Bike Gallery Blog

Bike Gallery rides in Pride Parade 2010

Posted by Matt Cardinal | June 21, 2010 – 1:24 pm

Carrie Blowers is a long time Bike Gallery worker. She and a big group of Bike Gallery staff and customers rode bikes in this weekend’s Pride Parade. I asked Carrie to share her experience. Photos are by Division staffer David Anderson.

Sunday morning June 20th, Bike Gallery staff along with our friends and our customers gathered to ride in the the 2010 Portland Pride Parade. Though the weather forced us under an awning while we waited to line up, the rain cleared and rainbows everywhere made up for the lack of sunshine. Our group was full of excitement as we circled our bikes around and the crowds erupted with cheers as we wheeled past. I heard “Go Bike Gallery!”, “Thank you Bike Gallery!”, and “More tricks!” as Amy Wantulok and Jay Graves wowed the crowed with wheelies, track stands and fabulous bike handling skills. Jake Ryder, a mechanic from our Downtown location, brought his custom-made zebra-striped mobile sound system built into the front of a cargo bike and blasted dance music into the crowds receiving cheers with each new song. It felt fantastic to bring our diverse group out for a party in the streets and celebrate the GLBT community who have played an important role in our company’s success over the years. Next year we hope to see you out there with us!

Jay Graves pulls a wheelie!

Our DJ and sound system kept the party going!

Amy Wantulok shows her bike skills!

Our littlest member nearly doses off during the parade.

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Bike Gallery mechanic moonlighting as product tester

Posted by Matt Cardinal | June 10, 2010 – 3:03 pm

Our very own Pete Zlatnik the service manager at the Hollywood Bike Gallery has been testing tires for Bontrager for about a year now. Pete met one of Trek’s product managers last year when he visited our store. Bontrager was looking for some real world testing of their new all-weather tires and having someone in Portland to test them made perfect sense. If by “all weather” what you mean is nonstop rain, then we have had our fair share of all weather this spring! Pete received various tire samples and was told to mount them up, track mileage, wear them out, and then send them back with feedback for evaluation. The result of testing like this is the new Bontrager RXL All Weather Hardcase. It is a folding clincher tire that has triple flat protection and features advanced tread design with rain shedding siping and patterns. The folding Aramid bead and 120 TPI casing make the tire ride more like a performance tire than a typical flat resistant tire. Pete is about 1200 miles into this version of the tire and hasn’t had a flat yet. He says they work great in this especially wet spring. If your bike serves double purpose as a commuter and a longer distance training bike, this is one tire that will deliver all year long.

Posted in New Products, Product Review, Tech, Uncategorized | Comments (1)

Commuter Cuvee

Posted by Matt Cardinal | June 10, 2010 – 1:18 pm

It it the time of year again when Grochau Cellars is releasing its Commuter Cuvee. The Pinot Noir is available as a limited release and benefit for the Brett Jarolimek Memorial Fund. The fund’s goal is to increase bike safety and awareness. Brett was an employee at Bike Gallery who was killed in a collision in 2007 while riding his bike. Locations around Portland that will be carrying the wine include: Zupan’s on Burnside, New Seasons-Raleigh Hills and Concordia (the others will likely follow), QFC Grant Park, Cork at both NE and NW locations, Fred Meyer-Tualitin, Walker Road, and Hollywood, and Market of Choice. So pick up a bottle today and enjoy it knowing you are helping make Portland an even better place to ride a bike!

Posted in Bike Advocacy, Staff & Stores | Comments (0)

Go By Bike Month, employee bikes, part 8

Posted by Matt Cardinal | May 12, 2010 – 3:26 pm

Justin F works as the downtown store’s assistant manager. He’s been at Bike Gallery for 6 years.

Does your bike have a name? Tina. I’ve had her for about 5 years.

How would you describe Tina? Slow, comfy, good for getting around town, cruising. It’s the bike I ride around all winter, but it’s kind of dangerous because it only has one brake, and it’s freewheel. I like that it has character. It’s the only bike I have that isn’t black. I like that I can throw it into a bike rack and not worry if it gets beat up.

