Bikes 'n Stuff

Often an afterthought, it should be first front and center.

Join the League of American Bicyclists.

Join the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.

You'll get discounts and special praise, and they do good work.

How do you want to pay for bicycle maintenance? There are so many different ways to go:

• There the 'service package' model - tune-ups and overhauls and stuff. Traditional like.

• There's 'buy a bike and get free adjustments for a year or two, or even forever.' Also pretty traditional.

• There's 'subscribe for $13/month, and get $100 worth of labor per year, 10% off purchases and labor, seasonal gifts, and free unlimited minor adjustments.' 

• There's 'become a member for $100, and get 10% off everything forever.'

• I dunno, you make up the next one. 

Here are some folks with interesting (and very different) service models, in no particular order:

• ReCycles Bicycles in Fredrick, MD

• Cutlass Velo in Baltimore, MD

• Scenic Routes Community Bicycle Center in San Francisco, CA

• The Third Wheel somewhere in New England

• ...

If you know someone, or are someone, who should be on this list, LMK.

Kids like bikes - we're going to sell new and used kids bikes.

Sure, why not? Well, I can think of a few reasons. But yeah, EBIKES!

We love ebikes. They've opened the door to bicycling for big segments of the population, and that's rad. Also, way better than other motorized forms of transportation, particularly in urban environments. We prefer pedal-assist bicycles to throttled bikes, and if you want to go faster than 20 mph and still call it a bicycle, we think you should do it with muscle-power. 

That said, we're not yet fluent in ebike. We will service ebikes, with some caveats:

• We can do mechanical work on most ebikes, but we do not have the ability to service the electrical and drive systems of all ebikes. We can probably fix your flat tire, but probably not your inoperable motor controller. 

• Ebikes are heavy, and service often requires dedicated tools and resources, and carries additional risk. For these reasons, ebike service costs more than non-e-bike service.

• Only bikes with Bosch or Shimano systems/drivetrains can stay in the shop overnight. This list may expand over time.

This is stuff that SEEMS like it's overpriced, but it's not. Remember, no one here is getting rich. This section has to come last, and if I had more business acumen and more impulse control it wouldn't exist all. But it's fun. Gotta have some fun.

What makes riding a bike fun and practical?

Baskets

The basket case goes here. We might rename ourselves Basket Case Bikes. We were Wald when Wald wasn't cool. 

Locks

Mean ones, made of hardened steel. Heavy ones, made of the weight of the world.

Fenders (a.k.a. mudguards)

I've been riding with fenders for so long that the idea that a piece of... yuck... gets stuck to your tire and flung at your face at 20mph... who would ever let that happen when it could be easily prevented? 

And a blob of... blech... gets stuck to your back tire, then tossed onto the back of your vintage Dark Side Of the Moon t-shirt. Gross. Then it gets transferred to grandma's couch. Double gross. Thank goodness for the clear vinyl cover. Sure it sticks to the back of your thighs, but you ride around letting your bike throw road-buggers at you all day.

Seriously, your dignity is at stake. Fenders.

Also, with fenders, bikes stay cleaner, parts last longer, and everything works better. Fenders pay for themselves, literally. No joke. And no strip of mud up your back.

Inner tubes, patch kits, and pumps

If I end up just selling inner tubes, all day long, all year long, year after year, my life will be complete.

It might cost more for me to fix your flat than it might elsewhere, but let's discuss. You roll in with a flat tire, what happens? (1) a conversation, for sure. I might not stop what I'm doing, or I might. It depends. It always depends on something. 

"Just a flat tire," you say. "How much does that cost?"

"That depends... it's usually a puncture in the inner tube, if that's it, $30 plus the price of the inner tube. But it could be a zillion other things." I say. "Let's have look. How did it happen?" and you tell me the story. In this case, let's say it's the age-old broken-glass-on-the-road followed unfortunate-hissing-sound.

Now suppose I was working on another bike... while I'm listening to you, I also try to remember where I was in the middle of whatever it was that I was doing, that will be important when I come back to it. I put away the tool that was in my hand, or maybe it goes in a pocket, or get set on top of this or that and disappears for three months, or three years. 

Now I attend to your bike. I poke at it. Here are some of the significant variables: wheel size, tire size, type of valve, type of brakes on the bike, type of axle holding the wheel on the bike. Rear wheel? Drive train condition and cleanliness. 

In this particular story, I say, "OK, I suspect that replacing the inner tube will solve the problem."

Then I take the other bike out of the workstand, and put your bike in the workstand... 

Tools

'Cause bikes are basicly simple machines that you can maintain yourself.

Bicycle-related art

Most prints. Screen prints, linocuts, etchings, woodblock. For sale, if I can manage it, and there's a market.

Locally made things

There should be more of these.

Handmade things

There should be more of these too.

Quality things

Some things just do their jobs so well that everyone should know about them. Strangely, these things are often hard to find. If I have a platform to evangelize this stuff, I'm going do it.

In the District of Columbia, you need a "Secondhand Dealer" License to sell used bikes. Imma get one. Might take a bit.