Bike shop relocates in Hanford after break-ins in Downtown Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- There's officially a bike shop in Hanford for the first time in 10 years.

At their new home in Downtown Hanford owners of a specialty bike store are getting comfortable.

"When I come over here I get a real warm welcome and I've got lots of well wishers and people excited to have a shop in Hanford," Fulton Cycle Works owner Darren Johnson said.

The unique business provides a service that no one in the city does, they sell and maintain specialized sets of wheels.

"There's no service out here for bikes between Hanford, Lemoore and the surrounding communities including the base," Johnson said. "There's nothing."

They've been rushing to get the store open this week, just in time for Main Street Hanford's Thursday night marketplace.

Getting to this point wasn't easy though they were almost forced there after facing many problems in Fresno.

Johnson's Downtown Fresno shop was the target of brazen thieves. One burglar even stole a bike worth more than $6,000.

"We got hit about four times in about 10, 11 weeks," he said.

After the fourth break-in, the cost of staying in Downtown Fresno didn't make sense for business.

"Since we were looking at Hanford as a second location it was just easy to move the whole shop versus add a second store," Johnson said.

Johnson says, since the move, their business is evolving rapidly.

They have many customers interested in mountain and dirt bikes and hope to expand the store in the next six months.

"And who knows, we might end up back in Fresno with a second location," Johnson said. "I've actually been looking already so."