Bicycle Revolution

I like the ethos behind this place – making old things new again – but for what they are, the bikes at Bicycle Revolution are a bit pricey. Sure they’re cool and vintage with their simple, retro-​coloured frames and nice saddles, but most of them have no gears, and let me tell you, there is nothing cool or hip about having to get off halfway up a hill and walk your bike.
Aside from the remade bikes out front that will set you back around $ 550, there’s also a range of beautiful cruiser-​style Italian-​made bikes inside that have 3 gears, giving you a better chance of making it up those hills. The downside is that they’ll set you back close to a grand.
If you’re just looking for something to push around town on, the gear-​less bikes here at Bicycle Revolution are probably ok, but I think there are better value, just-​as-​hip bikes to be found elsewhere.

I had a bicycle revalation when I walked past Bicycle Revolution. I haven’t ridden a bike since I was about 8 years old. And I’ve never wanted to. But walking past this place recently, I suddenly had the urge to sit astride a vintage cycle (with a basket, natch) and take a leisurely ride around my favourite West End shops and cafes.
These guys are seriously into their craft — they take parts from old bikes (which are mainly donated by members of the public) and lovingly rebuild them all from scratch.
You can customise your bike — like if you want red leather handles and a sequinned bike seat (which I do) I’m sure they can sort something out.
But before I ask that question, I have to have a serious think about whether or not I can live with helmet hair…

The number one project I have this summer is to build myself a bike. I went to The Bicycle Revolution to do some research.
When I said to the shop guy «I want to build my own bike», he simply said to me «well, I best take you to the shed.» The backyard is filled with bikes and bike parts everywhere. This is the place where people get their bits and pieces to build the bike of their dreams. I wasn’t there to buy anything today, but I thought I shouldn’t leave without picking the shop guy’s brains.
«What kind of bike are you looking to build?» he asked me.
«Uh, I don’t really know. I’m getting into long distance riding. All I know is that I don’t want an alloy or carbon fibre frame».
«Ah. Good move.» He nods and smiles.
From here, he launched into a rant about the overlooked advantages of steel, and tore apart trendy myths about the hipper than thou carbon fibre frames that you pay through the nose for these days. He rattled off terms like ‘bike geometry’, and gave me a brief, yet detailed overview on different types of gears, and used the phrase «you’ll have enough gears to climb a gum tree». Win.
Boy, does this guy know his stuff. He’d demonstrate what he was talking about by pointing out features on some of the bikes out front that he, or someone else in the shop had built. The bikes out the front have a vintage look about them (so ‘in’ right now), but they’re schmick as, mechanically speaking. They go for around $ 400– $ 700 each, depending on what you’re looking for.
These guys offer the whole works: bike servicing, custom bike building, selling bike parts, and whole bikes (all made in store), and offering priceless bike advice.
You need not go anywhere else. These guys are extremely generous in imparting bike advice, and don’t have that «I’m being friendly to you because I want your money» vibe. They’re just bike dudes, who love everything bike related.