By Brittany Schaefer, Staff Writer
The hand painted sign outside Durham Bike and Sport, located on Jenkins Court. The store experienced a revival when it was turned over to new owners, Timothy and Jacqui Spinney this past August.
A longtime off-campus shop has gotten a remodel that has boosted popularity.
Michael Farrell owned Durham Bike on Pettee Brook Lane for about 35 years until he retired. In August 2014, Jacqui and Timothy Spinney reopened the shop as Durham Bike and Sports.
Jacqui and Timothy Spinney have been married for 18 years and have always had a soft spot for older high school and college students.
“We are so used to this age group and we truly love working with college students,” Jacqui Spinney said. “They are always so positive and open-minded, and we’re happy with our location on the University of New Hampshire campus.”
Timothy Spinney was a high school guidance counselor and worked at residential camps with outdoor education. Timothy has always been really into biking and owns four bicycles himself. Jacqui Spinney was a UNH professor, camp counselor and a swim instructor.
“We kind of just put our hobbies together for the shop,” Jacqui Spinney said. “Timothy likes biking and hockey, and I love swimming.”
Durham Bike and Sports has a variety of merchandise. They have bikes to work on all throughout the year, but their busiest months are March through November. They sell a wide range of bicycles from simple bikes to cause it is an easy mode of transportation,” Jacqui Spinney said. “We want to get this community into biking. Timothy leads overnight bike trips in and out of the region, and that would be great for college students.”
The Spinneys hope this campus becomes more bike-friendly and the number of bike thefts and accidents will go down.
For snow sports, Durham Bike and Sports does a variety of services such as skate sharpening and ski tune-ups as well as selling snow accessories.
As for water sports, the shop sells bags, swimsuits and goggles.
Durham Bike and Sports also sells longboards, which Jacqui Spinney believes to be a very good option for college students.
“This isn’t a skateboard because it is made for cruising and transportation,” Jacqui Spinney said. “Sometimes they are even easier than bikes because they are portable — you can bring them right into class.
Longboarding is a recent trend and gained popularity fast. This is exactly why we sell boards in-store.”
Jacqui and Timothy are not the only Spinneys that work at Durham Bike and Sports.
Their two sons, Parker and Forrest, also help out around shop.
Parker is an entry-level bike mechanic and sharpens skates, while Forrest helps with their website and social media aspects.
Along with the Spinneys are three part-time UNH students who, Jacqui Spinney described, have years of experience in bike mechanics.
