Jim Curwood set out to create a bike shop with a different approach than the big box store experience 45 years ago. He started Buy My Bikes (BMB) with experienced, enthusiastic and dedicated staff who really love bikes and want you to love them, too. There’s no bike snobbery here, just personalized attention to help you enjoy biking as much as we do!
Jim and his team work hard to earn your business as a long-term customer through listening to your needs and working within your budget to find the right bike and gear. We offer the biggest selection of bikes for all ages, including kid’s, BMX and mountain bikes in Orange County, and are one of the leading retailers of Electra electric bikes and handmade Detroit Bikes. Our service department team is the stuff of local legends, including Bosch Repair Certification for Electra bikes. We sell the best and service the rest!
BUY MY BIKES IS SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO’S 2017 BUSINESS OF THE YEAR! THANKS, SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE!
Meet owner Jim Curwood
In 1968 our family went on vacation to San Clemente for a week and we stayed in a house by the pier. That Sunday we went to church at the Mission San Juan Capistrano and on the way home we went through this small town called Capistrano Beach. It was beautiful and I said to my parents, “I am going to live there when I get older.”
Fast Forward to 1977
I was working at the Red Lobster and a co-worker, John, says “I am moving to the beach– I’m renting a house, would you like to rent a room for $150 on the beach? I said, “I don’t know, where is it?”. He said he didn’t know but would ask his dad and tell me tomorrow. The next day he came to work and said, “My dad says it’s some place called Capistrano Beach.” I walked into the boss’s office and said, “You have my 2-weeks notice, I am moving to Capistrano Beach!”.
Discovering Capistrano Beach
My upstairs neighbor was a beautiful blonde and dating Jammin’ Jimmy Weinert, the motocross racer. He said, “Where do you work?”. I told him I was working at K-Mart. Jimmy said, “I own a bicycle distributorship, do you want to come work for me?”. “Heck ya!”, I said. I’d been working there for six months and asked for a raise. He said I couldn’t have one and that I was fired! On the way out the door he said, “Talk to Jeff out front.” I went out front and said, “Jeff, Jimmy just fired me and said to talk to you!”. Jeff said, “Great! I’m opening a bicycle shop and I would like you to run it. Jimmy said I couldn’t steal you from him so that’s why he fired you!”
Buy My Bikes Begins!
On April 15th, 1978, the bike store opened and I was running it for Jeff. Towards the end of May, Jeff said he was going to sell the store, so I borrowed $15,000 ($197.01 a month for 12 years) from my mom and bought it! On June 15th, 1978, South County Cyclery opened its doors. I thought if you treat people nicely, sell the newest and coolest stuff at a fair price, if they are not happy just refund their money, I couldn’t go wrong. I also thought if I pulled it off I could surf every day and never have to have a real job. Forty-Five years later, here we are living the dream, keeping our integrity, treating people the way they should be treated–like family, and I’m still surfing five to seven days a week.
All the best,
Bicycle Jim
C.E.O. Buy My Bikes™