Tim Welch runs Rode, an independent bike shop in Ponsonby that bills itself as ‘not your ordinary bike shop’. Think niche brands like Surly and Breezer, steel frames, touring bikes and custom builds. Oh, and lots of electric bikes. We asked Tim three questions. I’m shopping for an electric bike. What questions should I ask when I’m in the bike shop? Definitely look at, and ask about, the overall quality of the e-bike rather than just focusing on the size of the battery and the power of the motor. Just because a bike has more powerful motor does not make it a better bike. Also ask, are there parts available …
Bike Auckland
Tim White is, not surprisingly, the owner of T. Whites Bikes, the indie bike shop in Symonds Street, as well as a rad dad, and (with Haimona Ngata) is aiming to bring a high quality pump track to Takapuna. Ross Inglis asked Tim three very good questions: I’m looking for a second-hand commuter bike and don’t want to buy a lemon. What should I look for? The most common problem is buying the wrong size. Have a look at a size chart to get a rough idea; it does not have to be an exact fit – something in the vicinity will still work for you. Also look for a tidy machine – a bike with clean …
An occasional series in which Auckland bike mechanics tell you what they’re really thinking. Got thoughts, keen to be featured? Or, do you have questions you’d love to ask a bike mechanic? Get in touch – we’d love to hear from you. Wander into Rouleur Cycles in Onehunga’s Selwyn Street and there’s a good chance that the chap greeting you from the depths of the workshop will be Cam Baker. Cam, 22, is the lead mechanic in what is both a friendly neighbourhood bike shop and a Mecca for devotees of high-end road machinery. Ross Inglis asked him three quick questions… Which three most basic tools would you recommend to anyone planning …
Bike shops, like people, have personalities. T. White’s Bikes is how you might imagine an independent bike shop — a cheerfully scruffy hail-fellow-well-met kind of place, bikes old and new jostling for space with banana seats, bins of pedals and hubs, a row of recycled forks and, for no apparent reason, a collection of 80’s boom blasters. Ace the amiable Pug might greet you at the door. bFM will likely be on the stereo; if you’re unlucky it’ll be country and western. There’s a good chance you already know the place if you’ve been around bikes for a while. Tim White and his crew have been in the same shop …
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