shrimpx

Hey all,

I'm moving to Seattle in a month and was wondering if any Seattle riders lurking this forum can give me a quick intro to the Seattle bike "scene." I figure I'll be living in the Capitol Hill area and will be riding to UW every day. I have 2 bikes (fixed road conversion & brakeless track) that I'll be taking with me.

So are there any good bike shops in the general area (preferably ones that know what to do with a fixed gear), do people commute on bikes a lot, is the city brakeless-unfriendly (I know downtown is for sure), do any of you race track, etc.? I'll be all by myself up there so I need stuff to do =)

Thanks.

j3rmz

Well, don't know if I am the best person to chime in as I am not super into the "bike scene" but I do ride my bike a fair amount in seattle. I know there is a club around here called .83 they have thrown a couple alleycats, some sprint races, and they also have a weekly ride around seattle and a once a month midnight sprint around a lake up here called greenlake. you can check out their LJ community here:`https://www.livejournal.com/community/seattlebikes/

I have seen a few people riding brakeless around town, I personally would not do it but I am sure alot do. It's a pretty cool town, probably not as bike friendly as portland but it is still a fun place to live and there is a fair amount of trails/paths

There is a veledrome at marymoore park in remond, its about 25 miles to get there on a trail that is totally flat.... hope that helps..

other seattle people? I think harlot is here... and they guy with the raleigh? habitus?

habitus

i live on capitol hill, too, and ride to UW every day. where on the hill will you be living? i'm on 21st and john, so my route is down 24th and over the montlake cut. i pass montlake bike every day, so they've become my LBS. there are a few guys in there who ride fixies, so they know what's going on when i take my bikes in. they sell very little track stuff, but are happy to special order anything, of course. i'm in recycled cycles quite a bit, too, i just don't go there for repairs/service. they have some really nice vintage track bikes hanging up. counterbalance (at the foot of queen anne hill) specializes in fixed gear service/sales, but it's just too far for me.

obviously, you know about the hills downtown. there are some streets in other parts of the city that are too steep for me to go down brakeless, but i can avoid them. as j3rmz said, there aren't a ton of brakeless riders around. coming down from capitol hill to the u district will be a chore without a hand brake, but it's fun.

my rain bike has a front brake. i don't recommend riding brakeless in the winter around here--the streets are constantly wet.

let me know if you want to ride when you get into town. hell, we seattle people should get together to ride anyway.

shrimpx

Sweet, thanks. That's good info. I don't know yet where on Capitol Hill I'll be living -- I'm going up in a couple of weeks to look at apartments. A lot of the places that I've been looking at remotely are between broadway and 23rd, around John.

I too have a rain bike with a front brake, so that's the bike I'll be riding most of the time, probably.

At the risk of stirring up religious controversy, I've never worn a helmet and noticed that Seattle passed an all-ages helmet law in 2003 -- supposedly not wearing a helmet is subject to a $30 fine. Is this law actively enforced?

Thanks!

Tatt2Rider

Hey there, I am moving to Seattle as well August 17th. Trying to get as much info as I can about the local bike scene, shops, rides, etc.

j3rmz

I dont know from personal experience, but I have heard alot of negative things about Counterbalance, I do know that the one time I went in there to purchase some brake levers, they weren't the nicest people in the world, I think you kind of need to be in the whole messenger scene to really "fit in" there, but they do have ALOT of track stuff on hand.

Greggs is another big shop, its over by greenlake, sort of overpriced from my experience. Recycled cycles is great because they have huge bins of used parts that you can dig through to find what your looking for, I use a small shop down in fremont called "free range cycles" because, like habitus, it was on my commute. I also heard of a shop in fremont (on leary I think) called "wright brothers" or something, it is like a "co-op" I havn't made it in there, but from what I understand you pay a one time fee and then can use their tools/stands whenever they are open, I also know they have lots of classes, I am thinking about taking the wheel building class myself. They have some track stuff as you can see the track bikes in the window when you walk by.

There are quite a few reasonably priced apartments up on capitol hill, I lived there for a tiny bit and my brother in law has managed apartments up there for quite some time.

Cool to see all the seattle people! We should get together for a ride sometime

gendasza

I ride fixed down the hill everyday (12th/John to UW)... 24th is a great way to bomb down, but my favorite way up the hill is on Interlanken, which meanders through the woods on the north side of Capitol Hill. I second Recycled Cycles. I head down there a few times a week to check out the bins. Totally be up for some rides.

harlot

I second, third, and forth Recycled Cycles. Great guys who work there. They know their fixie/track stuff hands down and are always happy to help and order new toys. I made the mistake of going to Greggs on the way home from work once to get some help w/a new cog that wouldn't thread on my ENO and I literally stumped the mechanic. I went down to RC and they fixed it in 20 secs. I learned my lesson. I do go to Greggs for parts sometimes, but otherwise its RC. I didn't have the most positive experience at Counterbalance either. I should give them another try, but I do think they're rather protective of their "scene". I just ride, man, give it up. Wright Bros in Fremont is also a mecca. Take advantage of it.

I've never heard of someone getting busted for not wearing a helmet, but I don't ride downtown much anymore during the week so I dunno if it's prevelent down there. Cops don't seem to bug cyclists, unless you're in Lake Forest Park running stop signs. If anything we live in a very amiable town and like our peeps to live a long healthy brain damage free life. I have an emergency brake up front for the downhills and my wrecked knees. I've seen Habitus magically appear at the bottom of a cliff/road with no brakes and to this day I don't know how he did it.

There's a huge velo scene over at Marymoor. Come on out! It's a blast and very friendly. Check out more info in the Track Cycling forum.

We should all get together for a ride. The summer nights are awesome and there's no one on the roads! This place is paradise....

