“What do you guys do in the winter?” As the temps hit below zero and the snow continues to fall, most cyclists are huddled up with their trainers or simply have the bike hung up in a safe place waiting for sunny and warm days. Those few brave souls do grab the fat bikes (I personally love mine!) and we see some service from those snowy rides, but otherwise, yes, it is slow this time of year. In short, it’s the off-season.
So back to my original question, what do we do in the winter months when it is slow? The simple answer is that this is the time for projects. Small things that were overlooked when it was busy like paint and drywall repairs get tackled. The shops get cleaned and organized and prepped for the crazy period that will be here before we know it. But the best part is that we get to tackle lengthy and time consuming refurb projects!
With the thermostat in the car saying -4 this morning, I figured it was the perfect time to give you a little behind the scenes look at some fun bikes and the work we have put into them!

NEW BIKES
One of the most common projects we have is helping customers with high end or custom bike builds. These purchases have longer lead times and more complex components so they take more labor to get perfect. These also usually include a bike fit and new technology so the quiet time is the best time to take on these projects!

CUSTOM REFURBS
Sometime you just want that vintage bike feel and this is the perfect time of year to get your old bike back to like-new!

SCHWINN BREEZE
At our Chardon location Russ loves to work on vintage Schwinns. This Breeze came in with rust, grime, and was in need of love!

READY TO RIDE
After some new parts and lots of elbow grease, Russ has this bike ready for the road. Keep an eye out for it this spring!
SHOP REFURBS
We are very fortunate to have some classic bikes of our very own in the back of the shop. This is the time of year we get to show them off!
By far the biggest project has been this bike from the early 1900's. When owner Jacob English got his hands on this bike it was brown with dirt and all the silver components were covered in rust. After hours of cleaning, polishing, and rust removal, we found some forest green paint and signs of metal. That motivation was all we needed to find this beauty under years of neglect. Not only were we able to make this bike shine, but we also found lots of historical information with a little digging.
This bike was made in Jefferson Ohio sometime between 1905-1910 by Elmer Washburn, a local bike shop owner. It has some amazing parts (patent and advertisement pics below) that were the state of the art for the time. The wheels are wood core with metal cladding and in a style that modern tubulars were modeled after. The rear hub has one of the early designs for a coaster brake. The front hub design still feels brand new with just a routine re-grease. Even the handlebars, which were designed and produced in Cleveland, are one-of a kind with their adjustable functionality!
This work of art is on display in the back of the shop and we want to invite you to come check it out!

