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Family business provides quality bikes, friendly service

April 8, 2008

Al Ruegseger repairs a bike for a customer at Denny’s Central Park Bicycles, 1805 Central Park Drive, in Okemos. Ruegseger has been working at the shop for more than 20 years. He started when he was in high school but later left after he joined the Air Force in 1967. After returning to the states, he began working at the shop part-time but later became full-time.

Photo by Rolando Palacio | The State News

Okemos — What started as one man selling bikes out of his home has turned into three generations of local bike shops, currently in the form of Denny’s Central Park Bicycles, 1805 Central Park Drive, in Okemos.

“Everybody knows the family because we’re the originals in the Lansing area as far as the bike business goes,” owner Denny Vandecar said.

The business began in the early 1940s when Vandecar’s father started fixing and selling bicycles from home. That led to opening Van’s Bike Shop in Lansing, which closed in 1987.

In the past 60-some years, the Vandecars have run several shops in the area, including Waverly Schwinn, Denny’s Schwinn and Denny’s Cycling and Fitness, now all consolidated into the Okemos location.

The current store sells bikes, biking gear, accessories and exercise equipment.

Vandecar, 67, said he started working and hanging out at his father’s Lansing shop as a teenager, then opened his own in East Lansing in 1962.

However, he said the two businesses didn’t compete.

“We were in different towns, so we had different clientele,” he said.

Now, Vandecar’s son Dave is the manager of Denny’s Central Park Bicycles.

“People are coming in to buy something they’re excited about, so it’s not like you’re having to sell a couch or something,” said Dave Vandecar, 44.

Shanell Larner, who was at Denny’s with her boyfriend Sunday, said she bought a bicycle at the store last year and found the staff extremely helpful.

“They know their bikes, they know their equipment,” the 33-year-old DeWitt resident said.

“They’ll take care of you if you have a problem down the road.”

Jake Lane, who has been working at Denny’s for about a month, said his parents used to buy him bikes at the Vandecars’ East Lansing store when he was younger.

“I’ve been dealing with them since I was a little kid,” he said.

Lane, 31, said the most important thing for customers to think about is the style of bicycling they’ll be doing, such as riding on trails or commuting to class.

“(If you’re going to) commute to class, like a lot of our customers do, then we want to get you the right one to ride around better on the sidewalk and off curbs,” he said. “A road bike isn’t necessarily the most enjoyable ride if you’re just going to class.”

The store’s upgraded warranties on bicycles are part of what makes it stand out, Lane said. The bikes come with a lifetime warranty on the body and the parts.

Lane said the warranty has a lot to do with the main brands sold at the store; Trek and Specialized.

“If (Denny Vandecar) is going to upgrade his warranty to a lifetime deal, he needs to work with the companies that are gonna really back up their products,” he said.

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Denny Vandecar said he prides his store on quality customer service.

His son agreed and said the employees don’t try to get customers to buy something they don’t want.

“We’re not pushy at all,” Dave Vandecar said. “We’re here to help them make their selection.”

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