What makes a good commuter bike? Something you can ride year round, something that has some utility to it. A comfortable single speed has no gears to mess around with. It needs to be geared easily.

What parts have you worn out? Brake pads and tires, I broke a chain on it, and I think this front wheel is about ready to be replaced.

Why should people commuter by bike? It doesn’t have to be pollitically motivated or anything, I’ve always ridden bikes and I’ve always liked riding bikes, it’s cheaper than a car and it’s way more fun. Get a bike that’s simple, it doesn’t have to go fast.

Justins bike named Tina.

What's my name?

Brass bell

Front basket

Flat pedals make it easy to just hop on and go.

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Go By Bike Month, employee bikes, part 7

Posted by Matt Cardinal | May 12, 2010 – 2:49 pm

I got to talk to another new staff member at the downtown Bike Gallery location. Sarah B has been at Bike gallery for only a month now. She was riding a very practical Trek 1000.

Does your bike have a name? No I’m not into naming bikes or cars or other inanimate objects. I’m fine with other people doing it, I’ve just never been a namer.

Do your pets have names? Yes, but our chicken doesn’t have a name.

What kind of bike is this? It’s a basic Trek road bike that I’ve turned into a commuter. I’ve had it for about a year and a half. It’s a little sportier commuter. I added the rack and bags. I like that this bike is faster than the hybrid that I was using as a commuter. I like the way this bike goes up hill!

What is your commute like? It’s about 5 miles from the NE side to downtown. I take the Broadway bridge into downtown.

What makes a good commuter bike? I have another bike that has fenders, but it’s in pieces and fenders make a good commuter bike, I wear rain gear on this bike and end up with the stripe up the back. The Rack and the Ortlieb bag are some of the best things I’ve ever bought for commuting. I’ve had these bags for 6 years and I’m totally sold on them. You can just lift them off, it’s super easy and it keeps all your stuff dry, they are my favorite. Of course lights are important. I think something simple and cheap that works well. I don’t want to be too attached to my commuter bike, but I kind of am because I spend so much time on it.

Sarah's Trek commuter bike

Ortlieb bag on a rear rack make it easy to carry stuff.

Ortleib bag on a rear rack make it easy to carry stuff.

A smaller stem was needed to make the bike fit.

Lights are a good idea on any commuter bike

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Go By Bike Month: employee bikes, part 6

Posted by Matt Cardinal | May 10, 2010 – 1:21 pm

I checked in with Dylan V of our Downtown store and had a look at his commuter bike. Dylan is one of our newest employees and has worked at Bike Gallery for about two months.
How long have you had your bike? I’ve had the frame about five years I found it at a yard sale and it fit me, so I bought it. It’s had lots of iterations over the years, different bars, risers, back swept bars, and now back to drop bars.

Describe your commute It’s not very far, it takes about 15 minutes to get to work.

What makes a good commuter bike? Depends on the commute obviously, but the frame needs to fit and the components should be decent quality so they last and don’t require too much maintenance. You don’t want something that you have to mess with every day. With some of those decisions you can sacrifice ride quality, like tires, the more durable tires are stiffer, so the bike might not ride as smoothly as it does with more supple tires. But utility is more important than design. Lights, and fenders are important, a drive train with a wide range of gears is really nice too. I tend to show people the internal geared bikes when they are looking for commute bikes. They are very low maintenance and have a nice wide range of gears.

What’s up with your lights? I really like them, I actually found them on a bike in a dumpster! I found out that Bridgestone made this for a couple years, the bike was trashed, but the rack was ok, there is still a good amount of rust on it. I had to fiddle with it to make it fit, but it carries the basics, no more than a 6-pack. The lights are powered by a generator that turns off the front tire. I’ve been using Schwalbe tires and they hold up really well to the extra demand of a generator.

What parts do you wear out most? Rear wheels, actually. I was buying pre-built wheels, but ended up replacing spokes so often the wheels become hand-built.