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.