New owners peddling bikes at Boulder’s Full Cycle stores

BOULDER — The new year has brought new ownership for Full Cycle Bikes, which has stores on University Hill and in downtown Boulder.

Russ Chandler, along with business partners Ed Kuh and Adam Brodnicki, bought the stores at 1211 13th St. and 1795 Pearl St. from Kaj and Karli Gronholm, who had owned it for 10 years. The sale was effective Jan. 1, and Chandler would not reveal the purchase price.

The Gronholms purchased the 2,500-square-foot store on the Hill in 2005 from Tom Morris, who had opened it in 1982. They added the 6,000-square-foot downtown store, then opened a third shop near College Avenue and Olive Street in downtown Fort Collins in 2006 and brought in  Kaj Gronholm’s sister and brother-in-law, Tanja and Scott Wiant, as co-owners in 2008. They moved the Fort Collins store to 2101 S. College Ave. in 2010, but closed it in 2014. That store is now Peloton Cycles, which also has a location at 3027 E. Harmony Road.

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Chandler, a former chief executive in the technology industry who launched the Bike Life Cities program through Catalyst Communications, also founded Boulder-based nonprofit Cyclists for Community and met the Gronholms through that group.

“Kaj wanted to go back into the software business, so it was time to sell,” said Chandler, who added that Karli Gronholm will continue to run the stores’ Venus de Miles women’s cycling club.

“The club has a couple thousand women, including some 400 regular paying members,” Chandler said. “They go on weekly rides at various levels. The club is open to all women of all ages, sizes and speeds.

“We’re also the focal point of the Boulder Area Ride Club,” he said. “It’s a meetup group right now, but we’re looking to expand that into more of a full-fledged club as well.”

Kuh, who worked for Avid and Maverick bikes and owned several Cycle Logic stores in the 1980s, currently owns The KB Studio, a kitchen-and-bath retailer at 2460 Canyon Blvd. in Boulder. Brodnicki is an independent money manager who formerly was a strategist for Forum Asset Management LLC in New York.

Chandler said few changes are in store for Full Cycle, except that “we’re going to grow the business, bring more customers in and make our stores even faster and friendlier. We’re still Colorado’s largest Giant bicycle dealer, and we’ll still carry Kona, Ibis, Felt and Eddy Merckx.”

Chandler said all 15 employees will stay on board, including operations manager Chad Taylor, who will continue to run both stores.

“We have a reputation as a family-friendly store for the everyday rider, commuters, and especially mountain bikers,” Chandler said. “We really want to make sure of the image we’re trying to project — more approachable and more customer-service oriented instead of more racer types.”