Abraham Fixes Bikes.
(Photos © J. Maus)
Yesterday was the first day of business for Abraham Fixes Bikes (3508 N. Williams), a new repair shop that has opened on the corner of Fremont and Williams in North Portland (shop faces Fremont but is attached to a building with a Williams Avenue address).
Shop owner Abraham Sutfin, 27, had worked out of his nearby garage space for the last few years and when he heard about a space opening up in clear sight of one of Portland’s busiest bike streets, he jumped at the opportunity.
“Williams is the reason I took this space,” he told me during a visit to his shop yesterday, “It’s on the right side [same as the bike lane], and Fremont [a few feet from his shop door] is a major east-west connection. It could be one of the best locations in the city.”
As I chatted with Sutfin, streams of people on bikes rolled north, right outside his shop door.
A self-trained mechanic with years of experience, Sutfin had already built up a strong clientele using flyers and Craigslist. (I’d seen his flyers several times and always noticed the contact tabs were all torn off!)
Abraham Fixes Bikes, like its straightforward name and non-descript storefront might imply, is very no-frills. Sutfin says he likes to keep things basic and simple. “There aren’t any bike shops in town where you just go to a mechanic — like people do with their cars.”
Sutfin says he just wants to do tune-ups and has no plans to sell any other accessories or parts (the only thing he had for sale in the shop were inner tubes). Because his overhead is low and he focuses only on repairs, Sutfin advertises what he says is the lowest priced tune-up in town at just $39. He’s also known for his one-day turnaround times.
I asked Sutfin about the free bike repair guy Dan Sloan, who sometimes sets up shop just a few blocks away. Turns out the two are friends and they regularly help each other out.
Abraham Fixes Bikes is just one of many businesses that are blooming on N. Williams in large part because of its high volume of bike traffic.
The shop is open Monday thru Friday 10am to 6pm or by appointment. Stop in next time you roll by and check AbrahamFixesBikes.com for more information.
Bravo and best wishes for success! Being hapless at just about anything except changing/patching a flat (and not terribly interested in learning to do more), I’m curious as to how businesses like this one will deal with replacing parts. Special order? If Abraham isn’t going to have parts on hand, how does he repair a bike that needs a replacement something-or-another?
Michael M.:
The way I read that part of the article, I think he’ll have his own stock of parts on hand to do repairs if necessary, but just won’t have a wall of stuff for sale as with some shops. At least that’s my interpretation of the post.
His price list includes things like replacing broken spokes… I’m sure he keeps a small stock of standard sized ones on hand, for example.
Abraham is the man! Best prices in town, excellent & honest service.
Another Sutfin on Williams. (Ron Sutphin’s UBI branch being the other.)
I am one of Abraham’s neighbors. I am a full time father and I am disabled and on a fixed income. My relationship with Abraham started off well. He even gave me a bike at one point. One of the first times I met him he asked me “I see you around alot, what are you doing with yourself?”. I did not think much of it at the time. I would stop in occasionally to use a wrench, replace a tube etc. One day I asked him if he had a bike he could sell me and he emerged from the back with a vintage red Shwinn cruser. He sold it to me for 45 dollars and I was floored. Within a day or two I decided the bike was not going to work for me. When I tried to bring it back he seemed annoyed and would not return my money. He suggested I sell it on Craigslist. I did and was able to get 35 for it. Ok no big deal. Subsequent visits to his establishments were met with an increasingly judgmental attitude. The last time I was in the shop I purchased a bike tube and needed a hub adjustment. I was a dollar short so he only did a 6 dollar job. I was conversing with him about how I am blessed to not have the same worries others do and was happy with my position in life. He responded by saying “But you are living at other’s peoples expense.”. I did not respond. I then asked him for a piece of electrical tape to secure my rim tape so I could put on the tube that he sold me. “Ben- I have given you lots of free stuff, this stuff costs money.” Seriously a 1-2 inch piece of electrical tape for a paying customer? http://abrahamfixesbikes.com/philosophy/ – “My goal is to provide superior quality, affordability, precision and respect for each of my customers and their bicycle (s).” Fail. My roomate also expressed he was rude to him when he was in his shop. This comment will also be posted to http://abrahamfixesbikes.com/2007/10/feedback-on-abrahams-work/ It will be interesting to see if it stays there… Needless to say I will not be darkening his door again.