Bikeshop Engl: The Home of Bicycles in Bolzano for Over Seventy Years
Bikeshop Engl: The Home of Bicycles in Bolzano for Over Seventy Years
On Cavour Street, just a few dozen meters from the medieval center, the windows of Bikeshop Engl stand out with a vibrant display of bicycles in various colors, sizes, and styles.
It's a true point of reference for the city and is managed by the same family for an impressive seventy-three years. It is the oldest shop of its kind in South Tyrol. Back in 1952, Anton Engl, father of the current owner Ulrich, opened the first business selling and repairing mopeds and bicycles. Since then, the world has changed dramatically, including the bike world.
Mr. Engl, over all these years you’ve witnessed constant evolution in the sector...
Changes have been constant and fast, practically every ten years there have been significant innovations in the market, as well as changes in how people use bikes. When my father opened the shop in the 1950s, the bicycle and the moped were the only means of transport for getting to work or going on a Sunday outing. Even then, some dreamed of and managed to buy a racing bike, but bicycles were mainly used for everyday life, a trend that persisted even after the boom in private car ownership. The real turning point came in the 1980s with the rise of mountain bikes for leisure, and even more so with electric bikes, which began appearing about twenty years ago and have since revolutionized the market. The latest trend now is gravel bikes, a hybrid between road bikes and mountain bikes.
How do you see these changes in the city?
In Bolzano, it has always been fairly easy to get around by bike. Over the past 30 years, with the construction of kilometers of bike lanes even within the city limits, anyone who can is now choosing to move around on two wheels, and increasingly on electric ones. This type of bike offers huge advantages for urban use: you can cover longer distances in less time, avoid fatigue, and arrive at work feeling “fresh,” even in summer. They also make it easier for families with small children. In Bolzano, it’s not unusual to see mothers and fathers towing a small trailer where their children ride safely and sheltered on their way to kindergarten, something that also helps reduce city traffic. I would just like to emphasize that more awareness and respect for the traffic rules is needed, especially with children around. Sometimes adults are not the best role models.
So the bicycle market in Bolzano is thriving?
Absolutely. The city is very bike-friendly. Even visitors who are here for just a few days often rent bikes to move between the city center and surrounding areas, exploring other parts of the city at their own pace. It’s a service we’ve been offering for some time now, and every year demand from tourists grows. We’re also a key resource for repairs, as well as for selling accessories and spare parts. There have been times when guests arrived with their bikes but forgot their battery charger or another essential accessory, making the bike unusable, so they came to us.
So there’s no shortage of work…
As mentioned, the sector is constantly evolving, and we as a business have to keep up to move forward. Alongside my wife Anni and me, our son Tobias has also been part of the team for the past ten years, so we’re now into the third generation.
Picture: Ulrich & Tobias Engl, Courtesy Engl