It’s been at least six month since Dallas Bike Works closed its Oak Cliff location and left us without a bike mechanic for miles.
Now the closest place to have someone wrench on your bike is Local Hub, which is owned by Oak Cliff resident Kristie Holt. It’s a business you should definitely support, but it’s six or seven miles away across the river in Deep Ellum.
With the closing of Transit Bicycle Co. on Lower Greenville, we are reminded that the retail business is a beast. Even Performance Bicycle, one of the largest bike retailers in the country, closed all of its 104 locations nationwide earlier this year.
While the Bishop Arts area fills up with expensive restaurants and $1,800 one-bedroom apartments, we recall those developers’ drawings that included depictions of cyclists looking super cool in front of their new buildings. But that’s not gonna happen if those cool-looking people have a broken derailleur or a flat tire they don’t know how to fix.
I am sure it is tempting to want a hip bike shop in your development. I too want a place in my neighborhood where I can buy shop-branded T-shirts, fawn over $2,000 bikes and admire everyones’ quadriceps. But perhaps we should resist that urge for the moment. What we need is a good bike mechanic to fix what ails our steeds. A fabulous hipster bike shop would be great, but all we really need is a professional mechanic who can kill that hamster-wheel noise I keep hearing or give her a tuneup.
We hear Tyler Station and Bike Friendly Oak Cliff are working together to start a bike co-op, which is awesome.
Meanwhile, see you at Local Hub.
