I’ve been working in Bay Area bike shops since 2006, and I’ve seen a lot.
I got my foot in the door with an entry level job building hybrid bikes out of boxes by the dozen at a large chain store. I’ve worked at small, family-run independent shops, and high end boutique shops. I’ve done race support, jumping out of the back of cars during the Tour of California and handing off wheels to the pros.
Before I opened the doors of Oakland Service Course in 2016, I was working as a part-time mechanic for a high end shop in the East Bay. Lots of carbon, electronic shifting, ceramic bearings, aerodynamics… I would go in two or three days a week and take care of all their service and builds. Meanwhile (with full disclosure to my employer) I was also working out of my apartment. I had turned my bedroom in to a mini bike shop, and moved my bed in to the kitchen. It was something I jokingly referred to as the “home mechanic hustle”: I enjoyed helping loyal customers that had followed me from various shops over the years. I eventually realized that I thrived more working independently and cultivating these longstanding relationships. What I do now is a direct evolution of that, I took that momentum and turned it in to a legitimate business. I’m taking the knowledge I’ve acquired working at big shops, small shops, boutique shops, messenger shops, race mechanic situations and the custom bike build world to do things in a way I haven’t seen done before.
I’m also a passionate rider myself and I head to the local hills almost everyday. It’s important to me on a deeply personal level. So I ride on the road. I ride trails. Sometimes I race. And I draw upon all of my own experiences to better serve my customers. I try and think about each customer’s bike as if it were my own.
My arts-and-crafts background also influences my aesthetic decisions at the shop. I have a degree in printmaking, with various family members rooted in careers as artists and engineers. I approach things from both a visual and functional point of view – I try and find that balance point – so that my creative interests intersect at this unique crossroads of mechanics and design.
I look forward to collaborating with you.
-Adam