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Ron Bates was already a life member of St. George Cycling Club and held most of the positions of the club when he took over the reigns of the bike shop. Ron changed the name to Ron Bates Cycles in the late fifties and manufactured the highly sought after Royal Star bike. Ron, like Phill, had a great passion for cycling of all aspects and many of Australia’s finest cyclists were supported and sponsored by the shop. In the late eighties, Brad Bates, one of Ron’s son, took over the management of the shop which underwent several moves before ending back opposite the original site at 188 Forest Road and under the management of Phill Bates in 1991. The name was altered to Bates Bikes, Hurstville with Brad remaining as a Manager for most of the decade. Bates Bikes moved to its current site (124 Forest Road) to expand its capabilities in 1997 and although initially boasted 220 square metres in the site next door, has now been expanded to 350 square metres – one of the largest suburban shops in Sydney. Phill Bates takes an active role in the daily affairs with an office situated at the rear of the shop. The shop has an ideal shop front with enough area to satisfy virtually all of the needs of the varying customers that utilise the facility. The shop is also supported by a large warehouse as well.
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Bates
Bikes commenced as a cycle shop in 1920 and was to be known from
the start as Bruce Ford cycles, a long-standing friend of the Bates
family. The Ford family managed the shop for two generations before
Ron Bates took over as the proprietor in the mid-fifties. The shop
for the first fifty odd years was located at 145 Forest Road Hurstville.