The National Bicycler Dealers Association has expanded membership to retailers that sell bikes and bike services from vans and other vehicles.

NBDA recently announced that the group is opening its membership to mobile-only operators. Such companies do not have traditional brick-and-mortar stores, but instead sell bikes and offer bicycle repair services out of specialized vans and trucks.

"The NBDA works to represent the best in bicycle retail and including the best in mobile operators is a natural extension of that goal," said Brandee Lepak, chair of NBDA's board of directors. "Although mobile operators have a lower overhead than many of our traditional brick-and-mortar storefront operators, they also have a larger footprint, which can translate well to underserved retail markets such as rural communities."

The membership fee for mobile operators is $125 per mobile shop plus $50 for each additional vehicle.

The membership change comes less than a year after the departure of Todd Grant, who led California-based NBDA as president since 2015. The board has been running the association since then and has sought to reduce expenses, according to the industry news site Bicycle Retailers. The group lists only one employee—a newsletter editor—on its website. http://bit.ly/2Mz5IsW

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