Cycle9.com » Repair, Service and Features

Bike Maintenance Class–the Big Two

tod — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 20:58:01 +0000

Honestly, I don’t expect you to be able to work on your bike. And mostly, that’s okay–we’re here for you. But there are a couple of exceptions that will markedly improve your bike-riding life. And I bet you already know what they are…

Number One: Changing a tire, or inner tube. For most us, this experience will reveal itself as the Dreaded Flat Tire. But really, it doesn’t have to be the ordeal that you may have been imagining. And a little instruction goes a long way.

Number Two: Lubricating your chain. You’re probably thinking, “How involved can that be?” And you’re right; a lot of methods will work here. But they don’t all work well, and there is a Better Way, and I can help with that.

And so, on December 16, we’ll have our first in a series of basic maintenance classes. Many of you have already expressed interest, and we’ll be contacting you folks directly soon. For the rest of you, please contact us at Cycle 9, and we’ll get you signed up and scheduled.

The first class will be December 16, at 6:30p. The next class is tentatively scheduled for December 19, at 2:00p. Cost for these classes will be $15 (that’s one flat fix), and we’ll be offering special pricing on supplies for attendees. So please join me; it will fun, really.

I’m Tod, and I’m your local bike shop.

Bike School 101

elise — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 18:29:00 +0000

Introducing Bike School from Cycle 9 – classes start May 4th

Learn basics about how to care for your bike and not get stuck with a flat.

Come learn to fix your bike under the tutelage of our experienced staff. We offer an open and inviting atmosphere and small classes free of intimidation where there is never a question that will go unanswered.

What is it?

Three classes are offered. Attend all 3 or just one or two. No prior experience needed.

Class 1: Learn how to fix a flat and adjust and maintain your brakes (caliper, V, cantilever and disc)
Class 2: Learn how to tune and maintain your drivetrain (chain and shifters)
Class 3: General maintenance, adjust your headset and bottom bracket, replace a cable, and learn how to properly fit you on your bike for a comfortable and efficient ride.

Who’s it for?

Anyone who wants to learn basic bike mechanic skills. No prior experience necessary.

When is it?

Classes will be on Tuesday evenings at 5.30pm and will last apx 1.5 hours. If we have a good response to this, we’ll repeat the series. So let us know if you want to see more classes later in the summer!

Class 1: Tuesday May 4th
Class 2: Tuesday, May 18th
Class 3: Tuesday, June 1st

Where is it?

Classes will be held at Johnny’s, in Carrboro’s West End. Johnny’s is an inviting, outdoor venue located just up the street from Cycle 9 at 905 W. Main Street.

How do I sign up?

Register for one class or all three. Pre-registration through Cycle 9 is $25 per class or day-of registration $30 per class. Tuition includes one free drink (non-alcoholic) and tasty treat from Johnny’s. (Full time students eligible for discount.)

Call 919-636-5909 to pre-register for any class. OR come by the store to sign up.
Space IS limited to maintain a small class size, so call or stop by today!

Services and Rates Offered

elise — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 15:52:20 +0000

We have a full service shop, and we also specialize in electric bicycle repairs. Flat changes, tune ups, or even complicated repairs or custom builds, our professional staff can help you get rolling again. Turn around time is generally less than a week, depending on time of year and service demand. Bring your bike in for a free assessment of needed and recommended repairs.

We now offer SAME DAY service with an appointment.

If you don’t want to be without your bike for long, make an appointment for a same day service tune up. Drop it off the night before or in the morning and your bike will be ready after 5.30 (unless repair requires parts to be ordered).

Electrical Repairs

We also offer electrical services, such as battery testing, motor repair, connector matching, and more. And we sell many electrical parts and pieces to support your own repairs. See below for electrical services offered.

SHOP RATES

Tune-Ups

Adjustment and Safety Check: check for safe operating condition, basic adjustment of brakes and derailleurs, lubricate chain and cables, inflate tires $25
Basic Tune-Up: Above plus tune brakes, derailleurs, and shifters for best operation, remove and true wheels on precision truing stand $45
Mid-level Tune-Up: Services above plus adjust headset, hubs, bottom bracket and cranks. General cleaning of frame and parts $65
Ultimate Tune-Up: Remove drivetrain, inspect and clean all parts (incl. chain, cassette, chain rings, front & rear derailleurs), install NEW CABLES and HOUSING, (hydraulic brakes add $20.00), install new brake pads (if necessary), remove and inspect/fix all moving parts, headset and hub bearings; reinstall and adjust all components, clean frame (parts priced separately) $95

