(Photos © Jonathan Maus)
A new bike shop has opened its doors in Southeast Portland.
Last Saturday was the first day of business for A Better Cycle located at 2324 SE Division Street (just east of Seven Corners intersection).
I stopped on my way to work this morning and met co-owners Aaron Truman and Tim Weeks. Aaron and Tim are just two of six co-owners, (five of which are former employees of The Recyclery bike shop). The other owners of the shop are Clinton Garner, Ian Mitchell, Rachel Dominguez-Benner, and Ben “Sauce” Applebaum.
Aaron Truman (R) and Tim Weeks (L).
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The small shop doesn’t sell any new bikes and instead focuses on used bikes, parts and repairs. “We don’t have much floor space, so we try and keep a wide variety of bikes available.” A quick look at the selection showed a few vintage road bikes, several commuter-ready mixtes, and some flat-bar mountain bikes with slick tires.
My personal favorite was an old Fuji that Aaron rebuilt into a bomber commuter bike. It’s got big, 28″ tires, a two-speed “kick back” coaster brake hub, and swayed-back riser bars.
The location has a large patio area and garden space in front that Aaron and Tim plan to use as a gathering spot. “We’ll have a picnic table out here by spring,” says Tim, “and we’ll be planting edibles.”
The wooden sign and many of the fixtures inside were handmade and the owners plan on welding a large gate out of old bike frames.
A Better Cycle is open 7 days a week, 8-8 on weekdays and 10-6 on weekends. Stop by and check it out next time you’re in the neighborhood.
See a few more photos of the shop in my gallery.
Thanks for reading.
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Finally a shop that is open early enough so that I could drop my bike off on the way to work, and late enough that I could pick it up again on the way back home.
Great shots of the shop Jonathan. I really like the warm colors, the wood, and the way they display their bikes so that you can really get in there and see them. Best of luck to Aaron, Tim, et al!
Best of luck to the owners of this awesome new shop! They\’ve got the skills and spirit to make it work.
I like those hours!
Glad to see Jonathan found you guys out. Best of luck dudes!
uh oh, Cory\’s got competition now…he\’s not gonna like that. 🙂
I\’ve been begging shop owners for years to find a way to be open after 6pm on weekdays. FINALLY someone has risen up to the challenge. These folks will have a monopoly after the other shops close.
The A Better Cycle shop looks real nice. love the way they display there bikes and the fact that all the bike parts are recycled. I cant wait to be back in PDX and go visit. Big props the good hearted conscious crew that put this together.
Ive talked to the owners, they are a pretty egalitarian crew.
I wonder how many bike stores are open 7 days a week.
happy wrenching
These guys rock. Clinton saw me on the street with a flat tire two days before they officially opened their doors to the public, and offered his services to me if I would come down to the shop. The owners are all super friendly, and actually take the time to see what your bike needs and let you know what your options are. And, I love how late they are open. I think they will do great, they are already doing great work as I had them service my old Mercier, which is now riding dreamily.
Great news! I am so happy to see all these new bike shops opening up in our city. Proof indeed that the number of bikes out there just keeps on growing.
Can\’t wait to check out the shop. And yes, regarding Aaron\’s post, I agree for sure – let\’s have more bike shops that don\’t shut us out at 5pm!
Best of luck to them; hopefully, their mechanical skills will improve with experience
CityBikes has been open 7 days a week for just about forever, and til 7pm on weekdays.
Just kiddin\’ above the above comment guys…welcome to the neighborhood…I\’ll be sure to swing in soon and say hi. Gotta love the hours too…
I love the circle A, is that meant to be ironic considering it is a for profit business and a non-collective shop with a horrendous darn long work day?
I might be mistaken, is it a collective? eh .
Thanks to everybody for the positive feedback. We are a worker owned, 100% consensus run shop. If anyone has any questions or comments, You can contact us at: ABetterCycle@gmail.com
-A Better Cycle