“Our bike trails are getting out there. And, I mean, we’re just trying to get ahead of the curve a little bit,” said Kyle Granahan from his garage-turned-bike-shop in Meeker. “It’s something we thought Meeker could use, and wanted to be able to offer a good setup for people locally,” he said. Having moved to the area from Grand Junction in 2014, Granahan is employed as a mechanic for local mines. “Before that I was an automobile mechanic. So kind of been turning wrenches for a while,” said Granahan.
The shop has focused on basic bike repair and tune-up services since opening up for business in late August/early September. “I’ve had anywhere from three to five bikes in here a week” Granahan said, noting that most people just need basic maintenance work to keep their bikes up to speed. Unfortunately that work often goes undone, either because people don’t know about it, or don’t want to drive multiple hours for basic repairs and part replacements. “At the end of the day, gas is expensive, and nobody wants to spend the time to go and do it. Yeah, they’d rather go have fun,” Granahan said.
That’s where the Meeker Cyclery comes in. For local bike lovers the service could mean service for common repairs like inner-tube replacements, brake line bleeds, wheel alignments and more. Thanks to investments in a range of specialty tools, Granahan is prepared for whatever customers might bring through the door, from the average street bike, to expensive mountain bikes and even E-Bikes.
Granahan’s long term vision includes a brick and mortar store, additional employees, seasonal rentals and more. “We want to try to be able to offer some cross country skis to rent“ Granahan said as an example of a future business development goal. “We’ve got big ideas, and we’re just slowly trying to implement them,” he added.
In the meantime, the shop continues to service a steady stream of clients, even though it’s technically a slow-season. According to Granahan, the real workload will come in the spring, when he said the Meeker Cyclery will be ready to get bikes repaired, aligned, cleaned, tuned and off to the races, or at least a casual springtime cruise, depending on who’s asking.
You can reach the Meeker Cyclery at [email protected] or at facebook.com/meekercyclery
By LUCAS TURNER | [email protected]om
