5 Best Cost-Effective Upgrades for Your Bike

MIKE’S BIKE ADVICE

This week’s post will suggest the five most cost-effective upgrades to make your ride the most enjoyable experience of the day. Spending $300 to upgrade your crankset or to shave a couple dozen grams from your bike won’t make nearly the difference in enjoyment per dollar that changing your grips or finding a perfect saddle for your shape. Mechanic Mike is here to tell you his top five favorite upgrades for the money.

 

Upgrade your Grips or Bar Tape

IMG_2279Beautiful selection of Cinelli Gel grip tap in stock right now.

Not only will this give your bike a totally sweet new look, finding the right grips for your riding style will make you a much happy camper. Riding long days in the saddle without gloves and downhill mountain biking with gloves need two different types of grippy-ness. Sometimes leather grips are the right material for riding with minimal callouses and long life of your grips. Things to think about when choosing your grips: style of riding, weather conditions, gloves vs no gloves, or come in to Cycle Portland to ask for our recommended grips for your riding. It is a cost-effective upgrade to your bike ride. 

Find the Right Saddle for your Seat

IMG_2274We have this beautiful Cardiff in the window waiting for its forever home!

Not every saddle works for every person, but it makes sense to put energy into finding the right saddle for you. There are a couple saddles that have a wide appeal among cyclist, a couple leather saddles among these options. Stock saddles are chosen based on the cheapest price for the bike manufacturer and the look of the saddle. Neither of these considerations pay off for your sit bones. Come in for a saddle consultation and upgrade today.

Tires Rule Everything A-round MeIMG_2249

Great selection of Marathons on this wall.

Nothing ruins a ride like getting a flat tire, and nothing prevents flats like the appropriate tires. We love a pair of Marathon Plus’s for pretty much every riding application, but there are some riding that requires specific tires. Fine tuning the bike’s connection to the ground produces some of the most favorable improvements for your daily ride and costs less that $50 a tire.

Cockpit SwapHandlebars

Our selection of handlebars  in the shop.

Finding the best height for your handlebars and possibly even changing your handlebars could reduce the pressure you feel in your hands, wrists and shoulders. Mechanic Mike has even found that by switching handlebars, he has eliminated pain in his neck and back. Even raising your stem by an inch or changing your handlebar bend by 15 degrees, can change your approach to riding.

Basket Game

Cycle Portland single-speed wald basketWe love Wald Baskets at Cycle Portland!

Having a place to drop your bag, carry home groceries or even to put your sandals and shirt after a swim in the river makes your bike more functional, beautiful. There was a time when all bikes came with a basket or rack to provide a trunk of sorts for your bicycle. Trust Mike when he says you’ll find ways to fill up your basket nearly every ride.

We are here to help you have a great ride, daily from 9am – 6pm!

For all your cost effective bike upgrades visit us at 117 NW 2nd Ave, Portland OR

Utropstecken! Cycle Portland media love from the Swedes

Similarly grey winters, exquisite edibles, and a love for urban exploration by bike.

Portland and the Swedes are a match made in impeccably-designed heaven, and our counterparts across the pond agree!

Cycle Portland has been named a must-experience from the ünderbar writers at Hallen, a Swedish foodie travel magazine! You can check out the spread from the magazine here: Hallen-Sweden-FallWinter 2014.

And you, too, can share the microbrews, culinary creations, history, and exploration with friends and family all over the globe – Cycle Portland gift cards are available here!

 

Your Bachelor & Bachelorette Party in Portland – On Bikes!

Cycle Portland is getting MORE media love! Be still our bikey hearts!

We’ve happily hosted many a bachelor & bachelorette party in portland over the years, and now Martha Stewart Weddings has recommended touring with Cycle Portland as an essential addition to your big day. Though many choose our Breweries By Bike tour for their day of fun festivities, all of our offerings provide a great way to explore the city with those you want to surprise.

Whether with family members, wedding parties, friends, and/or out-of-town visitors, our tours bring people together through reveling in all our lovely city has to offer! Love and bikes – a match made in Martha Stewart (and Portland) heaven.

Thanks for the love, Martha!

Cycle Portland – Your Best First Date With Portland!

Want to get up-close and personal with our beautiful city, its history, favorite local spots, and best biking routes? According to the wonderful people over at Trivago.com, a first-hand travel guru and booking site, Cycle Portland is the best possible intro to the City of Roses, and we humbly agree!

From bicycle boulevards to sea captains to champion coffee roasters and brilliant breweries, Trivago and Time and the LA Times and others say our year-round tours offer a terrific two-wheeled taste of all that Portland has to offer. You, too, can explore whichever uniquely-Portland topic suits your fancy by booking a tour with Portland’s original bike tour company (us!) here.

We love spreading smiles and bike love to visitors and locals alike. Thanks again for the praise, Trivago!

Cheery Ho! Cycle Portland Media-Love from Across the Pond

All of us here at Cycle Portland are honored to be profiled in the media yet again! A recent article from Cosmopolitan UK lists their top must-visit Portland staples, and we made the list. Huzzah!

According to the article, our Essential Portland Tour is the “perfect way to get your bearings” and experience Rose City’s bike culture first hand. We humbly agree.

As Portland’s original bike tour company, we’ve always known that exploring our local shops, food, and sights is indescribably different from atop a bicycle, and we continue to be delighted to share unique experiences with locals and visitors from around the globe.

Thanks again for the tip of the hat, Cosmo UK!

2008 – Kaboom

2008 After waiting months for the 1st of the year to come around, I registered my business with the state like an afterthought and completed my first website. I had already started collecting bicycles and gear for a fleet and the 2007 garage sale season had rained bikes upon me. After taking some time to hone my mechanic skills, I bought liability insurance and completed my first “official” bike tour. I started volunteering for the Community Cycling Center and attended dozens of bike related events. I went to the Car Free Cities Conference, the National Handmade Bike Show, the Oregon Manifest Show, Cirque de Cycling, and raced my first Cyclocross season ( single speed YEah! ) under my own business name. I set up guerrilla style on the Eastbank Esplanade and talked with commuters and tourists about my Ideas. I was picked to show a custom bike in the greener homes and gardens expo. I checked out road races, attended BTA workshops on bike commuting and gave my own workshops wherever I could find a host with space for participants. I volunteered for the Bicycle Transportation Alliance Bicycle Safety Education Program and saw the next generation learn the rules of the road. I rented bikes out of my basement for a while, and ended up buying a short school bus to move bikes around and act as a support vehicle for longer distance bike tours. I got to be on the KBOO bike show and experienced my first Filmed By Bike Film Festival. A busy year for sure and my first whole business season of leading bike tours and showing off Portland’s bike infrastructure. Just the beginning.

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