Being smart about this weather, I decided this week was a good week to take my bike into a shop. I called around a little bit. I wanted to make sure I found a shop the was friendly towards road bikes and felt comfortable working on older bikes. I was also looking for a shop that deals used parts. I finally settled on CityBikes in SE Portland.
As a rule of thumb: I never cross the river unless necessity forces me too. I hate bridges. SE Portland is so different than the south west side. It is...alternative. After driving past a couple cannabis clubs, I found the repair shop. It looks like a house with a bike shop on the ground level. When I walked in the first thing I noticed was the smell. Its NOT an offensive smell but it has the definitive scent of earth muffins. The employees were hipsters with the googly classes and funny hats. The shop happened to be full of lesbians when I walked in. Immediately I thought "Oh yeah, this is my shop".
http://www.citybikes.coop/ This is Molly, she helped is the one that helped me with my bike!
The employees were very friendly. The helped me ensure my bike fit properly, listened to my concerns and negotiated parts and labor with me. What I liked most about this shop is that they didn't freak out over my bike. First they were professional and focused on me (the customer) more than the bike, second they viewed my bike as a legitimate bike for riding not something that belongs on a collector's wall. This is the OPPOSITE of the experience I had from another bike shop on the SouthWest side.
Both personnel agreed that the bike was old but also in very good condition and needed very little work. The components are all "top-of-the-line" and "hardly-used". They are going to put new brakes on it. The current brakes are very hard for me to reach. They are going to give the gears a nice tune-up. Hopefully, then I will be able to use the stem-shifters more effectively. If I still have problems with the gears, I will consider upgrading to a more modern system.
So for now I'm happy with my decision. I've decided to take this relationship with my bike slowly.
The employees were very friendly. The helped me ensure my bike fit properly, listened to my concerns and negotiated parts and labor with me. What I liked most about this shop is that they didn't freak out over my bike. First they were professional and focused on me (the customer) more than the bike, second they viewed my bike as a legitimate bike for riding not something that belongs on a collector's wall. This is the OPPOSITE of the experience I had from another bike shop on the SouthWest side.
Both personnel agreed that the bike was old but also in very good condition and needed very little work. The components are all "top-of-the-line" and "hardly-used". They are going to put new brakes on it. The current brakes are very hard for me to reach. They are going to give the gears a nice tune-up. Hopefully, then I will be able to use the stem-shifters more effectively. If I still have problems with the gears, I will consider upgrading to a more modern system.
So for now I'm happy with my decision. I've decided to take this relationship with my bike slowly.