Repairs

Flat Repair: remove old tube, install new tube (included), inflate $12
Overhaul: headset, bottom bracket, or hub $30
True a Wheel: add $1 per spoke for spoke replacement (price may vary according to condition of wheel) $20
Build or Rebuild a Wheel: parts not included $40
Run New Cables: remove all brake and derailleur cables and housing, install new (parts included) $40
(longtail bikes) $55

Installations

Accessory: fenders, bottle cages, lights, mirrors, etc. (free with purchase from Cycle 9) $5
Basic Component: handlebar, pedals, tires, stem, etc. $10
Chain and Cassette $15
Major Component: new brakes or shifters, headset, crankset, bottom bracket, etc. $20
Electric Motor Kit: safety check, install, and test $60
Xtracycle: install complete FreeRadical kit, including adjustment of drivetrain and brake $60

Electrical Services

Electrical Diagnostic Fee: diagnose battery or electrical problems and estimate cost of repairs $35
Change connectors: match connections on motors, controllers, throttles or other parts $5
Electrical Work: repairs or existing systems,, installations, battery and BMS construction, and other battery or electrical labor, by-the-hour $60

Miscellaneous / Hourly Rates

Bike Mechanical Work: miscellaneous labor not listed above, by-the-hour $45
Electrical Work: repairs, installations, and other battery or electrical labor, by-the-hour $60
Scooter repair: repair and parts replacements on scooters, by-the-hour $60

Free tune ups for life

Morgan Giddings — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:34:39 +0000

Get free minor tune ups for the life of your bike!

Buy any bike from Cycle 9′s Carrboro/Chapel Hill location, and you can bring it in for free minor tune ups/adjustments for as long as you own the bike. This is a $25 value on each visit!

If you choose to have a major tune-up instead, you’ll get a $25 discount on labor from that, any time!

So buy your bike from Cycle 9 with confidence that you can bring it back and we’ll get it humming quickly, any time.

The discount applies to labor, parts excluded.

Welcome to Cycle 9

admin — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:35:18 +0000

Welcome to Cycle 9 – Lifestyle Bike Shop of the Triangle. We specialize in bikes that you can integrate into your everyday life, whatever your needs may be. We also carry all the important little bits like locks, mirrors, lights, flags, raincoats and more. We’re the internet’s best source for electrifying your cargo bike, as we’ve sourced the best electric kits for this application, tested on our own bikes carrying real-life loads. At our store in Carrboro, NC, you’ll find a full service shop with friendly and helpful staff to guide you, in the store and on the phone. Thanks for visiting and I look forward to getting to know you more. -Elise, Cycle 9 co-owner

Expanded weekday hours

elise — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 01:42:00 +0000

We’re moving into a summer schedule at the store now and have expanded our weekday hours. We’ll now be open:

Tues 10-6

Wed 10-7

Thur 10-7

Fri 10-7

Sat 9-6

Sun 12-5

Mon closed

Also, you will be seeing a new face around the store. Please welcome Erica to our team of helpful staff!

Expanded Saturday store hours

Morgan Giddings — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:07:00 +0000

With the warmer weather and longer daylight, we are expanding our Saturday hours at our retail store. We will now be open from 9AM to 6PM every Saturday.

Other hours will remain the same. We do stay open on Thursdays until 7pm and are open Sundays from 12-5 for those who work and live in surrounding areas. See you soon.

Tues 11-6

Wed 11-6

Thurs 11-7

Fri 11-6

Sat 9-6

Sun 12-5

Mon closed

601 W. Main St, Carrboro

GRAND OPENING March 7th

Morgan Giddings — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:27:00 +0000

Well, we’ve been in our new store for over 2 months, but now that spring is just around the corner, we’re having a Grand Opening Party on Saturday March 7, 10am-5pm! As part of the party, we’ll be doing a benefit for The ReCYCLEry, a very cool local non-profit that teaches people how to work on their bikes and runs a bicycle sharing program around town. You can check out their work at http://recyclery.info/ . A portion of all sales and proceeds from a bike raffle will go to the ReCYCLEry.

So, why should you come? First off – FOOD! We’ll have Free coffee and bagels in the morning to get you going. The coffee will be supplied by Johnny’s, a Carrboro favorite. In the afternoon, we’ll whip out the Xtracycle Blender for some Bike-Blended Smoothies! Pedal your way from frozen berries and ice to a smooth and delicious treat – it’s amazingly easy. Come an’ get ‘em while their HOT (or COLD as the case may be).

We’ll be raffling off a Full Suspension Mountain Bike. Complete with disc brakes, this will take the trails or the streets in style. Tickets are only $2 or 3 for $5 and all proceeds will go to the ReCYCLEry. You don’t need to be present to win, but you DO need to buy a ticket! (anytime between now and Saturday the 7th at 5PM)

All our accessories will be on SALE – 7% goes back in your pocket and 7% does good in the community through the ReCYCLEry. All tubes will be ONLY $2 – we have 12″ through 700c sizes, all shapes and configurations. Stock up for the summer at this awesome price!

