TEAM SPIRIT: Marouf Mahmoud, second left, Wajeeha al-Husseini and Mohamed al-Sada, fifth from left, with the staff at the opening of Carbon Wheels.    Photo by Mani Muthuswamy 


By Anand Holla


Upon entering the well-stocked Carbon Wheels store at Al Nasr, you may find yourself wide-eyed and open-mouthed like a kid in a fancy bicycle store. The fun part is that YOU can be that kid, once again.
For a two-month-old shop so spacious, and showcasing a range of products so staggering, it would be rather easy to feel intimidated, and alienated even, if not for the relaxed ambience and the agreeable intensity of the guys helming it.
As he walks us through his new store, Marouf Mahmoud says, “We have a wide range of bikes; kids, women, mountain, road, triathlon, Fatboys, and top-of-the-line pro, of course.”
Avid cyclists all; Mahmoud, Mohamed al-Sada and Wajeeha al-Husseini have set up Qatar’s first professional bike shop, established by cyclists and for cyclists. The place packs in everything from an entry level mountain bike for QR3,250 to a Specialized S-Works for QR37,000.
For the uninitiated, S-Works is the ultimate in bike innovation and design; or as the premium cycling brand Specialized puts it, “the pinnacle of everything we are capable of.” Specialized is a known winner in pro cycling’s biggest stage Tour de France, and is just one of the half dozen top bike brands that the shop stocks.
“The other brands we sell include Parlee, which are known for their beautiful carbon fibre bikes that are incredibly light and yet stronger than steel. Since we offer custom-made design options for this, you can create your own bike the way you wish,” Mahmoud says, holding a thick, long Parlee carbon fibre pipe that weighs lesser than a smartphone.
Rattling off names of other major cycling brands, al-Husseini adds, “Anyone who has done triathlon has known Cervelo. People come in and ask for Parlee, or Colnago, Italy’s esteemed bike manufacturer.”
A good look around the store and you know Qatar has finally got its one-stop-quality-shop for all kinds of cycling enthusiasts. A cool line of bikes share space with an assortment of accessories; wheels, chains, cranks, brakes, tyres, tubes, shifters, saddles, pedals, helmets, pumps, lights, gear, cleaning products, the works. But how will the average Joe cyclist know of the benefits of shopping from here instead of shopping from any of the multi-sport stores across Doha?
“We sell unique brands; Specialized being the main one. But we also have comparable products,” Mahmoud says, referring to the other shops’ range, “We have bikes priced at the same price points. However, the product you get here is of a certain quality and it comes with proper service. We sell you the right product and after that, we know how to manage it.”
That’s because for Mahmoud, al-Husseini and al-Sada, it was never about selling a truckload of bikes. “We wanted to open a bike shop that could actually serve the needs of the community,” insists Mahmoud.
The fact that the trio is part of Qatar Sandstormers, the country’s only charity cycling team that has regularly participated at local and regional cycling events and has also represented it at the annual Global Biking Initiative (GBI) summer ride through Europe, arms their perspective with both authority and substance.
“Actually, we don’t need to convince our customers too much,” Mahmoud says, “Usually, they walk in and take some time to digest what they see because people aren’t used to seeing a boutique shop like this in Qatar. Our role is more about helping them find what’s right for them, and help them plan the best bike for their budget.”
You know you have reached the right store when the prices are competitive with those of the American online stores. “One customer visited us thrice, checked our products and left. The fourth time around, he bought them. He said he went to every shop in Qatar and even checked online, and found our prices to be the fairest,” al-Husseini says.
Carbon Wheels has consciously tried to steer safe from the notoriety of selling products at a questionably higher profit margin. “That’s because we don’t want our customers to order online,” al-Husseini points out, “We aren’t selling discounts. We are selling you a long-term service. We are here for you, if you need anything like maintenance, spare parts or advice.”
