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A bicycle store in Livermore recently closed up shop upon facing an industry-wide challenge of declining sales as well as the rising cost of products due to tariffs.
AJ’s Family Cyclery, formerly located at 1444 Concannon Blvd., opened in April 2024 to offer bike sales and services.
During the weekend of Jan. 16, owner AJ Wright closed the cyclery permanently — a decision he said has alleviated all the stress he has felt over the past couple of years from operating the store.
Meanwhile, he said he remains grateful to all his supporters and the opportunity to open AJ’s Family Cyclery.
“Every tune-up, every bike or accessory sold, and everyone who came through my door — whether you were a friend, family member, or customer — I appreciate you,” Wright wrote on social media Jan. 13 announcing the store’s planned closure, which was previously set for Jan. 31.
“You all let me live out my dream, watch my life and business flourish before my eyes, and helped me understand the importance of community and my own self-worth,” he added.
Originally offering bike services out of residential spaces, Wright created AJ’s Bike Service LLC in 2020 and later opened a brick-and-mortar shop on Portola Avenue.
Bike sales boomed during 2021 and 2022, but the industry later saw a dip during the year he began doing business as AJ’s Family Cyclery on Concannon Boulevard, he said.
Compounding the sales issue, the cost of goods rose in 2025 due to tariffs, Wright added. In effect, his profit margins dropped to about 10%, a rate he said was unsustainable.
“I lived to run the business,” he told Livermore Vine. “I couldn’t afford to hire anybody to help me, so I basically had to work seven days a week nonstop for two years.”
But no matter how hard he worked, the bottom line was that money wasn’t coming in, Wright explained.
“Over time you start to literally lose your own self identity because you are sacrificing your own identity for something that gives you nothing in return,” he told Livermore Vine.
However, upon deciding to close the store, “All of the stress and pressure I’d felt over the past two years just literally evaporated, instantly,” he said.
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