We’ll also have some new bikes to check out in the electric and cargo realms. Come see and ride our new offerings! We’ll be getting electric bikes by EcoBike, tried and tested in the hills of San Francisco. http://www.ecobike-usa.com/index.asp . We’ll also have a few step-through models of our Cycle 9 electric bikes available. If carrying stuff is on your mind this spring, come check out the new Radish from Xtracycle. This longtail bike is compatible with all Xtracycle accessories but not as pricey as the Big Dummy. http://store.xtracycle.com/_e/Xtracycle_Complete_Bikes/product/BK-RAD-01/_Xtracycle_Radish.htm . And brand new is the Madsen cargo bike. This longtail can carry up to 4 small kids on the rear bench seats, or load it up with anything you can throw at it. The small rear wheel (20″) and extra wide kickstand make it easy to load and handle. Come in for a test ride! http://www.madsencycles.com/

See you Saturday!
Saturday MARCH 7th
10am – 5pm
601 W. Main Street, Carrboro
919-636-5909

2008 wrap up

Morgan Giddings — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 01:39:00 +0000

We want to thank all our customers and friends for support over the last year of our venture here to spread bicycle love, and in the process, rethink transportation. We wouldn’t be here without everyone’s support, we truly appreciate it.

It has been an amazing, and challenging year. On the broader scale, 2008 will go down in the history books as a year of substantial change, most of it for the negative. The financial world has been in turmoil, dragging the economy with it. But some changes have not been bad. The crazy ups and downs of gas prices have a lot of people thinking more deeply about America’s dependence on foreign oil. While various sides of the political spectrum are not necessarily in agreement about how to solve the problem, the important thing is that there is increasing consensus that something needs to be done.

Cycle 9 was founded in 2007 after we decided that we didn’t just want to complain about oil dependency, but to do something about it. It always feels better trying to fix a problem than just to complain about it (even if that involves mortgaging ones house to the hilt to get a business going). Bikes won’t solve every problem. Cars are useful conveyances for many purposes. But the more we use bikes and watch our energy usage in getting around, the more it becomes clear that moving a 3,000 pound hunk of steel around to transport a single human is a huge waste of energy. Many kilowatt hours of energy, for even a short trip. And bikes can be one piece of the puzzle, along with more walking, more public transit, high speed trains, and etc. At some point in our future, when oil is more scarce, I bet most of us will prefer to have that oil go towards producing our food and other necessities.

So, if we can have one wish for 2009, it is that the incoming administration realizes the importance of developing better infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists in our towns and cities. By far, the biggest complaint we hear about cycling is about its “danger.” While statistics show that it is probably not nearly as dangerous as many people think, statistics don’t change most people’s minds. Regardless of the highly controversial subject of whether bike lanes are good or bad safety-wise, it is a simple fact that bike lanes/paths promote more people biking. I was recently in Madison, Wisconsin, which has developed a network of rail-trails around the city. In warmer months, those are very well used, I saw other riders out at all times of the day.

But, here in the Southeastern USA, we have the double whammy of fast drivers and narrow roads. For many people, even if they want to bike, they just don’t feel comfortable doing it on these kinds of roads. And so they get in the car. Sadly, our state’s department of transportation has often been actively anti-cyclist in their road planning. Talk about lack of foresight.

When Obama announced plans for new infrastructure, he mentioned roads and bridges. I really hope he does some more thinking about this before implementing it. Certainly, some roads and some bridges do need work – those that represent the central transportation corridors should be brought to modernity. But beyond that, it is a matter of priorities. I hope we place more priority on making our cities easier to navigate by non-car means, rather than just spending willy-nilly on automobile infrastructure.

Two thousand and nine will be a challenging year. But often it is the challenges that cause people to become engaged, rise up, and work towards solutions. We sincerely hope that in trying to meet the challenges, the solutions that get implemented aren’t just “more of the same.” We’ve tried that for the past 30 years. Let’s try something new – livable, walkable, bikeable cities and towns. Places where children can play in their neighborhoods again, walk to school safely, breath clean air, and not become obese by being driven everywhere. If we as a country put our minds to something, we can usually do it. I hope we will put our minds to this as our new year’s resolution.

Store is now open!

Morgan Giddings — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:54:00 +0000

Our new store is open, at 601D W Main st. in Carrboro, NC.

Carrboro is the sister city to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The two have “grown up” and melded together. But they still retain somewhat distinct personalities. One thing we really like about Carrboro is its bicycle infrastructure. There are lots of bike paths here, that encourage people to get out an ride more.

Here’s a map to the store:

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