As its name would possibly advise, the Motor City isn’t exactly a bicyclists’ haven.
But along with the inflow of new citizens to Detroit’s significant neighborhoods, more bikes had been performing on the metropolis streets, proper at the side of a wave of the latest espresso stores.
Nowhere is this situation greater literal than at Bikes & Coffee, a retail keep based by Michigan native Benjamin Kehoe. Opened final October, the multi-roaster cafe and bicycle repair keep maybe one or the opposite, or each, while additionally surrounding guests with various works from neighborhood artists.
Kehoe dreamed up the idea simultaneously as on a bicycle journey in the Pacific Northwest in 2014. He has been working as a carpenter and a bicycle mechanic for several years, and possibly the area of interest hybrid would paintings properly in Detroit.
“Detroit isn’t truly a cycling town, but that’s slowly changing,” Kehoe recently informed Daily Coffee News. “I recognize a ton approximately bikes, and I actually have a deep ardor for coffee.”
Kehoe became the neighborhood BUILD Institute, which supports Detroit-based startups, and submitted a business plan for the retail shop. The initial price range from BUILD allowed Kehoe to comfy a 1,400-rectangular-foot space close to the main campus of Wayne State University.
The espresso bar divides the distance, with a further thick, paintings-surface-like wooden bar-height counter on one side and decrease seated tables on the opposite. The front window counter seating also capabilities the more thick tops with biking-stimulated colored stripes.
Kehoe enlisted the help of his longtime buddies at Michigan-primarily based Ramped Construction to build the countertops, which resemble the wood flooring of an old-school bicycle velodrome. Succulents, ivy, and artwork through nearby artists are dispersed alongside the uncovered brick partitions. Kehoe said new artists might be featured on a monthly foundation, culminating a display every December, including all eleven artists from the 12 months long past.
B&C is providing espresso drinks, hot pour-overs, and numerous cold brew options. Ypsilanti-based roasting organization Hyperion Coffee helped source the brewing gadget and furnished schooling even as additionally supplying the store’s residence coffee mixture and a majority of the unmarried-origin offerings. Currently, California-based total roaster Legal Speed is some other roaster with coffees to be had on the bar.
Pastries and food are furnished via local Michigan carriers, such as Detroit Bagel Institute and Guianas. There also are freshly made breakfast burritos on the weekends. There is free wifi and a large flat display nestled a few of the ivy reserved for motorbike races and other nearby happenings. On most days, Kehoe’s save cat, Pork, may be located drowsing amidst a show of repaired bicycles. Most home mechanic repair stands are not very expensive. Even the perfect quality ones, such as the Park Tool PCS-10, comes at a very affordable price. If you are used to taking your bike to the local bike shop for all your repairs, you will be pleasantly surprised by how much money you will save by doing your own minor repairs.
Many minor repairs can be easily learned by any person who takes an interest. After a couple of do-it-yourself repairs, your new repair stand will have paid for itself.
Stability
The worse thing about using a home-made contraption or worse no stand at all is that you will not have the stability needed to efficiently work on your bike. Keeping your bike stable and still is the most important aspect of doing any type of maintenance. Not all stands are created equal, and some will provide more stability than others. Typically the larger the base stand, the more stable it will be.
Efficiency and Convenience
If you are trying to hold your bike with one hand while doing repairs with the other, all the while adjusting, shifting, and lifting what needs to be done; you are going to have some problems. The bottom line is your repairs will not be done efficiently, if at all, and you will get frustrated. A proper bike repair stand will save you time, energy, and a lot of headaches.