The local bicycle shop, always the mainstay for parts and accessories for the Malvern Star to professional road bikes, is in crisis.

After 65 years of representing the interests of bike shop owners Retail Cycle Traders Australia has voted itself out of business, succumbing to dwindling membership and the power of online shopping that has seen industry sales of everything from snazzy Lycra to high-tech speedometers go offshore.

Damien Lack, owner of Flemington Cycles. Credit:Jason South

The explosion in online retail has been stalking the nation’s $1.1 billion bike shop industry for years, and was made all the worse argues insiders by the $1000 GST-free threshold on goods bought overseas and mailed to Australia, with premium bike accessories once sold by bricks and mortar stores now cheaper and more widely available on the web.

However, some stores are combating the growing popularity of online sales by charging to fit items bought online and selling dealer-only available stock.