Summer is bike season! If you need a new ride, here are some of the best spots to make your purchase. Leah Benson, former owner of the now-shuttered Gladys Bikes, offered these picks:
🚴 River City Bicycles (two Buckman locations)
“River City Bikes has a selection of everything that you would need, from e-bikes to mountain bikes, hybrids, road bikes, little bit of everything,” says Benson. “It's a huge shop, but that doesn't mean that it's not awesome. The people that work there are super knowledgeable, incredibly kind, willing to help with any question that you might have.”
Inside track: In this case the inside track is literal. This shop won me over as a forever-customer when they taught my child to ride on the inside track upstairs while I test-rode a bike on the streets.
🚲 Sellwood Cycle Repair (Sellwood)
“It’s another pretty big shop that has a little bit of everything,” says Benson.
Inside track: It has “a really rad consignment program, so you can get super high-quality used bikes there, and just know that they've been checked over by mechanics and they're going to be great.”
🚵 Community Cycling Center (Vernon)
It’s a nonprofit that sells used bikes.
Inside track: The Community Cycling Center isn’t just a shop, though. It has a free summer camp for kids from Title 1 schools and other community classes and events. This weekend there’s a bike carnival for the shop’s 30th anniversary.
🚲 Metropolis Cycles (Eliot)
A smaller shop that Benson says she sends people to all the time for their cycling needs
🚴 North Portland Bike Works (Humboldt)
This is another spot to look for quality used bikes as well as new ones.
🔋 Clever Cycles (Hosford-Abernethy) and Splendid Cycles (Central Eastside)
If you’re looking for e-bikes. These are the spots to go.
Inside track: If you haven’t tried an e-bike, they’re super fun!
🤓 Golden Pliers (Concordia)
“This is more of a bike nerd shop," says Benson. "If you are looking to build your dream bike — like a custom bike from the frame up — that is an awesome place to go.”
Your turn: What great bike shops did we miss in this list? And what makes them your favorite?
Also, don’t miss out on Benson’s tips for what to look for in a bike.
