{"id":64148,"date":"2026-03-26T21:14:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T01:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=64148"},"modified":"2026-03-26T21:14:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T01:14:12","slug":"its-always-a-bit-bittersweet-to-see-a-local-landmark-like-bents-cycling-fitness-close-its-doors-after-six-decades-but-its-great-news-for-the-local-cycling-community-that-the","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2026\/03\/26\/its-always-a-bit-bittersweet-to-see-a-local-landmark-like-bents-cycling-fitness-close-its-doors-after-six-decades-but-its-great-news-for-the-local-cycling-community-that-the\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s always a bit bittersweet to see a local landmark like Bent\u2019s Cycling & Fitness close its doors after six decades, but it’s great news for the local cycling community that the expertise isn’t leaving the area"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

For those who spent years trusting the crew at Bent\u2019s, the transition to Platt\u2019s Cycles<\/strong> is the silver lining. David Platt<\/strong>, who managed Bent\u2019s for years, has stepped up to keep that mechanical knowledge and passion for the sport alive in Lakeland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What to Know About the New Chapter:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • The Legacy:<\/strong> Bent\u2019s had been a staple since 1962. Its closure marks the end of an era for North Kentucky Avenue, but the team’s reputation for high-end service and community involvement remains.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The New Spot:<\/strong> Platt\u2019s Cycles<\/strong> is located at 241 North Massachusetts Avenue<\/strong>, just a short distance from the old shop.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The Focus:<\/strong> Expect a similar commitment to quality repair work and a curated selection of bikes, maintaining that “neighborhood bike shop” feel where they actually know your name (and your gear).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Community Impact:<\/strong> David Platt has been a vocal advocate for cycling safety and infrastructure in Polk County, so the new shop will likely continue to be a hub for local riders and advocacy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n
    \n
    \"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    It\u2019s a classic “one door closes, another opens” scenario that keeps the local small-business spirit thriving.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    For those who spent years trusting the crew at Bent\u2019s, the transition to Platt\u2019s Cycles is the silver lining. David Platt, who managed Bent\u2019s for years, has stepped up to… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"12","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"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.LoDyq19-6lbvDI_iy4HcVzM3liuT7dRW41IpwVSGg7UMQ"},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[12,14],"tags":[14209],"class_list":["post-64148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","category-news","tag-its-always-a-bit-bittersweet-to-see-a-local-landmark-like-bents-cycling-fitness-close-its-doors-after-six-decades"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64148"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64151,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64148\/revisions\/64151"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}