Tatt2Rider

Damn, Im down for riding once I am there. I gotta get used to the hills. Coming from central Florida and weighing in at 250 Im down for riding, getting to know the area, and letting you skinny hill riding folks make fun of me if you deem necessary

jimv

Hi Folks....

I might as well throw in here. I think Seattle is a great city to ride around .... especially at night. As for Counterbalance, it's true they are the shop where the messengers go/hang but I don't think they intend to be mean, just that they're one of those shops that has to see your face a few times before they warm up to you. I suppose every city has one or two like it and alot of people are put off by it. I think it comes from having a solid and consistent customer base that sometimes allows them to forget that a new face in the shop can be a good thing and can easily become part of their bread and butter. Take that for what it's worth.

Recycled, and Wright brothers are great. Charles at Wright Bros knows his coasterbrakes too ;-) I also like Free Range. If you want to experience something really amazing (in an other-bike-world sort of way) scope out Il Vecchio .... the roots of so much. They also publish the Antique Bike Quarterly which is my single favorite read (periodical) on the planet and I'm not even into Antique bikes.....It's a great window into another time and culture but still about the bike.

I'd love to do a Seattle ride .... at least start one with you all ..... and then watch everyone disappear ahead of me at the first big hill 8-) I'll do the math: 1/2 century + 250 lbs + Gravity = Ugh ..... but it's still fun!

Jim

protaghiro

dont go to couterbalance, they are jerks plain and simple. check out www.point83.com as someone else mentioned. aarons bike repair on the west side is awesome as well.

endform

I third Free Range Cycles as that is where I went when I still lived in the area. It's a largely used shop and the owner (Kathleen) is awesome.

j3rmz

Oh man, Its good to see that there are some other 250 pounders out there..... everyone on here is always posting about being a "big" rider and worrying about their wheels, they are like "yeah, I am a big rider, I way 175" .. oof...

AphexTwin

I recommend Second Ascent as well. They are located in Ballard and sell mountaineering stuff (I think that's spelled right), telemark, ect. The bike guys are real nice, helpfull and sell minor track stuff. Real down to earth people.

Turnip

R & E Cycles on 56th and University NE. The mechanics know everything about everything. Go here if you need your bike fixed properly, have fit issues, or want to spend lots of money on a nice custom frame. I like Recycled Cycles for super cheap used stuff, but have yet to find any nice vintage used parts there. The kids at counterbalance have always been friendly and infomative to me. I'm sorry to hear that others have had poor experiences here and I recommend giving it a chance, too. They have really good prices on bikes and they know their stuff.

Midnight racing (post critical mass) the last Friday of every month at the bleachers on the Southish side of Greenlake. Track bikes, goofy bikes, crappy bikes and usually some beer. If you can, avoid riding down the Ave on Friday or Saturday nights. Drunken frat boys and sorority girls with giant SUV's abound.

To get to Capitol Hill from the UW, I usually take the U Bridge to Eastlake to Harvard to 10th, which turns into Broadway. Going down is a pain in the booty on a fixie. I would never attempt it without a front brake, but I've seen it done. In this city unless you're on the Burke Gilman trail, you're always going up or down a hill and although it's a supposedly bike-friendly city, the drivers here are nuts as far as I'm concerned. Yay, for front brakes!
Welcome!

habitus

i love going up to the hill through interlaken. did that today. no cars, a few joggers, bikers, and beauty. when i came to seattle, i didn't like riding hills. i was out of shape. but now i really love them. a slight uphill seems perfect for my gear ratio (47/18), but i've developed a good cadence on steeper hills, too. i love coming up pike from downtown, blowing past cars, hitting the lights. it's not too steep; just right. i also love the rolling hills of many of the islands in the sound. went up to orcas and lopez last month for a few days. beautiful biking. lots of hills.

what are everyone's favorite hills in the city?

Marge

Pigeon Point West Seattle. Elliott Ave to Taylor on Queen Anne

Turnip

I really like riding on Dexter. Going in either direction is pretty fun. It's easy to sprint up and the hill and not so super steep that you spin out on the way down. Not too many lights / stop signs either and there are plenty of other bikes around. I love pseudo-racing them and the Freemont Bridge is fun to cross over, too.

Also, Eastlake EARLY in the am is quite pleasant.

jimv

I like Dexter from the Fremont side....I wouldn't exactly say I sprint up it though ;-) I think the Ballard bridge (15th Ave) is the most terrifying ride in the city.....even though it's not a hill......I hate it. BTW Turnip, I agree with you about R&E, I'm a scumbag for not including them in my post earlier..... AND....I was there today and saw the most beautiful green metal flake frame ever!!! 8-)

Jim

cheg

https://home.comcast.net/~cheg01/waterworks1.htm

___________________________________________________
Not fixed, but not broken.

habitus

holy crap, cheg. that's some business.

Turnip

Squeeeel!!! My first custom bike!!!!! I'm going to call it Emerald City. It should be ready to roll this weekend!

habitus

what kind of frame, turnip? love the name already.

harlot

Hey that's my turf man, back off! It's an awesome bridge, just a little crumbly and has terrible exits, that's all. You just gotta love it the right way. And the murals! How can you hate a bridge with a hammerhead shark mural??

Interlaken is a lovely climb, almost makes you forget you want to hurl. The short climbs up to the I-90 overlook from Lake WA Blvd are scenic too. Stone Way and Wallingford are long and steady and fun to pass people. Yeah and you can't leave out the commuter peloton up and down Dexter.

Turnip

Custom Rodrigez made with True Temper OX Platinum Steel. Road geometry with track ends. i have some pretty litte phil wood hubs, velocity fusions, campy record pista cranks, campy chorus front brake, nitto bars and a sparkly new paint job -- blinding in the sunlight. I can't wait.