Cashmere's Downtown Bike closes, owner pivots to Squishworks

CASHMERE – After five years of operation in Cashmere, Downtown Bike closed its doors on Feb. 14, as owner Aaron Todd transitions full-time into his factory level suspension service for mountain bikes, Squishworks.

“One of the things I take pleasure in is the startup and birthing of a new business, and so this is the part that I'm just excited to do as I am to see it grow and be able to serve our community,” said Todd. 

Todd opened Downtown Bike in Cashmere in 2020 after five successful years of owning and operating Downtown Bike in Puyallup. Over the years, the bike shop sold new bikes, parts and accessories, as well as provided service and repair. Todd eventually added a ski and snowboard “salon” in the winter, and built up his factory level suspension service in 2024.

“Owning Downtown Bike has been a huge blessing. For us, our primary focus over the last 10 years of being in business has been being there to support our community....We wanted to be an advocate not only just for the bike industry and the sport, but also for the promotion development of small business in growing communities,” said Todd.

However, the bike industry has been experiencing a recession in recent years due to a pandemic-induced boom that led to an oversaturated market, putting pressure on local bike shops. In May 2024, AP News reported that “in 2023, bike sales totaled $4.1 billion, up 23% from 2019, but down 24% from 2020.”

“It was actually getting to a point where we would have to make a decision. Do we continue being a retail, traditional bike shop, or do we continue to do the niche business as a standalone business? And [in] light of how the market has been and it's appearing to trend for the next couple years, it seemed to make more sense for us to pursue the suspension business,” said Todd.

Todd made the decision to pivot his focus to Squishworks, which offers a high-demand service in the mountain bike community. In contrast to Downtown Bike, Squishworks will be by appointment only, and will serve both local riders and bike shops throughout the region, who outsource factory level suspension work. By reducing the amount of foot traffic through the door, Todd hopes to maximize efficiency and speed up service turnaround times. The ski and board salon will continue to be offered in the winter.

“I will miss having people walk in the door. I love people. I love being around people. I love having the visitors that come every day…We're just doing it on a smaller scale,” said Todd.

Todd plans to open Squishworks in Cashmere’s Mission District Building on March 1.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media