My favorite bike shop

Recycled Cycles is a biker's bike shop in Gainesville, FL. Niles owns it. I guess what turned me on to it was Niles positive reaction to my Dawes when I first brought it in. My Dawes is vintage and not cleaned up or anything. So, to the casual observer, it's just an old bike. But, not to me. And, definitely not to Niles.

He said I would enjoy the Rivendell website at http://www.rivbike.com// Reading though certain parts like this of the Rivendell website, I could see why it appealed to Niles. It mimicked our conversation in many ways.

I asked Niles a few questions, like how much he charged to clean up a bike. He immediately said it would be more cost effective for me to go to any number of good websites that showed you how to do it. He suggested that I do it myself.

There is a quality about Recycled Cycles. The floor is concrete, but nearly black from tires and grease. The walls are pegboard with used parts suspended. A sign says "Hey beautiful, please ask for help before removing these items".

My repair was a derailleur adjustment for which I was charged $3.00. In the 10 minutes I was there, Niles and I covered about 6 subjects. Two or three customers came and went. It's no more than 600 Sq Ft, but Recycled Cycles is densely packed with used bikes, parts and a work area. Even the head is remarkable. I'll get to that in a moment when I find the photo that tells what I am trying to describe.

I asked Niles if he had any desire for a website. He said he was more concerned with doing a good job for the customers he has already. He added that he liked to be able to take care of his own things. This statement, fitting perfectly to me with Hemingway's Code Hero, characterizes Niles to me and sums what I'm trying to say up here more than anything else.

Outside the shop is a single speed bike I can only describe as being "hip". I think it is a reflection of Nile's personality.

I asked about changing a bolt that held on my pedal to the crank. Niles went into extreme detail about it. He said the replacement parts he had weren't nearly the quality of the original part. He suggested a couple of sites I could look to see if I could source one. Then, he said the part he had was delicate in that one twist too much to tighten it would surely strip it. However, he said it should be set/tightened again after a few days or weeks riding.

My receipt had a hand drawn cartoon of a karate guy doing a kick and the words "we know kung fu sucka" printed beneath it.

Recycled Cycles has an edgy quality that's hard to describe. I feel confident it's a shop for passionate bikers. A biker's bike shop.