multiple rides including a longer one to make sure they like the product, he said.
“There’s a segment of our customers who are older; others who have health issues like multiple sclerosis; another group who liked to ride when they were younger but riding pain forced them to stop; and finally, there are just those who like the trikes,” Travis Wallace said.
The company had first started by selling recumbent bicycles and then moved on to Catrike, Wayne Wallace said.
Now the company has between 60 to 90 of the trikes in stock at any time and only sells the three-wheeled recumbent.
“I had one customer come in and tell me, ‘Did you know you’re a superstore [for Catrikes],’” he said. “He had [gone] to another seller and they only had one in stock.”
Lisbon Rail to Trail has been able to expand a lot through word of mouth, said Travis Wallace.
The family also travels to a lot of bike shows during the spring to promote the brand.
In addition, their customers talk to their friends about the product, he said.
“We even leave brochures along the bike trail from Lisbon to Ashtabula,” Travis Wallace said.
The group often travels along roughly a 100-mile trek spanning two sections using the trikes, Wayne Wallace said.
The Cleveland Clinic sends a lot of people to the shop, Wayne Wallace said. There are some military veterans who are told to get a trike to help them exercise.
“As a Vietnam veteran, I make sure to deliver those trikes personally,” he said.
Bea Hromyak, 70, and her husband, Steve, 71, from Green Township, have ridden more than 5,000 miles since buying their Catrikes five years ago, she said.
“Before we bought these, my husband used to complain about his knee, shoulder, back whatever. Since we bought these, he doesn’t complain anymore,” Hromyak said. “We rode 80 miles three times last year, and when we were done, we still had smiles on our faces.”
The couple had ridden bicycles, recumbent bicycles, typical tricycles and then purchased the Catrike as they progressed in age, but still wanted to continue riding and stay active, she said.
“Every time we ride the trail, someone will ask us about the trikes,” Hromyak said.
Once people try them, they really like how comfortable they are, she said.
“I’d love to see everyone on them because I just love them so much,” Hromyak said.
Anyone who buys a trike from the store receives free “tune-ups” for life, said Travis Wallace. They also offer next-day delivery for any order within 300 miles.
For Wayne Wallace, it’s not comfort, but the enjoyment of riding that led him to the Catrike.
“I ride them because they’re fast. I’m 64 years old and I’ve never been beaten by anyone on a two-wheeled bike,” he said.
The store also promotes health, sponsoring a night ride once a week and other rides when they can.
Travis Wallace also is working on a project as part of a bike-a-thon that will raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital coming in October.
His uncle had cancer, and his daughter had to have heart surgery when she was 2 years old.
“Even though she had her surgery at Akron Children’s, the research done at St. Jude helps the entire medical community,” Travis Wallace said.
For more information about the fundraiser, call the shop at 330-424-3214.