New Triathlon Store Opens in Arvada

Arvada, CO–Recently The Arvada Triathlon Company opened a store in Arvada at 64th and Indiana. They offer bikes, shoes, swimming products and a host of accessories and nutrition along with a staff of triathletes sharing hands on expertise. They also offer a recovery area, weekly group runs and rides (coming soon) and are located next to a brewery for some good bonding time with other athletes after a workout. The store is owned by Zach Simon, a passionate triathlete and retail veteran with a strong vision to build a vibrant triathlon community in the Arvada/Golden area.

We asked Zach some questions about his store, his background, his vision and more. Enjoy.

1. In what seems like a time where on-line shopping is blowing up and making retailers struggle, what made you want to open a triathlon store and how do you flourish in this on-line buying atmosphere? Triathletes require very specific equipment and services. Arvada Triathlon Company let’s customers get hands on with the equipment they need and get expert advice. Those are the things that you don’t get when shopping online. We also carry local brands that don’t necessarily have as large of an online presence.

2. You used to be in the waterski and boat industry working at Tommy’s, what from that experience do you think helps you most opening a triathlon shop?  At Tommy’s we really drove home the “customer experience.” It is important to myself and the business that our customers feel taken care of and that we can help everyone from elite pros to first-time triathletes. Boat owners and triathletes have one important thing in common, they are passionate about what they do and why they do it. .

3. Why Arvada?  Arvada is my home. The community, and in particular, the endurance sports community, in this area is fantastic. We are centrally located between Golden and Boulder, two of the biggest endurance sports hubs in Colorado. This shop allows athletes to come in for our Wednesday night runs on Ralston Creek Trail and enjoy a beer at Luki Brewery next door afterwards. We also have are central to many popular bike rides in the area.

4. You carry Felt and Cervelo bikes, two very prominent triathlon brands, can folks get non-triathlon bikes? And do you offer full mechanical support. What accessories and wheels do you offer? Do you rent race wheels?   We do carry road bikes as well and some gravel. We understand that triathletes don’t only ride their tri bikes and want to carry some different types of bikes. That being said, we don’t carry any mountain bikes unfortunately. We are aiming to stay a true triathlon store. We carry lots of carbon wheel sets, ceramic speed parts, profile design saddles, bars, fit accessories, ISM Saddles, and lots of other great cycling gear. We currently do not rent out wheels, but plan to in the future.

5. Do you rent wet suits? We will, but not something we are currently doing at the moment. Looking into a few brands like Camaro and Orca.

6. Tell us about your triathlon club/team, benefits, pricing, access, opportunities?  Our triathlon team gets customers a training plan for any distance, an Arvada Tri Kit, unlimited use of our recovery lounge, exclusive store discounts, exclusive workouts and training sessions, and we are currently working with race directors to get discounts on race entries. The cost is $599 for Olympic and below training plans and $699 for 70.3 and Full Ironman Distance.

7. Tell us about your recovery center?  Our recovery center consists of oxygen therapy, Therabody compression boots, vibration plate, Theragun, and foam rollers.

8. You recently had your grand opening, what are some gift ideas you have for the triathlete in the family from your store?Gift cards are always a hit. Other than that I would recommend some of our recovery gear from Theragun, sunglasses, a trainer or watch from Wahoo or Garmin, or a cycling computer. Nutrition makes a good stocking stuffer as well.

9. Tell us a little about your racing background and why you love triathlon? I fell in love with racing in my mid-20’s. I did a local 5k when I was stationed in Massachusetts and the rest was history. I just wanted to run faster and longer until I found myself competing in Ironman’s.

10. You also sell shoes, what brands, and why those brands?  We carry Altra and Saucony at the moment. I found that these two brands really cover all the bases. Altra has a wide toebox and a unique feel that have gotten them a cult-like following in the industry. These are my personal favorites. Saucony is an extremely well-known brand that has a wide range of fits and styles that we are looking for. These two brands give us a good selection of unique and familiar.

11. Share anything else you would like the community to know!  Arvada Tri is a veteran owned business that emphasizes the social aspect of what it means to be a triathlete. We have all the gear that an athlete needs but we also like to have fun and we are building a community of athletes. We are also working with an amazing staff of coaches and bike-fitters that make us top-notch.