What makes a good bike shop?

Nestled amidst our bustling downtown lies my favorite bike shop: Starlight Bicycles. It is really difficult to find a good bike mechanic and one that understands that you can’t do without your bike for weeks. Somehow this amazing little bike shop is able to service so many people with such a small staff. They have saved me many times when I have had technical difficulties! It’s the only shop in town that I’ve been able to walk into with my three kids (imagine the horror in most bike shops when you walk in with three small, busy children) and get quick and accurate service.

Stratton Delany, Bike Shop Owner

The owner of Starlight Bicycles is Stratton Delany, who started the business out of his basement with limited funds selling Japanese track racing bikes.  Stratton has two amazing shop employees on hand: Matt Vail and Gordon Wadsworth. Matt and Gordon have saved me so many times when I have had multiple issues with my tri-bike. When I race so many weekends out of the year, I CANNOT be without my bike. Not only that, but Gordon has really taken the time to explain bike mechanics to me. Matt, who runs the store and does the bike mechanics, rides and both of his parents are local age group triathletes. 

Gordon Wadsworth

Gordon is in charge of their great custom apparel. They custom design and produce
bike jerseys as well as triathlon clothing (tri tops, bottoms, single suits).

Gordon, who is available in the store some and sells their custom apparel, is locally nick-named “the beast” because he is such a talented cyclist, and he has many sponsors like Trek, Industry Nine Wheels out of North Carolina, and BRC/CRC Racing based out of Charlottesville, Virginia. This year Gordon won the  Mid-Atlantic Bicycling Racing Association (MABRA) series including the Pennsylvania and Maryland series; did great in the South East Regional Championship (SERC series); and placed in the Virginia Off-Road Series. SERC and MABRA were at the Pro/1 level. He also rode 238 miles in the “The Kilmer Challenge Ride”  in order to raise money for a local man named David Kilmer who has been afflicted with cancer.

Some frames available in the shop

What makes a good bike shop?

1. You are more than a number (you don’t drop your bike off for weeks with a pick up number and you actually get helped without losing your best metal friend for an extended period of time);

2. The mechanic has actually seen Zipp 808 Carbon Clinchers (Seriously, when I was looking for a pump after I had just gotten my Zipp Wheels, another bike shop stripped the extenders and kept saying “We aint ever seen wheels like these before” in their “deliverance”, Southern slang);

3. They don’t make you pay money up front just to diagnose the bike problem (like they say on their website: “Got a problem with your bike? Bring it by and we’ll take care of it. Estimates are free (in-person only) and we can usually knock it out in a day or two. The price is fair and we guarantee our service. ”);

4. They are affordable without overcharging;

5. They take the time to educate you while you are there; and

6. They are not scared of children or belittling to women (believe me, I’ve been in too many shops like this!).

Starlight has a large line-up of affordable Felt bikes!

Finding the right bike shop with a good mechanic can be a NIGHTMARE. Many bike shops are just totally unavailable – AND, expect a two to three week wait. This year, the week before the Age Group Triathlon National Championship my wheel came loose. I stopped at another unnamed local bike shop. I walked in with my bike and there stood three salesmen talking and two bike mechanics with their arms crossed. Nobody was working. They were hanging out and talking. I told them I was leaving that week for the National Championship and my wheel was loose and wondered if they could take a look at it. They stared at me and said “We are busy and backed up for weeks”. They refused to even feel my wheel and like I said, nobody was doing any work. I pleaded and started to tear up because this race was so important and I didn’t need to show up to the most important race of the year with a broken bike. It would have been more tolerable if they had held some empathy, but that was completely lacking. So I took my bike and showed up at Starlight where Matt Vail quickly diagnosed my wheel problem and fixed it in a couple of minutes! He saved the day!

So, thank you Starlight Bikes for being that “go-to” bike shop where I know a trusted mechanic is on-hand and you can get the job done! They sell Felt, Orbea, Ibis, Spot, and Kazane, and they can custom design and produce bike or triathlon clothing for you. The world is lacking in user-friendly bike shops and I hope your town is lucky enough to have a quaint, accessible bike shop like what we have!