Empire BMX: a place to buy, a place to hang out

Photo by Ricardo B. Brazziell/AA-S Above, Caleb Everitt helps Joseph Roundtree, left, with a purchase. At right is Ronnie Lasly. At top left, Zach Winters, Nicolas Kyle and Alejandro Perez watch a BMX video at the store. At top right, Christopher Morris checks out the BMX gear. Related Stories: • Pedaling influence • What makes a BMX bike a BMX bike? • Shoes becoming old hat for Mihelich

At EmpireBMX, 14th and Lavaca streets, a dozen guys are hanging out.

Inside, someone's tinkering with a bike frame. Others are flipping through magazines with names such as Dig BMX and Ride BMX. Out on the sidewalk, they're slung over their bikes, talking. One rolls out onto the road, standing on the peg that extends from the hub on the wheel of his bike. He balances on the front tire, then spins the entire bike around and around.

EmpireBMX is a hub of the BMX scene in Austin. The shop sells bikes, components, videos, clothes (everything from dark T-shirts to blue jeans to caps, shoes with extra-grippy soles and studded belts). But 90 percent of the business at this cramped, 1,200-square-foot store is mail-order sales to buyers in places as far away as Israel, Belgium and Greece. Sales have been so good that owners Tina and Thomas Williams are looking for a larger space.

A starter BMX bike can be had for $300 or less. The high-end, custom-made stuff can set you back $1,500, but prices don't go much beyond that because most kids can't afford a $5,000 bike.

The proper clothing is important. Most riders wear long pants, a dark logo T-shirt and comfortable shoes with grippy soles (Vans, Etnies, Orchid or Lotek are popular).

"Baggy was popular a while back, now it's tight. Instead of selling large and extra-large shirts, it's small and medium," Tina Williams says. "It's still T-shirts and jeans, but less is more. The logos are not as big and bold, the clothing is not as baggy as it used to be."

The shop also sells helmets, shin and elbow pads, and gloves to reduce injuries from crashing.

But more than a store, this is a meeting place, a place for riders to gather, hang out, watch videos and hook up before riding the streets, ditches and ledges of downtown Austin or heading a few blocks southwest to Ninth Street. The customer base is mostly male, ages 12 to 30.

"It's not as slacker-esque as you would think," Williams says. "Most are in college or putting themselves through college. The young ones are taken care of by their parents; the 20-somethings are pretty independent."