This article is a first in a series Austin Bike Blog will be doing to review bicycle shops in Austin.
Old school. That is the approach Eastside Pedal Pushers owner Lee Gresham has taken in the way he has established his shop. There is no sprawling shop room floor or plasma TVs on the wall, no well dressed mannequins or latte shop. There is just a large open room with an assortment of new and used bicycles and a byzantine collection of bicycle parts and accessories around the wall and ceiling.
Lee Gresham has seen a lot in his 5 1/2 years as a shop owner, a journey that began with a cross country solo bike tour in the 90s. During his ride from Austin to Boston via Chicago and Toronto, he spent time working as a wrench at a friend’s bike shop on Lake Ontario discovering his passion for bikes. Upon returning to Austin, Gresham volunteered at the Yellow Bike Project to hone his mechanic skills. Out of this experience was born the Eastside Pedal Pushers.
The shop itself is simple: a large room with a counter and a cacophony of bike stuff. In addition to a nice variety of re-built used bikes, you can also find a selection of new bikes from Surly, Soma, and Sun. Monday through Saturday, you’ll find Lee or one of his two part time staff ready with friendly help.
Eastside Pedal Pushers is a throw back to the bicycle shops of old with their general service anything approach. While this approach is a welcome change of pace in the modern bicycle marketplace, it has also created challenges for Lee in his business. The Eastside Pedal Pusher is now in its second location and getting ready to move to a new spot on 5th & Onion along the soon to be completed Lance Armstrong Bikeway. His move comes after a dramatic attempt to kick him out of his current space by some folks wanting to remodel the place as a coffee shop (full story at ATXBS.) Finding space that works for the shop and is economical is a constant challenge.
Eastside Peddle Pushers owner Lee Gresham
Adding to these difficultlies is the roadblocks to carrying more brands put in place by the corporate bicycle industry. Because his shop is within the sales radius of other established shops who already carry all the major brands, Lee is excluded from being their reseller. (Surly is the house brand of bicycle distributor QBP and Sun and Soma sells directly to retailers.) Despite all the troubles, Lee seems pretty relaxed and philosophical about it all.
We also talked about trends in Austin bike culture and cycling in general. Lee has seen a marked increase in transportation cycling in the last few years as well as an explosion in single gear and fixed gear riding. He has also seen positive improvements in Austin’s bicycle infrastructure but would like to see more. He thinks we should have higher gas prices to discourage car use in favor of cycling and traffic laws that favor cyclist who are hit by cars. (Amen, brother.)
So Eastside Pedal Pushers isn’t the flashiest shop around, but Lee Gresham and his staff are friendly, knowledge, and an important part of Austin bike culture. Next time you’re east of downtown, stop by and check them out.
Contact Info:
Eastside Pedal Pushers
1414 East 5th Street
Austin, TX 78702
Phone: (512 ) 826-3414
Hours: Monday- Saturday, 10 AM- 7 PM
Bus Routes nearby: 4, 100, 320 (plan your trip by bus)
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on Dec 10th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Sounds like another great and local Austin business. It’s nice see a shop without the retail chain appeal many bike shops have nowadays.
-Amplify
on Feb 2nd, 2009 at 1:41 pm
[...] got bad enough that I finally decided to take action was fortuitous, as I was already headed to Eastside Pedal Pushers to take photos for the review that Elliott wrote of their shop. Naturally, I gave them the Azor to [...]
on Feb 25th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
[...] 11. Eastside Pedal Pusher 1414 East 5th St Austin, TX 78702 Hours: Mon- Sat, 10 am- 7 pm, Sun CLOSED Brands: Surly, Soma, and Sun Click here for the shop review [...]