New bike shop opens on Williams while another preps to expand

(Photos: Metropolis Cycle Repair)
(Photos: Metropolis Cycle Repair)

Portland’s busiest cycling street is about to get even better for bike lovers.

A new shop has opened in the bustling commercial block of North Williams Avenue between Failing Street and Shaver. And Metropolis Cycle Repair on North Page Street is planning to move across the street to a new and larger location.

The new shop is called 3928 Bike Shop and is located at — surprise, surprise — at 3928 N Williams Ave. That’s right across the street from the Hopworks Bike Bar in the old Jesuit Volunteer Corps building. It’s a new endeavor from Portland Bicycle Studio owner Molly Cameron. Cameron, a well-known figure in the racing scene, calls her new store a “pop-up bike shop”. She’s not a newcomer to the area, having opened her first shop (“Veloshop”) a four blocks east on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. back in 2001.

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In a blog post last week Cameron said she wanted to open a shop, “Where we could work within the community that has always given so much to us.” Cameron credits support from the northeast Portland community for helping her first small shop gain the foothold it needed to help her expand it into downtown. In 2010 Cameron closed Veloshop and opened Portland Bicycle Studio. That shop’s niche has been mostly centered on high-end performance parts, bikes, fit and service for competitive riders.

Cameron says the Portland Bicycle Studio brand isn’t going anywhere and will remain in northwest Portland where she plans to open a new studio that will offer fitting, spinning and training services. 3928 Bike Shop is being positioned as more of a neighborhood bike shop for “the everyday Portland rider.” Drop in and say hi to Molly and the crew. Hours are Tuesday through Friday 11:00 to 6:00 pm and Saturday 11:00 to 5:00 (closed Sunday and Monday).

The new Metropolis coming soon to the corner of N Page and Williams.
The new Metropolis coming soon to the corner of N Page and Williams.

On the southern end of the Williams bike corridor, Metropolis Cycle Repair is planning to move across the street. Metropolis has been in its current location on the corner of Williams and Page since 2008. Shop owner Nathan Roll says the move will allow the shop to expand and have a larger parking lot for customer access and test rides. Roll and his partner Bradley Parker have applied for a liquor license and plan to create a tavern in the new shop that will offer a range of beverages (including “artfully curated awesome soft drinks” in addition to the usual beer, cider, wine, and so on).

The new Metropolis won’t be ready until the new location can be remodeled and prepped. Roll expects the moving to start in January and the tavern ready to go by spring.

— Jonathan Maus, (503) 706-8804 – jonathan@bikeportland.org

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Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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CaptainKarma
CaptainKarma
7 years ago

Coffee. That’s all I ask. A bicycle coffee shop.

Alex
Alex
7 years ago
Reply to  CaptainKarma

Doesn’t Western Bikeworks in NW have a coffee shop inside?

Todd Boulanger
Todd Boulanger
7 years ago
Reply to  Alex

…and most Target’s have a coffee shop too. ;-?

Adam
7 years ago
Reply to  Todd Boulanger

Target doesn’t sell bikes though. Only bike-shaped objects. 😉

Lester Burnham
Lester Burnham
7 years ago
Reply to  Adam

Not everybody has Vanilla money.

Pete
Pete
7 years ago
Reply to  CaptainKarma

I was under the impression that every Portland bicycle shop serves coffee and IPA… is that not the case??

resopmok
resopmok
7 years ago
Reply to  CaptainKarma

River City Bikes has been serving coffee for years now.

Adam
7 years ago
Reply to  CaptainKarma

Velo Cult!

bikeninja
bikeninja
7 years ago

great to see good news on lbs scene for a change

Alexis Peterka
Alexis Peterka
7 years ago

The folks at Abraham Fixes Bikes mentioned that they’re expanding and will soon have an entry on N Williams proper!

Steve B.
Steve B.
7 years ago
Reply to  Alexis Peterka

Thanks for sharing this. Very stoked for the new location around the corner from their current shop.

bikeninja
bikeninja
7 years ago

To me, this looks like the first glimmer of the possible return of Old Portland. A place that used to rent camera gear to “Portlandia and Grimm” is replaced by a local bike shop (Metropolis) . Maybe the upcoming apartment glut will bankrupt all the new mega-landlords and apartments will be cheap again, punk will reverberate from the dark corners of Alberta Street and some of the new big bucks dining spots will be reincarnated as dive bars.

Todd Boulanger
Todd Boulanger
7 years ago
Reply to  bikeninja

Perhaps if the shop had opened on MLK…I remember Molly’s first shop and then enjoyed her second location when the Pink Triangle area was more pink.

Spiffy
7 years ago
Reply to  bikeninja

the camera place moved… unlike Camera World downtown which closed in January…

at 20 years old the camera place predates the Portlandia and Grimm tv shows….

even in Portland there’s probably more tv watchers than cyclists…

Sigma
Sigma
7 years ago
Reply to  bikeninja

Ah yes…Ye Old Portlande. The mythical metropolis that emerged from the ether on August 17, 2003 (the day I moved here) and that died a sudden and painful death in March 2015 (right after I noticed they were building some apartments on a commercial street near my house).

Hello, Kitty
7 years ago
Reply to  Sigma

Yeah, Portland pretty much hasn’t changed in decades.

Chris I
Chris I
7 years ago
Reply to  bikeninja

I miss the heroin addicts on Division street.

bikeninja
bikeninja
7 years ago

The Blazers will be driven from the Moda Center back to the memorial coliseum by a mold outbreak and win the NBA championships and we will bring back the Timbers Soccer team from the 70’s ( wait– its already happening).

