Bicycles were built for freedom: that much we know. The bicycle is wholly indifferent to whatever circumstance has led to any two-wheeled adventure, as well as the identity of its rider. The bicycle, much like a dirt road or a curbside, or even a mountain pass, is a passive collaborator even as it may be the great arbiter. This machine's history as a contraption of capacity, liberation, of joy, has been woven into every shop's DNA. That joyful, often painful independence is also inextricably wrapped in the embrace of community, be it kids rolling the neighborhood, Le Tour chasing miles of pavement or cobblestones, a small group linking together far-flung dirt roads or new friends shredding down ribbon singletrack: two wheels means we're all part of something bigger than ourselves.
The Bike Coop has been part of Albuquerque's colorful, complex bicycle fabric since August 1977. What started as a Co-Op quickly became a passionate community project, then later evolved into The 'Coop and a collection of independent-yet-intertwined creators, all linked by one thing: the magic of the bicycle. And because of that magic, we’ve been selling parts and building bikes, fixing flats and breaking chains, and passing down our hard-won knowledge for more than 40 years now.
We're not the shop with a corporate statement, multiple shareholders, silent investors, or an absentee owner -- we're the ones waving at you in the Bosque and offering a shuttle up Crest Road. We're your neighbors, your friends, and the random "you good?" guy, all here just trying to make a difference in our incredible little community daily. We ride what we sell and we guarantee our work. We promise that you won't be discriminated against, vibed out, or ripped off in our shop. We believe in human dignity and we stick to our guns, even when doing the right thing means doing the hard thing.
Especially then.
We don't think that community, access, technology, and friendliness should be a rare combination -- yet it all too often is.
So we're changing the way the bike business does business, one rider at a time, and we're still fixing other shops' repairs.