
How Alpine Cycles modernized and revitalized their payment process
Family businesses don’t only come with all your favorite items, but with a soul and a unique history, too. Alpine Cycles grew from one family’s love of sports and community and has been equipping the Port Huron, Michigan community with sporting goods since 1981. Their gear was top-notch, but their payment system? Not so much—until Lightspeed got them back on track.

Lightspeed simplifies Alpine Cycles' payment process
With Lightspeed, Alpine Cycles reduced the risk of human error during transactions and simplified their outdated payment process. Now, the team can focus on offering a smoother customer experience.
Years leveraging Lightspeed
- 7
Benefits of using Lightspeed
- Reduced risk of human error during transactions
- Easier time managing payments
- More time spent on the customer experience
A payment processor stuck in the past
When John Eppley took over Alpine Cycles, a bike, skateboard, ski and accessories shop, he inherited a business built upon decades of trust and community. Founded 1981 by his father and uncle, Alpine Cycles have equipping their community with quality sports gear down to a science.
While John was eager to take on the family business and serve the next generation of sports enthusiasts, he also inherited a clunky and outdated payment processing system that left a lot to be desired.
Every transaction required extra steps: John had to manually enter the sale total into the payment terminal, then return to the POS to select the payment type and complete the sale. Processing a return was even more tedious, involving a separate login to the payment provider’s portal just to issue a refund. The process was slow, inefficient and prone to human error, which wasn’t exactly ideal for a busy shop trying to deliver great service.
Faster and safer transactions
After searching for a more modern solution, John integrated Lightspeed Payments into his daily routine and quickly started seeing results. “Our old rate was interchange plus, and the bill was confusing. I like technical stuff, but even I couldn’t understand it. People don’t bother with the details because it’s just so confusing so they just pay it and call it a day, but you shouldn’t struggle to understand your payments,” says John.
Upgrading his in-store tech improved customer service and streamlined operations. With his POS and payments now fully synced, he manages a single inventory across all sales channels.
Today, John finds it much easier to run his business. Payments are more secure, and statements are clear and accurate. Switching from a legacy system to a modern POS and payments platform was a big decision for John and the Alpine Cycles team, but one they’ve never looked back on.

Business type
Sporting goods
Products used
Lightspeed Retail
Lightspeed eCom
Lightspeed Accounting
Lightspeed Payments
Location
Port Huron, USA
Alpine Cycles simplified their payment processing with Lightspeed
Grow your sport and outdoors business with Lightspeed.