Restoration and Modification

Before we manufactured our own bikes, we would spend a lot of our time taking in peoples' old bikes and making them more suited for their rider's life. Often, a friend or neighbourhood regular would have an old "road-bike" or "racing bike" from the 70s or 80s, you know the ones, which was never meant to race in any real sense and was only manufactured like that because it was the only way most people had ever thought about grown-up bicycles. A lot of people still think that way, when it comes to it. However, the frames and most of the parts were sound. It was just way too uncomfortable to ride around town, and the parts were a bit sketchy. 

That's how we got our start: taking an old Velo Sport, Raleigh or Peugeot (all brands that were manufactured locally for a long time and had pretty good frames when the welders hadn't gone out for a few pints at lunch) and keeping what was sound while making the ride safe, comfortable and practical: better brakes, city-style handlebars, more convenient shifting, maybe a different wheel size to fit the right tires. 

We still do a lot of that work, and are proud of it. It's also gotten us real used to older components, so we rarely turn down a restoration. Ask us about a rear-suspension English frame from the 1890s we helped with sometime. The fasteners all fit, but the wooden-rim wheels were a real trip to build.

So you want us to change up your beloved old steed

Frankly, just bring it on by the shop. You may want an appointment if it's the busy season. We'll look over what's going on and have a chat about how you'd like your bike to work and feel, then keep the bike to really dig down and find the right parts. You'll get a very detailed quote by email and you can decide what's right for you. Sometimes we'll need to order a weird part, but we try to keep a few of those on hand. You can also of course write in any time.