Shop Visit – Commuter Cycles

By Veronica Lowe

March 22, 2024

In January, on our way to visit family in NZ, we stopped by Melbourne very briefly, a city that was once our home and remains close to our hearts. While we were there, in between flat whites and the best sorbet I’ve ever had, we visited one of our favourite ever bike shops, Commuter Cycles.

Commuter Cycles has been a destination shop ever since I can remember. My first experience of Commuter was way back in 2012, when Harry and I were dreaming of our first bike tour.

This was before having Instagram and the concept of cycle touring was very new to me, my only window into this world was via the few people that decided to keep a blog while on the road (that was me obsessively refreshing Erik and Sofia Nohlin’s Tumblr ‘The Great Escape’) and Commuter Cycles which became an invaluable resource.

12 years on and the shop is going from strength to strength. 2023 marked Commuter’s 15^th birthday, a massive achievement for any small business but to have navigated a global pandemic, very strict lockdowns, supply shortages, economic uncertainty and emerge what seems to be better than ever is highly commendable.

With touring, commuting and adventure cycling at its heart (they’re as close to a one stop bikepacking shop as you’re likely to find in Australia) you’ll find an incredible selection of adventure ready bikes and gear both in store and online.

Where Commuter excel though, is community building. Hosting regular slide nights, overnighters and info evenings as well as nurturing an active online community, Commuter are proving that a successful bike shop is much more than just a great range of bike bits.

My first experience of Commuter was way back in 2012, when Harry and I were dreaming of our first bike tour.

While focus of Commuter is on the adventure or stuff carrying cyclist, it’s very important to them to provide an inclusive space so no matter what you’re riding or your level of experience you’ll find Commuter a welcoming and worthwhile place to visit.

It’s no secret that cycling is very white man centric, and so many bike shops are elitist and unwelcoming to people that are just starting their cycling journey or those that don’t look like the ‘traditional cyclist’. As someone with many hostile bike shop experiences under my belt, it’s awesome to see a bike shop putting their diversity and inclusivity objectives into practice: Commuter have signed the RAR Cycling Industry Pledge, they have lots of women on the team and in 2022 updated all their imagery to reflect the diversity of their shop, community, and team.

Wizard Works colourful Bike Bags display on wooden counter at Melbourne bike shop Commuter Cycles

We spent a lovely afternoon hanging out with Huw and the team, chatting all things bikes, bags and so much in between. We were treated to a great sandwich (Melbs has really upped their sandwich game since we were there last) an A+ coffee (no surprises here) and an icy pole (ice lolly/popsicle for our international friends) before we were turned back out into the Aussie heat.

It had been 5 years since our last visit, we were delighted to see the shop jam packed with so much cool stuff with an extra floor added to fit it all in. And of course, it was very humbling to see our bags on display at the shop that was there for us when we were little baby cycle tourist wannabes. A proper full circle moment.

Of all our dealers, Commuter Cycles carries the most extensive range of Wizard Works bags. They have a banging online store, but if you’re lucky enough to be local (or have a Melbourne visit on the horizon) don’t pass up the opportunity to visit Huw and the team in person – See lots of shiny things, stock up on merch, get some trail/sandwich recs and maybe even catch a slide night.

Thanks for having us, we can’t wait to come back. We won’t leave it five years this time!

Shop Visit – Commuter Cycles

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