This SLO County town has 2 electric bike shops — and a third store is in the works
Some cyclists might find the thought of pedaling up the steep, narrow streets of Cambria daunting.
Enter electric bicycles, which can help slower or less experienced cyclists keep up with those who are more adept, even on hills or tricky terrain.
Cambria is now home to two electric bike shops, both located in the historic East Village. And a third shop is in the works.
Cambria Electric Bike Co. is located at 2104 Main St., in the Redwood Center, while VeloCambria is at 4056 Burton Drive. Both opened within a week or so of each other in October.
Cambria Bike Rentals, which will share a building with Cambria Surf Shop, is due to open in mid-April.
Bill Bookout, owner of Pismo Beach Surf Shop, is remodeling the building at 1561 Main St., a space that previously served as a video rental shop and television repair shop.
Bookout plans to offer rentals of e-bikes, beach cruisers, surreys and other bicycles, while also devoting part of his building to the area’s surfing culture, renting surf and body boards, kayaks and more.
Most e-bikes have an average battery range of 20 to 40 miles, but that depends on the weight and skill of the rider, the terrain on which the bike is being ridden, how often the motor kicks in and how high the rider revs the throttle.
Where Cambria’s two current e-bike shops differ is the primary clientele to which they cater, the kinds of e-bikes they offer and the scope of their business models.
Cambria Electric Bike Co.
Two couples that share the surname of Herrera, even though they’re not related — Cathie and Ed Herrera, and Al and Robin Herrera — own Cambria Electric Bike Co.
The concept for the shop, which rents e-bikes to families, visitors and non-professional cyclists, was born when the friends met over wine at Harmony Cellars and began sharing their enthusiasm for the fast-growing sport.
Two months later, the store was open, stocked with e-bikes from Pedego and other brands ready to rent out to visitors and locals.
E-bike rental rates start at $50 for a two-hour minimum, costing $25 per extra hour if the ride goes longer, or $85 for an entire day. Rental prices include helmets and locks for the bikes, Cathie Herrera said.
Cambria Electric Bike Co. requires renters to have identification, a deposit and basic knowledge of how to ride a bicycle.
The owners offer a 10% discount to Cambria residents, military veterans and first responders, including “nurses, doctors, anybody out there helping people through the (coronavirus) pandemic.”
Running the shop is mostly up to Robin and Cathie Herrera, who are retired from their careers as a cable company human resources manager and a dental hygienist, respectively. Their husbands are still working in their own fields, but help out as much as they can at the shop, the Herreras said.
Cambria Electric Bike Co. has been expanding its rental stock, adding some smaller e-bikes with 24-inch wheels to accommodate shorter riders, some seniors and children, according to Robin Herrera.
“Some people come in and look at the 26-inch bikes and say, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s too big,’ ” she said. “I’m short, and I can ride the bigger bike, but sometimes ….”
“We’re not into selling the e-bikes,” doing bike repairs, or catering to competitive cyclists,” Herrera said.
“We’re here for people who live in Cambria or are visiting and want some family fun, to go out on a cycling date” or tour the scenic North Coast on two wheels rather than four, she added.
The Herreras’ e-cycles “have fatter, larger seats … (designed) more for comfort” than the competition, she said.
All of the e-bikes available for rent at Cambria Electric Bike Co. have rear hub drives. On a rear hub-drive bike, the rider controls when the motor starts and speeds up, providing that extra boost to get up inclines or increase speed.
Herrera said that Cambria Electric Bike Co. is currently open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday, and by appointment the rest of the week. Call 805-390-6701 or 805-935-9031, or go to www.cambriaelectricbikecompany.com for details.
VeloCambria
VeloCambria is owned by Rich Wingard, who divides his time between San Clemente and Cambria, and managed by the partner he calls “master mechanic Clymo,” David Clymoski.
The store has many functions, all of which are linked by the pair’s shared passion for cycling.
VeloCambria rents and sell higher-end, mid-drive Campagnola bikes. The shop is open to everyone but caters primarily to experienced cyclists.
Clymoski maintains and repairs the e-bikes, offering a variety of parts in stock, Wingard said, and also restores vintage, steel-framed race bikes.
“We do it all, from classic to electric,” Wingard said, noting that VeloCambria will be a sponsor of the Eroica California cycling event when it returns to San Luis Obispo County. Eroica California moved from Paso Robles to Cambria in 2019, and might come back to the North Coast as early this fall, he said.
Wingard plans to eventually add some rear-hub e-bikes to the store’s for-sale stock, for customers who want a less expensive powered ride.
According to Wingard, the inspiration for VeloCambria first grew out of his nostalgia for his Orange County childhood. “In Fullerton then, the world was our oyster, and bikes were our transportation, freedom and independence,” the 67-year-old said. “That’s what bicycling means to me.”
Wingard discovered Cambria on his honeymoon two decades ago. He and his wife’s Cambria dream began then, and he’s bought some North Coast properties. But the couple’s dream changed with the birth 20 years ago of their special-needs daughter who requires specialized around-the-clock care.
About three years ago, Wingard bought the Burton Drive building that now houses VeloCambria from former owner Leslie Gainer. Previously, it had been a wine-tasting shop and an art gallery; the structure was built in 1939 as the home of Angelo and Mary Bonomi, according to the book “Historic Cambria: Treasures of the Past.”
Wingard had visions of opening a restaurant with a menu reflecting his wife’s Peruvian heritage, but the couple realized the economic reality of adding expensive renovations and restaurant equipment to “a half-million dollar building” in a town that already has a plethora of eateries.
So, they decided to open the bike shop first and, after some modifications and additions to the building are permitted and completed, create a so-called “bike café” around the shop’s perimeter. That would include VeloCambria’s own food truck set up on the right side of the building.
Wingard said the cafe will be “funky, creative and that’s what’s ‘in’ now. It segues into the COVID environment of promoting outdoor and streetside dining.”
“The food element is very trendy now in bicycling culture,” Wingard said. And the café will “provide a gathering place for cyclists,” Clymoski added.
What gave Wingard’s vision a jump start was the sudden closure of a 47-year-old cycling shop, San Clemente Cyclery.
“It was just perfect for us, to be able to buy all their stock in vintage bikes and parts,” he said. “Dave’s working on building up some of those vintage frames now. We’re hoping to have up to a dozen that we can rent.”
“There’s a cycle-crazy culture up here” in Cambria, Wingard said, “and we couldn’t have picked a better location” than on Burton Drive.
VeloCambria is developing its branding on cycling gear such as jerseys and socks, as well as getting its online store going.
“You’ve got to hit it on all cylinders to make it these days,” Wingard said. Making a profit selling T-shirts and renting bikes is a lot different from his commercial landscaping business of 40 years, he said.
VeloCambria is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, although those hours may extend during the summer. For more information, call 805-395-7955 or go to velocambria.com.
This story was originally published March 12, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
