ProWheelBuilder didn't start as a website. It started with a bike shop, a coffee bar, and three wheelsets named after espresso drinks. Thirty years, three names, and one cross-country move later, we're still doing the same thing we did on day one — building the best hand-built wheels money can buy.
1994 — Cyclery N Cafe
In 1994, Cyclery N Cafe opened its doors in Las Vegas — a first of its kind: a bike shop and a coffee bar under one roof. It was a great place to start a ride from. Customers would sit back with a coffee on the patio and shop; we carried many popular bicycle brands, ran a full mechanic shop, fit riders to their bikes, and built custom wheels.
Over time, the demand for good, honest wheels kept growing — so we launched our first signature wheel packages: the Espresso, the Cappuccino, and the Latte (named, obviously, after the tasty drinks from the coffee bar). Each was optimized for weight, durability, ride quality, and aerodynamics — and with them, ProWheelBuilder was born.
1997 — Growing pains
By 1997 we were hand-building about 350 wheels a year, and the growth forced a tough decision: we had to relocate — and close the coffee bar. In 1998, Cyclery N Cafe became Pro Cyclery.
The Pro Cyclery years
Pro Cyclery quickly became more than just a bike shop. It grew into a gathering place for the Las Vegas cycling community — a place where customers stopped in to talk bikes, meet other riders, get advice, plan rides, and simply spend time with people who shared the same passion.
We were heavily involved in the local cycling scene, organizing and supporting omnium races, stage races, time trials, century rides, mountain bike events, and other community activities. At the same time, we continued fitting riders to their bikes, servicing bikes, and building custom wheels for customers throughout the region.
A large part of Pro Cyclery's success came from the people behind it. We were fortunate to have a knowledgeable, dedicated staff that cared about the customers and the cycling community as much as we did. Together, the shop developed a reputation for personal service, technical expertise, and a welcoming atmosphere that kept customers coming back.
As interest in high-quality, hand-built wheels began to grow in the early 2000s, our custom wheel business expanded, and we had to move the wheel company next door to Pro Cyclery. Orders began coming in from across the country, helping lay the foundation for what would eventually become ProWheelBuilder.com.
2006 — ProWheelBuilder goes online
In 2006, ProWheelBuilder made the transition into a dedicated e-commerce business, allowing us to serve customers far beyond our local market. What had started as a growing custom wheel program within Pro Cyclery was now reaching riders across the United States and around the world.
By 2008, ProWheelBuilder.com had grown enough to require its own dedicated space within Pro Cyclery. Although the two businesses remained closely connected, ProWheelBuilder was developing its own identity, customer base, inventory requirements, and operating systems.
As the business continued to grow, we invested in a more refined website, expanded our inventory, improved order processing, standardized our wheel-building procedures, and developed the systems needed to support a true e-commerce operation. ProWheelBuilder and Pro Cyclery continued operating side by side, each serving a different part of the cycling market while sharing the same commitment to service, technical expertise, and quality.
Eventually, ProWheelBuilder moved into its own dedicated building alongside Pro Cyclery. This gave both businesses the room they needed to grow while allowing us to maintain the close relationship between the retail shop and the expanding online wheel business.
That chapter continued until 2012, when we made the decision to sell Pro Cyclery and focus our full attention on ProWheelBuilder. By that time, ProWheelBuilder had grown from a specialty service within a local bike shop into a standalone business serving cyclists throughout the United States and around the world.
A New Chapter in Georgia
By January 2012, it was time to say goodbye to our beloved Pro Cyclery and begin a new chapter. A few months after selling the shop, we packed up ProWheelBuilder and headed east to Cumming, Georgia.
It was a major change in every sense. We traded the desert landscape and unforgettable Nevada sunsets for blue skies, rolling hills, and the tall green trees of North Georgia. While we were excited about what was ahead, leaving Las Vegas was not easy.
We left behind many close friends, loyal customers, and some of the best employees we could have ever asked for — and these people had played an important role in both Pro Cyclery and ProWheelBuilder over the years. Fortunately, a few members of our team believed enough in what we were building to make the move to Georgia with us.
Relocating gave ProWheelBuilder the opportunity to start a new chapter with our full attention focused on the business. We brought with us everything we had learned during the Pro Cyclery years — the importance of community, personal service, technical expertise, and surrounding ourselves with great people — and began building the next generation of ProWheelBuilder from our new home in Cumming.
ProWheelBuilder Today
The move to Cumming gave ProWheelBuilder the room and focus to continue growing into the company it is today. As the bicycle industry has changed, we have continued to evolve with it — expanding our product offerings, refining our wheel-building process, and adapting to new technologies, standards, and riding disciplines.
Today, two experienced wheelbuilders with more than 40 years of combined experience hand-build 2,800 to 4,000 wheels each year from our shop in Cumming, Georgia. Every wheel is built with the same attention to detail, craftsmanship, and care that has defined ProWheelBuilder from the beginning.
A great deal has changed since those early days in Las Vegas, but the purpose behind the business has not. From a simple idea on a Las Vegas patio to serving cyclists around the world, our goal remains exactly the same: to provide our customers with the best hand-built wheels money can buy.
Want to see how we do it? Read what every wheel goes through, or start your own with the Custom Wheel Program.