Owning a bike shop is a tough gig. Scratch that. Owning a successful bike shop is a tough gig. I was reminded of this when I swung by the new shop in town, Orange Pedal, on California Ave. I met the owners and like all bike people, they seem nice and I wished them all the best in the future. More bike shops is a good thing. It was interesting to see that they are carrying the latest incarnations of the Bottechia bike company. I used to own an SLX lugged Bottechia with some beautiful chrome and a cool black and white paint scheme. It was my first "real" racing bike and I loved that it was Italian, has a full campy NR group on it, and sewups. I bought it as a hand me down frame from a racer in Lincoln, Nebraska, who worked at "my" bike shop, the venerable Deluxe Bicycles that no longer exists. The owner gave me the above mug as a gift. I think I bought 4 bikes from them when I was still in Nebraska. The best thing about the shop was their knowledge and willingness to teach their clientele. It was that shop that gave me my first taste of the joys and frustrations of dealing with mounting, riding, and patching tubular tires. That skill is going to come in handy as I'm starting the process of refurbishing a 1979 Della Santa I acquired and the original equipment has sewups on it. I'll call it a good fall winter project and I'm looking forward to building up some new/old wheels. Pics to come... ![]()
And my new project bike!
1 Comment
Johnny Kohtz
3/20/2023 11:52:38 am
Hi, I worked at Deluxe Bicycles until they closed in 1998. I was still in high school so I don't recall our paths ever crossed. I'm certain you would have worked with one of the owners or older employees as they didn't let me touch the really nice stuff unless it was my own. We're actually having a little reunion of the owners, employees, and customers tomorrow night in Lincoln so I was curious what memories of Deluxe might be out on the internet (I often wonder what Deluxe would have been like in the internet/social media age...). It turns out there are not many mentions of Deluxe. Deluxe had an outsize and lasting influence on my young life, so it is nice to read your memories as well. Cheers!
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AuthorFor over 12 Years I wrote the Reno Rambler Blog covering everything from Bicycle Advocacy, Reno Politics, Popular Culture, and my experiences as a long-time cyclist. Archives
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