The Pedal Group, a joint venture between Flight Centre and Mr Turner's private family company Gainsdale, has developed a franchise operation that sells bikes to independent bicycle retailers and helps fund and design store fitouts, marketing, promotions and websites.

"Retail can be hard at the best of times, but if you're a small independent you do need big brothers to help you do the things you don't have the resources to do - buying, importing, funding, marketing and websites," Mr Turner said. "These are the things small bike shops really will struggle with on their own."

The seeds of the business were sown in 2007, when Mr Turner and his son Matthew, both keen cyclists, set up a bicycle business called 99 Bikes. A year later, Flight Centre acquired a bicycle wholesaler, Advanced Traders, and created a 50/50 joint venture with Gainsdale.

99 Bikes now has about 17 retail stores and is forecast to reach 50 stores by 2017. The first franchised store, trading under The Bicycle Centre banner, opened in June 2013 and the network now has 26 stores, with plans to reach 100 stores by 2017.

Bicycle Centre general manager Andrew Garnsworthy said that when the joint venture achieved critical mass, Pedal Group planned to explore an initial public offer or a sale to private equity buyers.

"Whilst it's a relatively small scale at the moment, relative to Flight Centre, the vision is to look at where travel was 25 years ago - very fragmented with no dominant players - and make a strong business venture out of it by replicating what has happened in travel to bikes," he said.

"We're applying similar principles - a strong customer value proposition, strong marketing and people with a sales focus to drive results."

Flight Centre may eventually acquire full control of the joint venture, leveraging its travel network to tap growing demand for cycling holidays.

"There might be an opportunity for [an acquisition]," said Mr Turner, who rides mountain bikes across France and Spain with his wife, Judith, and friends most years and wants to develop cycling tours in Queensland.

"It's up to the board - it's a decision I wouldn't be able to be involved in," he said. "It's got to be valued carefully and at arm's-length fashion."

Last week, Flight Centre paid $39 million for 90 per cent of Topdeck Tours, the British-based coach tour company founded by Mr Turner in 1972, before he traded a veterinary career for one in the travel industry.

Mr Turner said Pedal Group is also considering taking the Bicycle Centre concept to New Zealand and Britain when it is confident the model is working well.

"We've modelled Advanced Traders on the Flight Centre wholesale business model," said Mr Turner, who is in training for a gruelling 87-kilometre ride on the Liverpool Plains north of Sydney in two weeks. "Bikes are different to travel, but wholesaling is similar in a sense."

The Australian bike retailing and repair market is worth about $1 billion a year, with about 1.4 million bikes imported each year. However, sales growth has slowed to about 1.1 per cent a year in recent years, according to IBISWorld, and sales are expected to fall this year by 2.3 per cent.

Local retailers are losing share to overseas online retailers such as Wiggle and Chain Reaction, which are taking advantage of the GST loophole for online purchases under $1000.

"There are a few companies like that taking advantage of this market; they don't pay GST so they have a 10 per cent price advantage. It's something the government should clean up," Mr Turner said.

The market is also fragmented, at both the wholesale and retail levels, with more than 1500 players.

The Advanced Traders/Bicycle Centre structure enables independent bike shops to source branded and private-label bikes, parts and accessories on better terms than they would if buying independently, while securing funds for stock, store fitouts and signage and receiving training and support.

Mr Turner said the capital investment in the joint venture to date was about $20 million.

"It isn't a cheap exercise [but] we are getting a reasonable return," he said. "Last year, we made $2.5 million EBIT and we are growing and investing in it."

Advanced Traders imports bikes mainly from China and Taiwan under exclusive distribution agreements with international brands including Germany's Merida, Canada's Norco and France's Lapierre.

Bikes are sold to stores on a consignment basis and Bicycle Centre stores pay a monthly fee of about $1000 - well below the average franchise fee - in return for marketing and support.

Mr Turner said franchised stores do not compete directly with the 99 Bikes retail stores. "That's where there's some tension at times, but we try to be sure there's not a 99 Bikes shop in the same region - we don't allow them to compete head on," he said.

Mr Garnsworthy said: "We believe having two retail brands is possible in this market ... there's plenty of scope to grow."