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Bikeworks subscribes to five Rs Recycle, restore, repair, rent, and retail in Old Town
Lyndsay Herman
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, June 19, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Old Town Bikeworks has gone from a six-year pilot project to a full-fledged venture, according to company founder, Matthew Grogono.
Natasha Segree Hacker, an apprentice bicycle mechanic, and Matthew Grogono, owner of Old Town Bikeworks, display the company's tandem bike. The company has hired bike mechanics for its operation. - Lyndsay Herman/NNSL photo |
"Bikes are good for everyone," he said. "Bikes are one of our three best inventions; bikes, canoes, and the Bic lighter."
Grogono, who also founded the popular attraction Old Town Glassworks, has let his love of bikes creep into the business for years, giving new life to Yellowknife's discarded bicycles.
"When K&W Cycle decided not to open again we decided to go for it," said Grogono, referring to a longtime Kam Lake bike repair business that used to sell second-hand bicycles.
"We took a look at the market and found it was just Overlander (Sports) who was taking care of the upper end of the market."
The phone number for K&W Cycle is disconnected and Yellowknifer was unable contact K&W management for details of the store's closure.
Overlander Sports is the second location in Yellowknife where bicycle services, such as sales and repairs, are offered.
The sporting goods store has new models for sale and if a customer can't find the bike or parts they are looking for they can be ordered in, according to Overlander staff member Rodney Makohoniuk.
Makohoniuk said a model growing in popularity for children learning to ride are "running bikes," which have no pedals, allowing youngsters to learn to balance on a bike without having to add the extra obstacle of operating pedals.
Second-hand sales, however, remain the domain of Old Town Bikeworks.
Thousands of bikes end up in the landfill simply because they don't have an owner and a low tire, not because they've hit the end of their road, said Grogono.
Old Town Bikeworks accepts bicycles that owners no longer want and more than 200 have found their way to Grogono's shop.
The shop operates out of a wooden and canvas geodesic dome Grogono purchased from the city and formerly used by the now defunct Caribou Carnival. Of the 200 bikes that have come in, Grogono said he has paid for only two, one of which was a tandem bicycle.
Once the discarded bicycles are repaired, they join the ranks of bikes for sale and rent.
Grogono estimates his current market is largely made up of adults, particularly the twenty-something crowd.
A large part of Old Town Glassworks' success has been due to workshops open to the public and Bikeworks will eventually offer similar services, such as workshops to teach participants how to repair their own bicycles, said Grogono.
"There's a rapidly growing appetite for bike services in Yellowknife," he said. "People want to be empowered."
Grogono also finished work on a bicycle rickshaw, with the goal of launching narrated tours of Old Town, once Bikeworks can find the right puller for the job.
After deciding to launch Bikeworks as a full-time business, the company needed to find enough staff experienced to handle the influx of repair requests and the large number of discarded bikes turned in.
Natasha Segree Hacker, a new staff member who recently moved North from Montreal, works at Bikeworks as an apprentice bicycle mechanic. Segree Hacker said she's really enjoyed the work environment and the way it has introduced her to the city.
The Bikeworks venture coincides with the City of Yellowknife's recent decision to launch a bike lane pilot project this summer, with lanes extending into Old Town, as well as a free bike rental program through the Northern Frontier Visitors Centre.
The free rentals can be returned to Bikeworks, Grogono said.
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