One of the focuses of our work so far during this outbreak is to monitor the health of our local bike economy and do what we can to help them survive. One of the things I’m doing is scrolling through social media and emails looking for updates about how local bike businesses are holding up and adapting to the strange reality of the times.
Here are a few things I’ve learned:
Breadwinner Cycles is offering bike repair and maintenance service. Breadwinner is a bicycle maker and not usually available as a bike repair shop. That has now changed. “We are offering our services to our Portland cycling community to showcase that bicycles are a better way to go,” say owners Tony and Ira. To drop off your bike give them a call at (503) 236-8511 to set an appointment.
Most local bike shops remain open, but many changed their protocols over the weekend. Appointment only and zero-contact practices seem to be the norm. Our bike shop status update spreadsheet has all the latest info, including links to (most of) the shops where you can buy online or purchase gift cards.
Component manufacturer Chris King wants your help to keep business flowing to local bike shops (who they rely on for orders). They’ve started the Bikes Build Us Up social media campaign that comes with the #SupportYourLocalBikeShop social media tag and a custom graphic you can place over your own image to promote the campaign online.
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Revocycle, an indoor cycling studio in the Pearl District is now offering online spin/trainer classes for those of you who want to ride at home. They have a 30 minute class at 3:00 pm today (Monday) and another one tomorrow morning at 9:00 am. Contact them here if you’d like to learn how to join.
North Street Bags has decided to shut down their local production and shipping operations to comply with health guidelines. In order to open back up with a bang, they’re offering a 15% discount on all products. Get the code and learn more on their website.
Local apparel brand Roule Cycling says the coronavirus outbreak has seriously hurt their business. To help keep cash flowing they’re offering a limited selection of jerseys, bibs and other items at massive discounts. Check out their website to make a purchase.
I’m working with PDX SOS, an effort to save small businesses impacted by the virus. They’ve agreed to create a special, bike business page based off our list where anyone will be able to quickly find all the local bike shops and bike-related businesses and a link to make purchases to help keep them afloat during this challenging time. Stay tuned for that.
OK. That’s all for now. Take care out there and keep in touch.
Browse all BP coronavirus coverage here.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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Thanks for putting that list together!
Thank you for this. I’d never even heard of Roule Cycling, but I just checked it out and placed an order!
There are people who would support local small business with a loan. This is necessarily based on personal trust and lending what you can afford to lose. A quiet word to a business person that you depend on, or that you have admired and would like to see carry on, is all it takes. Just knowing that help is available may be enough in many cases.
I’m fortunate that my overhead is really low, but a location-based business paying rent in this real estate market is in a very tough spot.