The Story of Chariot Bike
Cutest little bike shop in Bend, Oregon.
I started Chariot Bike in Bend, Oregon July 2020 in my garage. It was in the thick of Covid and lockdown was happening, and then the bike boom happened. Everyone started pulling their old bikes out and dusting them off or buying new bikes wherever they could find them. I was at home and working on my own bikes out of my garage when neighbors got word that I was a mechanic. It started with just a few neighbors in my alley and then through word of mouth people outside of my neighborhood started contacting me. I was stoked to have something to do while stuck at home, but started to get a little stressed with the amount of response to the new “hobby”.
One day I was talking to my husband Ron and some friends (Adam and Liz) while lazily floating the Deschutes River down by La Pine State Park. Throwing ideas around about having my own shop or maybe starting with a mobile van first. Next thing you know I’m holding the keys to a 2020 Promaster van giddy to to start building a shop inside it.
We built the van out with everything I would need to run a full shop. Air compressor, solar and batteries, a sink, storage, propane heater, fans, vice, and a solvent tank. Thanks to all my friends who helped in one way or another with the buildout! Ron made a website, and our friend Jules designed the van wrap. The van was ready to roll and so things kicked off!
I would go to customers’ houses and either work on the bikes there or bring them back home for a little more wiggle room. The van was big enough but some repairs just made more sense in a larger space. Since Covid restricted contact with people I would often just pick up and fix a bike without even seeing the person who owned it. It was pretty peaceful just rocking out to music while tuning bikes in the mobile shop. Nothing like a different view every day for work.
Fast forward a year and I outgrew the garage and moved the home-based shop to a shared warehouse. It was a big change sharing a space with a bunch of people and dogs. I could only stand being alone for so long, so the random company was pleasant. Customers started dropping their bikes off at the hard-to-find warehouse by appointment. It worked great.
Around that time in 2021, I became a dealer for Sour Bicycles (from Germany) and Otso Cycles (Minnesota). I had a love for custom bike builds, starting with the frame then picking all the parts and working with the customer to build their dream ride. We had good times at that warehouse. I hosted bike repair classes, The Bike Lonely packet pickup party, had an Otso demo day, and also at one point had a disc golf setup
The warehouse time came to an end and it was time to find my next space. At that time Erich Weidenkeller started working with me. I found a hidden basement retail space on the West side of Bend. Still juggling the mobile shop and moving from appointment-only to regular shop hours. It was easier having someone working with me and it allowed for one person to run around with the van and do mobile service and the other person hold down the shop. That space was tight and resembled an office, it was great but not visible. People still found us somehow. Well, by word of mouth. Thanks to everyone who recommended people to the shop it kept us going. We had fun in the hidden spot, hosted a winter craft night with local artists, had a couple of packed-in shop parties, and kept teaching bike repair classes. Spoke and Kimber (my dogs) would normally be sleeping on the floor waiting to greet people.
In the summer of 2024 the shop moved just upstairs from our hidden spot. The new space has tons of windows and sunlight, while also being more visible. It’s been a wonderful space. Since being in the new location we hadn’t been doing many mobile repairs and decided it was time to end that part of the business. The decision was made to sell the van and focus on the brick-and-mortar. The majority of people like to get out of their houses now and chat at the shop.
We use the new shop space for more events including Bikepacking Story night (monthly through the winter), bike repair clinics, parties, and maybe some coffee… The light upstairs is cozy, and there’s a massive wall of bikepacking bags including Oveja Negra, Wizard Works, Swift Industries, Inside Line Equipment, and Fern Hill. Custom Sour builds and frames are scattered throughout, with an air of jazzy tunes playing in the background. Erich and I tune bikes in the repair area and greet customers, welcoming a story about their recent bike rides.
With all that being said, I love the growth and changes that Chariot has taken, and am looking forward to more fun years to come!
