Under the late August heat, bicycles lined the sidewalk outside the USC University Bookstore as students hurried between classes. In a tent among the campus traffic, sisters-in-law Elizeth Shaw and Lisette Leon worked eight-hour days selling used bicycles for students looking for an easier way to get around campus.
For them, the work was more than a temporary job. It was an extension of the family business built by Shaw’s parents more than two decades ago.
“They came to America and they wanted something better, so they just ran with the idea,” said Shaw. “Twenty three years later, they’re still there at the bike shop. Every single day, seven days a week, they take only a couple days off of the year.”
Elinseo Leon immigrated to the United States from Mexico when he was 19-years-old and began working in the garment industry of Los Angeles. He then found a job working as an assistant at LA Bicycles, a shop previously located in the USC Village.
Three years later Leon married his neighbor, Socorro, who pushed him to start his own business.
In 2003 Leon opened Lion’s Bike Shop, an establishment that sells used bicycles, parts and accessories, including bells painted with ladybug or strawberry designs. The shop also offers repairs, almost always free to returning customers. “[Socorro] saw I was connecting with everybody at LA Bicycles, the way I was treating students and the community, and she said, ‘You can make it,’” said Leon.
Shaw said her mother saw a gap in the market for families around the USC area as well.
“My mom doesn’t drive, but she actually likes using the bicycle, so her way of taking us out was on a bike around the neighbourhood,” Shaw said. “I think that was maybe another reason why she was like, ‘Okay, let’s do it,’ because she probably felt like other moms would want to do that too.”
The Leon’s integrated their children into the business early on, creating a close-knit multigenerational community. Shaw said she is hopeful that they will be able to pass the shop down to the next generation.
“Lisette just had a little boy who’s technically the third [generation],” she said. “He’s only eleven months now, so we’ll see.”
Lion’s Bike Shop started their pop-up in front of the bookstore in 2022, bringing the shop even more attention from the USC student body. They have continued to come back at the beginning of each semester for the past four years.
This year, the pop-up was available for the first two weeks of the fall semester, and it will be back for the first five days of the spring semester.
There has been no lack of business for the bike shop from students. Senior USC student Ava Keshabarzi describes purchasing a bicycle as a “rite of passage” for seniors who live off campus.
“About 50% of my friends have bikes,” Keshabarzi said. “It’s fun to bike to school with my friends.”
In addition to serving the USC community, Lion’s Bike Shop also provides services to those in South Los Angeles. Their used bicycles average within the $120-150 range.
“Not everybody who goes to USC can afford the $300 bicycles,” Shaw said. “In this area, it’s not just using the bicycles as a hobby, or on the weekends, but actually as a mode of transportation, because there are individuals that can’t afford to have a car.”
As the USC biking community has grown, so has the number of bike shops in the area. Since Lion’s Bike Shop opened their doors, three other bike shops have launched their businesses within a half mile radius. Lux’s Bicycle Shop, 3 Brothers Bike Shop, and Linare’s Bike Shop can all be found right off of Vermont Avenue.
Leon said he doesn’t feel any sense of competition with the others.
“We have our own prices. We know what we are worth, and we try to do a really good job,” Leon said.
Leon said he finds it easier with the other bike shops around as it keeps him from being overwhelmed by customers, especially during busy seasons like the beginning of the school year.
Jasper Mejia, a freshman at USC, purchased his bike a week ago from Lux’s Bike Shop.
“One shop had people busy working on other things so I couldn’t buy one there,” he explained, “I chose the other one just because there were a lot of bikes there, it was convenient, and it was pretty affordable.”
Lion’s Bike Shop has one specific goal when it comes to customer service.
“We want to treat our customers right all the time, like a family,” Leon said.
While expansion has been contemplated by the Leon’s, they are weary of hiring outside of their family.
“I had a chance to open a couple of shops,” Leon said. “But we decided not to because it’s not gonna be the same if we hire somebody else.”