In cycling, you start off with a $1,000 bike and move up pretty quickly, believes Mahmoud, who points towards a series of shiny bikes, and says, “When you understand cycling and you feel the difference between a bike like this and the one you buy from a supermarket at one fifth the price, you understand the cost benefits of this.”
Al-Husseini vouches for this pearl of wisdom. “When I started out cycling, I would ask Mahmoud which was the cheapest bike I could buy. And he would tell me to not think on those lines,” she says. That didn’t stop her from making the same mistake that most budget-wary amateur riders do. “I bought the cheapest shorts and the cheapest helmet and went for a bike ride, and it hurt. I ended up buying great gear, even though it was expensive,” she says.
“The lesson I learnt is to invest a little bit more just so that you can enjoy your ride. That’s because if I had stuck to those shorts, I would have quit cycling,” she says. Such precious nuggets of self-discoveries inform their approach towards their customers.
So when a gentleman from the gym on the upper floor came scouting for “a good bike” that would help him “lose weight,” al-Husseini directed him to the modest entry-level model. “He was taken in by the fancier ones but there’s no point in making you buy what you don’t need, don’t understand, or won’t be able to appreciate.”
“When a customer walks in and asks for a recommendation, I can confidently say that’s comfortable,” al-Husseini continues, “We know because we are cyclists ourselves. We have tried them all.”
For easy referencing, Mahmoud’s talk is replete with comparisons to cars. He says their range of Specialized cycles span from the equivalent of BMW 1 Series to M6, and that making the switch from mountain bikes to sleek road bikes is like moving from a Landcruiser to a Porsche.
Ales Fevzer from Slovenia, a sports photographer and a passionate cyclist who is on his first visit to Doha, has spent a lot of time at the store. “I would say buying a higher-end bike is more important than switching to a higher-end car. With cars, it feels amazing but you are still sitting inside,” he points out, “With cycles, you can experience every little detail when riding.”
Fevzer continues, “When you start cycling, you buy a basic bike. But if you keep cycling, you will definitely want to buy something better. The biggest difference is always the comfort you feel when riding. My advice is to start off with a good bike and good gear by spending a little more than your budget. If you don’t do that, in the long run, it becomes more expensive to operate.”
The heartening feedback that they have so far received is as much to do with their equally crucial wing – bike fit and bike service – feels Mahmoud. “Our priority was service because people really need that,” he says.
Their bike fitting studio is equipped with the pioneering bike fit technology called Retül, which provides “technology, tools and training to guide bike fitters in helping cyclists improve performance and comfort on their bikes.” From maximising your riding efficiency to ensuring injury prevention, a bike fit for QR1,500 will set right your biking technique, once and for all.
“Imagine a long bike ride and going through the same movements over and over again,” Mahmoud says, “If your knee, hip and ankle are not tracking properly, imagine the stresses they cause and the injuries it could lead to.”
“I am a cyclist who has learnt everything the hard way,” he continues, “Unfortunately, when I started doing big rides in Montreal and here, I always rode alone, never in a group. So I had to travel to Spain to get a bike fit done as there was nothing in the Middle East back then. I still haven’t fully recovered from the injuries I sustained.”
At the extreme end of the shop lies what they call a bike spa – a sophisticated bike service centre. A couple of bike mechanics get busy on a QR40,000 bike, while a slew of similar high-end bikes are hung in various positions on the wall.
“Earlier, cyclists in Qatar would take these to Dubai or Europe for servicing,” says Mahmoud, “Now, we have people coming in with all kinds of bikes because nobody offers such a service in Qatar and nobody is qualified like our staff.”
In fact, that’s a huge plus for the shop – everybody here is an avid cyclist. “Our passion shows,” al-Husseini says, “None of the other stores in Qatar are owned, managed or run by cyclists. Here, everybody in the staff cycles. Everyone has to. You can’t sit and tell the customer that this bike is comfortable or smooth, when you haven’t even tried it out yourself.”