Craton Cochran has officially been working at Bikes Etc. for 16 years but the beloved Bossier bike shop has been in his family for even longer than that. His father, Jimmy Cochran, and his mother, Paula, opened the shop in 1990 and it has been one of the only local bike shops serving the Bossier biking community.

Having graduated from Airline High School in 1997, Craton has been a Bossier native through and through. 

“I graduated high school, raced some bicycles for a couple of years, went to some college and ended up back here anyway,” he said. “I’ve been doing this since I was a teenager.” 

Bikes Etc. specializes in selling bikes, but they also repair bikes, buy bikes to resell them, and even rent bikes.  The doors are always open and they are always ready to help.

“A bike shop can kind of turn into a barber shop slash pawn shop,” he laughed. “I never know what’s going to come through those doors. Especially now that we are doing Ebike stuff. The gamut of things that come through here are crazy and what people try to come in here and either fix or sell or buy, because we do it all, and we rent bikes, but the best part is the customers.” 

Craton says they love to serve the average Jimmys and Joes that are looking to continue the sport of racing with a new or better bike or just looking for a bike to ride to get healthy. 

Bikes Etc. does team up with local teams like triathlon groups, mountain biking groups, and road bike groups to be their go-to bike shop during their seasons.

“You’re usually going to have a couple of annual races,” he said. “There’s an annual triathlon up north of town that’s really popular, River Cities Triathlon, is real popular, and the club that works with the triathletes is called the Sunrise Club. We partner with them to help those guys out.”

In addition to assisting with the Sunrise Club, they also assist with the local mountain bike racing organization Team LaS’port, as their major bike shop sponsor. 

Typical road bike race bikes, as you would see in a race like the Tour de France, can weigh somewhere between 14 to 15 pounds and range anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000 in total cost.  In the Bossier area, Craton says it’s not as uncommon to have some bikers with 16 to 18-pound bikes in the few thousand dollar range. 

On a mountain bike, in order to get the weight down to the low 20 pounds, a rider can expect to pay $5,000 to $6,000. 

“Depending on who you are, a bike can get too light, believe it or not, as far as controlling the bike,” he said. “The lighter, the harder it is to control. I would suggest if you’re going to have the lightest bike per discipline of racing you’re doing, you should be a professional in that.” 

Outside of Bikes Etc, Craton is able to connect to the community as the track operator at Cargill Park BMX where kids ages three years old all the way to 63 years old race on Tuesdays and Saturdays. 

The first Bikes Etc location was on Benton Road and they were there for 19 years and come October of this year, they will be at their current East Texas location for 16 years. 

Through the years they’ve been able to create connections with the community through various ways. 

“One of our coolest things that we’ve got going for the community is called Bossier Bike Night every Thursday night at 7:15 p.m. that starts at the East Bank District,” Craton said. “We start on Ogilvie Street and we have about an 8 to 10-mile slow roll, slow pace, social ride that meanders through all of old Bossier, through every casino, and then back to the East Bank District.”

During this ride, bikers are able to get out and support local. From stopping at the Cumberland Farms store, to Maggio’s, the oldest store in Bossier City, or even to

 take a break and enjoy the river view at the Louisiana Boardwalk, people are able to enjoy and see their city.

Anybody is welcome to join in on Bossier Bike Night, including children, but note that the ride does go through the public streets of Bossier so be sure to keep an eye on your little riders. The only requirements for the ride are to have your bike with lights, per law, and any rider ages 14 and under must have a helmet. Participators are still encouraged to wear helmets during the journey because you are riding through the city streets of Bossier City. 

Craton will continue to serve the area through Bikes Etc. as they have for the past 35 years and locals can support by visiting one of the longest standing bike shops in the area.