‘Brutal’ fire puts a halt to popular Maui bike shop — and its mission

MAKAWAO (HawaiiNewsNow) - Krank Cycles has been in business for ten years, selling and renting mountain bikes in upcountry Maui.

But it also repaired bikes — and gave them to kids.

A fire early Monday morning put a halt — or at least a pause — to those activities.

“This is my day. My week,” said Krank Cycles owner Aaron “Moose” Reichert, holding up his dirt-stained hands to the camera in a Zoom call

“It’s brutal man, it’s brutal,” Reichert said. “I mean, I’ve been crying all week.”

Reichert has been shedding those tears since he was awakened before dawn Monday to find his Makawao shop heavily damaged by fire.

The blaze damaged the building and some 20 bikes.

Reichert said his insurance covers $25,000 in lost inventory. He estimates his losses at more than $100,000.

“There are several high-end bikes, like, you know, starting at $5,000, up to $10,000 to buy, per bike,” said Reichert.

Adding to the money woes, Reichert’s passion of giving back to the community is now on hold.

During the pandemic, he and Krank Cycles started the Maui Bike Mission. His team traveled across Maui, Molokai and Lanai, to repair bikes and collect throwaways.

Reichert says they’ve fixed about 500 bikes, free of charge, and donated them to kids in the community.

“That’s the heartbreaking part, we don’t know where we’re gonna go with that.”

He took a long pause, then continued: “Whatever happens, you know, that’s just my heart to serve.”

Krank Cycles recently opened a second location in Kahului, but Reichert is determined to get the Makawao shop — and his fix-it team — back in business.

“I started with with a dream and a credit card. And I can, I can do that again.”

Some friends of the store have started a GoFundMe page to start rebuilding the business and getting the Maui Bike Mission back on the road.

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