Portland has a new bike shop whose owners hope to be a part of the local fixed-gear and track riding scene.
Retrogression (2315 SE 11th Ave, just north of Division) is owned and operated by Dave Gattinella and Angie Beaulieu. Fixed-gear riders themselves, Gattinella and Beaulieu couldn’t find track-related parts and gear at local bike shops, so they started sourcing their own.
Retrogression started as an online-only shop in 2009 and opened a brick-and-mortar location in Massachusetts shortly thereafter (they are both from New England). They moved the business to San Diego a few years later; but quickly outgrew their space and went on the hunt to find a new location that would offer them a combination of warehouse (for the online business) and retail shop.
They found it in Portland.
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“We love Portland, have a big online customer base here and found the perfect space for the shop,” Beaulieu shared in an email last week. “It just made sense.”
“We love Portland, have a big online customer base here and found the perfect space for the shop. It just made sense.”
— Angie Beaulieu, co-owner
As we shared in a story last year, Portland has a vibrant fixed-gear scene: From urban freestylers and messengers to track and criterium racers — and people who simply like the affordability and simplicity of the bikes.
Asked to describe her typical customer, Beaulieu said, “Our customer range is awesome: everyone from casual street riders and bike messengers, to seasoned track racers and nerdy NJS collectors [Nihon Jitensha Shinkōkai, the Japanese Bicycle Association]. They are all looking for something slightly different, but it all falls into the realm of fixed gear.”
Retrogression sells complete bikes from All-City, Aventon, Cinelli, and State Bicycle Co., framesets for many makers, offers custom wheel-building, and has a wide range of hard-to-find caps and apparel.
The retail store isn’t quite ready for customers yet. They’re still building out the space and plan to have a grand opening party and alley cat (of course!) event in early June. Learn more about the shop via their About Us page.
Welcome to Portland Retrogression!
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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Good Luck!, Dave Gattinella and Angie Beaulieu!! This is how lucky Portland area cyclists are for the depth of the selection of bike gear. [You do not realize it until you move away and find that your best local shops (with great staff none-the-less) do not carry items that Portland area shops have been carrying for like the last 20 years: built up wheels with generator hubs, Brooks saddles (B-17), etc.]
And, good to see a shop dedicated to simplicity, too!
At a time when shops have been closing it’s good to see another one open. Best of luck to them.
This may be a crazy stretch, but the popularity of spin bikes (which are essentially fixed gear, no coasting) could lead to a resurgence in fixed gear riding. Maybe it is just me, but I’ve been thinking about it every time I spin in the garage, since I’m working on all the leg/fitness skills at least.
Then again half the reason of getting a garage spin bike was to get fit more safely.
Either way: good luck!!! Will come check it out, I live nearby!
welcome retrogression! i remember you guys from bikeforums.net, picked up some swag way back in 2010…
hope portland does ya right!
This is NOT a customer oriented shop, maybe their brick and mortor store has a better experience, dont know and dont care. Their online business is a we’ll-get-to-it-when-we-feel-like-it type of operation. They claim a 1-3 business day period to process, ship and provide tracking numbers. False on multiple accounts.
Ordered a chainring on a wednesday, waited 3 days, checked for tracking number, nothing. Decided to check out ther FAQ to see if maybe im missing something, i wasnt.
I emailed Retrogression the next Saturday (3rd day after order was placed) and asked when my order would be shipped. I got NO response via email. Never recieved a tracking number that day, either.
Now, mind you, this “business”, claims to NOT ship things on Mondays. So, that means the earliest i can expect the package to be shipped would be by tuesday, a total of 6 days after i placed my order.
Flash forward to 3 more emails that went unanswered.
I finally recieved my chainring, 3 weeks and 4 days later. None of my emails were ever answered. While waiting for this “business” to get around to being responsible and shipping orders, i simply went to another online retailer, ordered the same chainring and had it here 4 days after ordering it. Thats how things work in 2019.
Good job, Retrogression. Pityfully pathetic customer service/shopping experience.
To retrogression’s owners, nobody expects your company to be like amazon, in regards to shipping times, however when a paying customer gives you their hard earned money….you dont hold the bag for weeks and dont respond. Thats shady and would never happen in real life brick/mortor stores, so why do you think its acceptable to do this online?
You moved, you got your fancy new location, you guys seem to have revamped alot of things, maybe now its time to actually have a PROPER online store that can be respected.
This is the type of customer service that will bring down your company.
My experience couldn’t be farther from yours. I ordered items for in-store pickup, and called to verify the order. The owners were extremely responsive and professional, overall a very good customer service experience. Also great resource for build out questions!
Perhaps purchasing items from Amazon will serve you better if you want an online experience. Give local business a chance before posting damaging reviews. Why do you think so many LBS’s are closing?