Todd Boulanger
Todd Boulanger
7 years ago

PS> and good luck to all “new” bike shops…

…though to those future business owners who want to open a new bike shop …do not forget there is a very bikeable and much less competitive land (only ~1 bike shop in the downtown) with lower overhead in Vancouver WA.

Chris I
Chris I
7 years ago
Reply to  Todd Boulanger

Build it and they will come.

Spiffy
7 years ago
Reply to  Todd Boulanger

seems odd that such a large city has only 1 bike shop… I mean, I know the ‘Couve is full of suburbanites, but surely they love taking their Trek mountain bikes out on the Burnt Bridge trail, oh, and the Padden Parkway MUP…

they need a “Five Wheels” bike shop up in Five Corners…

Todd Boulanger
Todd Boulanger
7 years ago
Reply to  Spiffy

…yes our suburbanites and our future suburbanites (ex-Portlanders who moved from Kenton to Uptown Vancouver for the same size house but $100k savings…)

Actually now that I think of it… what would be “un-suburban” in Portland (Downtown CBD, Inner Eastside, Pearl, and South Waterfront – though its really a multi-storey suburb in the sky)…most of Portland is as suburban as downtown Vancouver….if it is suburban…unless suburban = being able to see the mayor at a bar or council person knowing your name…

emerson
7 years ago
Reply to  Todd Boulanger

Large swaths of Portland don’t feel suburban to me.

Hello, Kitty
7 years ago
Reply to  emerson

Some people don’t think a “real city” can have houses.

Adam
7 years ago
Reply to  Hello, Kitty

Single-family detached houses with yards means suburbs. That describes most of Portland. The fact that most of Portland grew up around the streetcar just makes it a “streetcar suburb”.

emerson
7 years ago
Reply to  Adam

Got it. Let’s just say I’m glad it’s not completely marred up by big bix stores with miles-long commutes to get to any “culture” (frankly as it exists in most of the metro area — and if that sounds disparaging, you’re correct) and services.

BB
BB
7 years ago
Reply to  Adam

Just because you make a random claim doesn’t make it remotely accurate. If single family houses defined suburbs then most of the major cities in this country would be suburbs. Of course that is not true because of what suburbs actually are, which would be plain if you’ve ever been in either an urban or sub urban area ever in your life.

Lester Burnham
Lester Burnham
7 years ago
Reply to  Todd Boulanger

Forget it Todd, people here still believe Portlandia is some magical place surrounded by nothing but wasteland. Why on earth would you want to live in a less crowded and less expensive city?

todd boulanger
todd boulanger
7 years ago
Reply to  Lester Burnham

Thanks Lester…I stand corrected.

bikeninja
bikeninja
7 years ago
Reply to  Todd Boulanger

One Hitch, you would have to go there everyday.

Spiffy
7 years ago

3928 Bike Shop? seriously? no, really? how forgettable… and they’ll never be able to relocate…

it’s one thing to name an apartment complex that’ll never move after its address, but a business is rarely in a permanent location…

here’s to hoping they do so well they never have to relocate…

BB
BB
7 years ago
Reply to  Spiffy

They could relocate to wherever they want, they just wouldn’t have their street address in the name anymore. It’s perfectly fine, don’t worry too much.

Rachel Cameron
Rachel Cameron
7 years ago
Reply to  Spiffy

“Pop-up bike shop”

Adam
7 years ago
Reply to  Spiffy

Like how Belmont Station is now on Stark? They seem to still be doing well.

Gary B
Gary B
7 years ago
Reply to  Spiffy

Not true! A cursory google maps search tells me there are at least a score of other addresses numbered 3928 in Portland. Oh look, 3928 NW Skyline is basically at Firelane 3 into Forest Park. How convenient 🙂

rick
rick
7 years ago

Will the ugly fencing be removed?

J_R
J_R
7 years ago

This article was posted hours ago and there’s not yet a complaint that one of the reasons for the move is to have a larger parking lot. Has everyone gone comatose over the weekend due to excess turkey? Remember BP readers, parking lots are evil.

Hello, Kitty
7 years ago
Reply to  J_R

Think of all the bike shops that could fit on that parking lot. Housing for bikes, not for cars!

rick
rick
7 years ago
Reply to  J_R

What if they plant trees there or sell bikes for people with severe disabilities?

Spiffy
7 years ago
Reply to  J_R

I assumed the extra parking was just a side effect of the new location…

they can display a lot of bikes in that lot whereas before they mostly had sidewalk space…

won’t matter in a couple years when the lot is sold to build apartments…

Matt S.
Matt S.
7 years ago
Reply to  J_R

Because most people drive cars, even most of the BP readers, I imagine…

Dwaine Dibbly
Dwaine Dibbly
7 years ago

Vancouver? They all come here to buy bikes & avoid sales tax.

Sean
Sean
7 years ago
Reply to  Dwaine Dibbly

We aren’t so lucky up here to have one on every corner.

rick
rick
7 years ago

I feel safe riding on both North Williams and North Vancouver.

benn
benn
7 years ago

Metropolis is one of the finest shops in town, the service and crew have always been exceptional! Congrats on the move and looking forward to having a beer while my bike is being worked on.

Matt S.
Matt S.
7 years ago
Reply to  benn

I believe bars and bikes are the new model. $6 pints can offset the loss on the bike mechanic side. Maybe they’ll lower the price on tubes, I doubt it…