Note: I'm currently on a family trip and not working normal hours. Email and message responses will be delayed and story and posting volumes here and on our social media accounts will not be at their usual levels until I return to Portland September 4th. Thanks for your patience and understanding. - Jonathan Maus, BikePortland Publisher and Editor
A new bike shop called The Bike Exchange has opened its doors on SE 50th and Division.
Owner Tom Daly dropped a line the other day with the news. He says they opened just a few weeks ago and they’re already busy doing tune-ups and “all sorts of repairs and trade-ins”.
I’ll head over there soon for photos and a report.
Good luck Tom!
Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)
Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, contact me 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 paying subscriber.
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Now, this is Portland. Bike stock displayed outside in the rain!
Welcome, Bike Exchange!
sweet news! setup looks nice.
Good grief. You guys got as many bike shops as Tulsa has churches!
and its right next to los gorditos!
yum!
Good Luck!
Jonathan, don’t forget to check out their neighboring “bike fuel station” aka Los Gorditos Taco Wagon, right next door.
The “exchange” part sounds interesting…Any idea of their business plans and strategy?
Welcome to the bike world! Good luck getting up and going. The bike industry is not an easy one in the best of times and the competition is fierce in this town. I’ll have to go and check these guys out.
Hey Folks,
I just wanted to post a quick reply and say thanks for the positive response!
I would like to note that I am only the manager of the shop, the owner is my good friend Ali.
That doesn’t change much because I’m doing the wrenching and whatnot.
A QUICK NOTE ON THE N NAME:
We are a used bike shop, specializing in sales and service. The “Exchange” part of the name comes into play if you have an old bike, or some parts or whatever you would like to trade towards your dream bike. We are taking most anything right now, so bring it on down.
I wonder if the shop’s policy is exclusively ‘trade’, in terms of used bikes brought in, rather than ‘purchase’. Proof of ownership of used bikes can be difficult.
Nice location and at the same site that used to be a autmobile repair shop.
Wsbob,
We are running all of our bikes taken in, trade or buy, through the Portland police department. This process includes taking bike serial numbers, Driver’s License and Contact information, then issuing payment in 15 days and only after the bike has cleared a police check.
Due to the high volume of bike theft in Portland, I think that this step is the MOST important part of running a used bike shop here. I want to thank you for raising this question and giving me the opportunity to explain the process. If you’d like to know more, just let me know or stop by and I’d be happy to talk at greater length.
Thanks!
Tom
What are you doing when they leave the stolen frame at home, and just bring in a box of parts?
Congrats, Tom & Ali…
all the best to you 2!
Great anti-theft policy Tom!
Steve – the box of expensive parts may be more troublesome, but if the same perp shows up repeatedly with parts to sell, I bet the shop will catch on.
Sounds like a customer oriented business all around – whether buying, selling or trading. Only so much you can do to curtail thieves from taking advantage of such a place, but sounds like their policy is going as far as possible. I’ll give it a try, until y’all go 7-Corners on us and become uncaring jerks who don’t give you the time of day anymore – unless you’re opening up your wallet really wide!
well done, tom. i’m proud of you.
now, when are you going to build my wheels?
hey, right down the street! Welcome!
Tom, thanks for that info. I think what you’re proposing is reasonable, though more would probably be required to foil thieves.
Obviously, not just on the store’s part though. If there really does continue to be an expansion in bike use and ownership, people are going to have to do a much better job than they are today, of recording serial numbers and reporting theft to the police when it occurs.
A lovely addition to the area indeed; I can hardly wait to check it out! As for the bike theft concerns I think that the policy you have in place is sound and, ultimately, all that can be resonably expected of you. Bike theft sucks. However I feel that overcompensation for this problem could make honest barter impossible.
While I never worked in a shop that dealt with used bikes or parts in any volume, I did run into a lot of thieves. After a while in retail you develop a kind of radar (perp-dar?) for people who are in your shop. There’s often a sense of mis-match with thieves, they are looking at bikes they know nothing about or asking sort of random questions. These are signs you are being cased and/or distracted. Similarly, I think if some guy consistently came in with a box of Dura-Ace and asked me “how much”, if he didn’t have shaved legs and road rash scars, I’d be showing him the door.
I’m not saying this is fool-proof by an stretch. I’m just saying it’s not as easy as you might think to fence stolen merchandise if the buyer doesn’t want to be a fence.
hey whats the 503 on this place? I can’t find it anywhere… do they even have a phone?
Love to stop by sometime, but how ’bout some store hours and a phone number? Can’t seem to locate you in the yellow pages etc.
We have a website now! Hours, phone numbers, and bikes listed on the interweb!!
http://www.thebikeexchangepdx.com
woo-hoo!!