New shop in southeast caters to fixed gear fans
Posted by Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor) on May 17th, 2019 at 12:04 pm
Retrogression’s home page.
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.]
RecommendedAnd, good to see a shop dedicated to simplicity, too!
RecommendedAt a time when shops have been closing it’s good to see another one open. Best of luck to them.
RecommendedThis 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!
Recommendedwelcome retrogression! i remember you guys from bikeforums.net, picked up some swag way back in 2010…
hope portland does ya right!
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