Wisconsin Chain Will Take Over Ten 27 Cycles

A Wisconsin-based bicycle retail chain has announced that it will take over the bike shop at 1027 Davis St. in Evanston, where Ten 27 Cycles is closing its doors this December. 

Wheel & Sprocket owns six bicycle shops in Wisconsin and operates an internet store, according to a press release from the company. The bike store in Evanston will be Wheel & Sprocket’s first location in Illinois. 

“Our vision is that everyone enjoys their bikes from Wheel & Sprocket,” owner Chris Kegel said in the release. “Through our shared passion for cycling and commitment to being more than fair to our customers, we will work hard to earn customers’ business.” 

Chris Mailing, who owns Ten 27 Cycles, formally took over the bike shop last year from Lee Katz, who opened the store as Turin Bicycle in 1971. Mailing gained majority ownership of the store in 2004 and became sole owner in May, when he re-opened the shop under the new name.

But as Mailing tried to tie his new Ten 27 Cycles to Turin in ads and on the business' website, he became embroiled in a legal battle with Katz, who had rights to the Turin name. Mailing told Patch that the legal fees required to use the Turin name proved too much for the store to absorb, given the weak economy. 

“If the economy were robust and everything were hitting on all cylinders, maybe we could have handled all that," he said. "We were sort of skating on thin ice to begin with. It's the better thing to do to just close things out and pay off our vendors and make sure we part ways with everybody on good terms.” 

Ten 27 Cycles will close by the end of December, and until then the store is working to empty its inventory by offering 15 to 40 percent discounts on everything. Wheel & Sprocket will take over later in the winter, although the company said it had not set an official date. 

“I am glad that Wheel and Sprocket is going to continue the long tradition of serving the cycling needs of Evanston and the cycling community of the greater Chicago area from 1027 Davis St.,” Mailing said in the release. “I am thrilled that so many of the staff from Ten 27 Cycles, including me, are able to be a part of this new shop.”

The store will continue to sponsor some of the same activities events and clubs it has in the past, according to the release. Those include its cycling club, the Northwestern University Triathlon Team and the Illinois State Cycle-Cross Championships, which take place Dec. 2 at Montrose Harbor in Chicago.