Saturday, September 24, 2011

Visiting The Mindful Bike

Today, I had the great pleasure of visiting the The Mindful Bike. After discovering their newly opened shop that sells city and cargo bikes, I was chomping at the bit to be able to have a look for myself. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait too long, and I definitely wasn't disappointed.
Linus and Abici bikes line the front window
The shop is immediately welcoming (especially to a crazed, bicycle shopper like myself), and we were warmly greeted by one of the owners, Jason, who was happy to show us around the shop and let us play with all the little fun things sitting on the shelves. I even had the opportunity to see Yakkay helmets in person for the first time (they are as cute as they seem in pictures, but the smalls in stock were definitely not the appropriate size for my large noggin - though one young girl shopping with her mom looked adorable in the smaller size).
The store stocks all sorts of fun items from the helmets above, to Basil panniers, Po Campo bags, head/tail lights by Knog and others, baskets, bells, fenders and more. They even have bike baby seats in stock, which I thought were adorable, but (and as you can tell, I obviously don't have children) they seemed incredibly small. I had to ask, "Are babies really that small?!" No, I don't live under a rock, but I guess I don't spend a ton of time around small babies.

Then, of course, it was time to wander through all the bikes in stock on the floor. I was disappointed to see that there wasn't a single ladies Velorbis in stock (though I was told they will be ordering more of these), so I was unable to test ride it, but there were several Linus, Abici, and Bobbin bikes in stock. On this visit, I didn't take a test ride of any of the lovely models, as I was on a mission for other items today, but I have every intention to return for test riding purposes in the future.
Bobbin Bicycles with a diamond frame Velorbis behind - all were quite fun!
I am still so excited to have such a shop within the vicinity, and it seems like they are well on their way to a long-term successful business. The shop seemed to have at least a handful of people in the shop almost the entire time we were there, so I would say they are definitely filling a niche that was needed locally.
The shop also has a full service/repair shop inside, and I was even able to pick up a chain for the recently broken one on the Hillborne (that wasn't a pretty incident)... and speaking of the Hillborne, there was actually a Rivendell Quickbeam in the store (it wasn't for sale, and they don't sell Riv's, but I was interested to see it nonetheless - I'm guessing it was either in for a repair or belongs to someone working in the shop).
If you are in the area, and are in the market for a new city bike, or even need a new basket, bag or some lights as the daylight time shrinks in on us, I'd definitely recommend stopping in for a visit. A really fun shop!

6 comments:

  1. It's great to see the energy you girls put into blogs and spreading the cycling 'word'.
    A shop starting up or an established shop, I suppose, takes a financial risk so it's great for them to know how well you all are pushing cycling.
    Take care,
    Robert

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi, Just found your blog. Those hats are to die for! Sigh, what a lovely store.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks like a great shop! Enjoy it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. BB - Hi! Glad you stopped by. The Yakkay helmets are absolutely adorable! I wish I could've crammed my big head into one of them because I likely would've bought one (currently, they only have smalls, but I'm sure they plan to restock other sizes). Since they aren't cheap, it was probably for the best that I just walked away. :o)

    Robert - I was so excited to see this shop pop up locally because we really don't have much around that sells a more traditional style/upright/Dutch/English/etc bike. I just hope that locals will take advantage of this new shop because they really have some great stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm swooning over all those lovely bikes and accessories! I so wish we had a shop like this in Iowa, but for now I'll just have to admire from afar (and keep ordering things online). :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I was swooning too!! I was like some sort of crazy bike freak in the store (I felt bad because I was like the little ADHD kid running around, touching everything). I think Iowa would be a great spot for a shop like this, too. I absolutely adored our visit to Iowa last year, and actually saw quite a few cyclists out on the roads. A city bike shop would be a great addition, I'd think.

    ReplyDelete

I believe that comment issues when posting have been resolved; however, I recommend copying your comment before sending it through to make sure that Blogger doesn't eat your comment. If you still have problems, please feel free to email your comment and I will gladly post it for you either with your name or anonymously (whichever you prefer). Thank you.