About Us

Bike Service Philosophy:

Here at The Handlebar, we believe that bikes are our friends that open up a plethora of opportunities for adventures that lend us perspective, access to the community, and offer fulfillment in our lives. However, bikes are not toys, they are advanced tools that help us extract the most enjoyment out of our lives. 

We believe in delivering the best possible service to keep your investment running as smoothly as possible for as long as possible. We use precision tools designed and manufactured by some of the best bicycle mechanics in the world, and to ensure quality service, we follow the manufacturer-recommended service procedures and torque specifications when fixing your bicycle.

Our Service department is overseen by The Handlebar co-owner Nathan Riddle, who spent 14 years as an instructor at the  United Bicycle Institute. During his time there, he certified thousands of bicycle mechanics. 

All of our service technicians have either trained at United Bicycle Institute or directly with Nathan. Every repair we do is double-checked by a second mechanic for further quality assurance.

There are different types of bike services: 

• Preventative service 

• Routine maintenance

• Replacement of broken parts

• Upgrading existing parts with higher performance parts

Preventative bike services should be done on a frequent basis to ensure that your bicycle is running as smoothly and safely as possible in between routine maintenance. 

It’s as easy as A, B, C…S.

• A is for air in your tires and safe tread for proper traction

• B is for breaks functioning properly before every ride

• C is for chains being properly lubricated before every ride (it should never sound like a cat begging for dinner while you’re riding)

• S is for cleaning suspension components before each ride and ensuring the wheels are properly attached to your bike.

These are just a few things you can do on your own before each ride to help your investment last longer and perform better.

Routine bike maintenance services are services that need to be performed at regular intervals to deliver the most long-term performance out of your bike. These are services performed at regular service intervals even if you can’t tell something is wrong. 

An example of this is an adjustment or replacing worn items like:

• Chains

• Brake Pads

• Tires

If we don’t change our chain on a regular set interval, then it wears out and grinds the rest of the drivetrain down until the point where every part of the drivetrain has to be replaced. 

Replacement of broken parts. Broken parts can be crash damage-related. While a bike that is not tuned properly is more likely to result in a crash it is quite possible to be “Just Riding Along” on a perfectly tuned bike and have a crash. Broken parts need to be replaced with compatible new parts and installed correctly before the next ride.

Bike part upgrades: At The Handlebar, we will seek to educate our customers on the benefits of the different parts available and help assess whether an upgraded part will be worth it for the individual or not before committing to a plan.

If you buy a bike from us we will help you figure out what service plan makes the most sense for you and your bike in order to keep you riding happily as much as you can. We’ll help you figure out what you can do at home yourself and what we can do for you at the shop. If you have a bike that you think might need servicing, please come in and see us so we can look over it together and talk about what’s going on with your bike.