After 6 years of running a business centered around our love repairing, restoring and customizing mopeds, it is now clear that those sorts of projects are best left to the DIY hobbyists, weekend warriors, and general tinkerers. Those services can be extremely fun and rewarding, but they are not a good foundation for a business. A full explanation of that dynamic can be found at this complementary blog post.

We are glad to have gotten so many mopeds out of dormancy and on the roads and we have learned a lot; but we will now be focusing our efforts on supporting the community through sales of new parts and accessories, “as is” project mopeds and parts, and eBikes.

However, we will still install parts purchased from Detroit Moped Works. What does this mean? If you buy tires and tubes from us, we will properly install them with the correct centering and tension. If you buy cables from us, we will install them with proper tension and lubrication. If you purchase grips from us, we will remove your old ones and install the new ones. If you buy shocks from us, we will install them with the correct spacers and washers. If you buy a chain from us, we will cut it to the correct length, and install it with the correct tension. You get the idea.

We will also continue to provide our “Full Tune Up Service” as well as our “Primary Service,” which is basically a half tune up. These services are a comprehensive set of straight forward line item services designed to cover all of the basics to get your bike running “the best that it can.” In many cases this will mean that when we are done, the bike will run well. But in many cases, “the best that it can” will still be running poorly due to other issues from 40 years of unknown history. In some cases, “the best the bike can run” still means it won’t run at all because of catastrophic issues that occurred in the 40 years of unknown history.

We simply can no longer support the repairs needed to make those old issues correct. As mentioned in the complementary blog post, they take SO MUCH TIME, and lose us SO MUCH MONEY. Beyond that, they prevent us from providing quick turnaround times on what could be fast parts installs and tune ups. They just bog down the business way too much. They are the reason that we do not answer the phone in the summer months. They are the reason that we had to suspend new builds and repairs this summer. They are reason that in past summers we have always worked with the front door shut and the blinds down. This year we didn’t even open the front façade.

The large scale repairs, mystery repairs, performance builds, and custom builds bog down the pace of the business, and frankly add a lot of stress for myself and our staff.  They keep us from providing the fast, friendly, and efficient small services. They also prevent us from being as available and accessible for our retail customers.

We hope that by shedding these cumbersome services we can actually assist many more two wheeled enthusiasts.

When I say two wheeled enthusiasts, I don’t just mean our primary customers, but also motorcycle and scooter enthusiasts who we can service through the sales of helmets, gloves, mirrors, lubricants, batteries, etc. Bicyclists can come to us for chains, cables, pedals, locks, etc. And as mentioned, electric bikes – specifically “moped style” eBikes – are gaining popularity. We are hoping that we can help folks get onto the new electric vehicles that we sell and that we can begin selling the parts and accessories as that new hobby grows.

Although I’m sure it will be a drag for folks who would like to come to us for the more extensive services, I believe that this move will help us to support more people in a more effect manner and in doing so, will allow the business to sustain operations.

All of that said, at the moment we do still have a backlog of repairs that we are trudging through, so for now we will continue to work on ecommerce and an “appointment only “ format, limiting communications to email and/or Facebook Messenger. We hope to be able to “open” again with something that resembles normal hours and customer service by mid-October, so just keep an eye on our social media and our blog for updates.

Thanks and be well.

Alex Samul, Owner
Detroit Moped Works
September 16, 2020