Sometimes you have to put your favorite Gladys t shirt or jersey in the wash. It happens to the best of us. But how (oh how!) can you feel just as sharp and well put together on laundry days?
Buy yourself a Sweeptea t shirt. Or get yourself a whole Sweetpea kit, complete with jersey, shorts, and arm warmers, of course!
$20 for the t-shirt of your dreams.
$120 for this swoon-worthy kit.
Winter Overhaul Special: $125
Winter Full Tune Up Special: $65
1. Cyclocross is coming. Whether you are new to the sport or upgrading to a new rig, getting your bike fit dialed in will make you stronger and more confident on the bike. It will not prevent you from falling in the mud. But that's what makes 'cross fun, right?
2. Bike Commute Challenge. The BTA's yearly Bike Commute Challenge helps us recommit to riding, just as fall presents us with reasons not to ride. Rain, dark, seasonal affective disorder... You can make it a whole lot easier on yourself by having an efficient and comfortable bike fit. That extra efficiency just might buy you a couple extra minutes in bed. Enough said.
3. Scheduling Has Never Been Easier. With the peak season of bike fitting almost behind us, there are more opportunities to come for a fit at your convenience, whether that be daytime, weekend, or evening. Schedule here.
LET'S RIDE...to the donut shop.
These Castelli Training Fit Jerseys feature a more relaxed, not-totally-skin-tight fit. Includes full front zipper and 3 ample-sized snack pockets (that's what they're really for, right?) on the back. Lightweight, comfortable and tastefully covered in donuts. What more could you want?
Some notes:
SIZING. Sizes run small -- order one full size up from what you would normally wear. For Portland, OR customers, please feel free to come into the shop to try on samples.
COLORS. Navy, covered in royal blue with marigold and magenta highlights.
THIS IS A PRE-ORDER. We will place our final order for this item on August 10th, 2015. The expected lead time is 1 month and we plan to ship them in late September, but there is no guaranteed shipping date for this item.
THIS IS A LIMITED RUN. We will be printing PRE-ORDER jersey's only. Pre-order by August 9th.
QUESTIONS? Email hello@gladysbikes.com.
WANT ONE? Place your order here.
(Reminder: Shop is closed on the 4th so that we can celebrate family, friends, food and fireworks.)
Dear friends, family and customers of Gladys Bikes,
I am unbelievably excited to tell you about a new partnership we have: Starting in June 2015 Gladys Bikes will be donating $50 from each semi-custom bicycle we build to support the work of Rose Haven, a non-profit day shelter and community space in NW Portland serving women and children experiencing the trauma of abuse, loss of home and other disruptive life challenges.
Why?
One of the main goals of Gladys Bikes is to support and empower women through bicycles. I’m thrilled that we get to do that for our customers on a daily basis.
That said, we’re a business. We do our best to work within people’s budgets and respect their needs, but at the end of the day we can only serve folks who can afford what we sell. And while we get to work with many excellent folks (arguably the best lot of customers in the world), we want to support even more women -- including those who can’t afford our services -- through our love of bikes. This partnership will allow us to do just that.
Why not a bike-related donation?
We’re a people-first bike shop, which means that it’s important that we support folks where they’re at rather than making assumptions about what they might need or want. In the shop this means that we talk a lot with folks about their riding goals and bike dreams and then make recommendations based on our best knowledge, but ultimately trust that they know what is best for themselves. More broadly, this means that while we find bikes empowering and transformative in our own lives, we recognize that a bike is not what everyone wants or needs -- we don’t want to assume that the best way to support people is by doing something we think is cool. Instead we like the idea of leveraging our love of bicycles to support folks in ways that make sense for them.
And so we are partnering with an organization, Rose Haven, that understands and deeply cares about the women they work with and respecting them to do the right thing with our contributions. Perhaps one day the support we provide will be used to get some of the guests of Rose Haven on bikes, but perhaps not. What’s more important is that we’re using our donations to meet people where they are at instead of telling them what we think they need.
Why Rose Haven?
We truly admire their approach. Instead of offering one-size-fits-all services, they partner with dozens of social service and support organizations in the region to provide their guests with the tailored support and advice that they uniquely need.
Additionally, when thinking about which organization we’d like to work with, three customers made mention of volunteering with the women at Rose Haven in the span of a few days. And then, when I went to meet with a member of their staff and tour the center, low and behold, the only other bike locked to the outside rack was the first semi-custom bike that we ever built -- it turns out its owner is also a regular volunteer at Rose Haven. I’d say it was meant to be.
Does this mean semi-custom bikes are going to be more expensive than they were before?
Nope.
Why didn’t you start doing this sooner?
We waited until the business was in a healthy and stable financial place before considering any type of sustained giving relationship. I wanted to make sure that Gladys could offer a measure of reliability and regularity in our giving, since long-term partnerships and stable funding streams are often most helpful to organizations, especially small ones. We’re starting at $50 leaving ourselves room to grow in this partnership. As we grow, hopefully our ability to support Rose Haven will as well.
How can I support Rose Haven even if I’m not buying a semi-custom bike?
We hope to hold events in the future to collect specific items that would be helpful to Rose Haven through the shop. In the meantime, we encourage you to give to them directly.
Questions?
Feel free to email me at leah@gladysbikes.com. I’d love to talk.
Sincerely,
Leah Benson
As a part of Alberta Street's new Retail Happy Hour, from 3-6pm every Wednesday both of our shops will be offering 10% off new parts and accessories AND giving out coupons for some super secret (shhhhh) deals at each other's shops.
Hope to see you on an upcoming Wednesday to celebrate bikes, fun, collaboration and sweet deals!
This is the only hand built Sweetpea mountain bike out there, and it rides and looks just as good as you'd expect. It's a collector for sure, but also a rad bike that's ready to shred.
Price: $2500
Frame: Handbuilt Columbus Steel
Fork: Fox F32-100mm shock with 15mm axle.
Geometry: 43 cm bb to top, 59 center to center actual, 31.5 inch stand over height
Wheels: 26" Reynolds Canyon
Drive train: Shimano Deore XT 2x9
Brakes: Shimano Deore XT Hydraulic Disc
Headset: Chris King
Stem: Thomson 90mm
Handlebar: 36cm Salsa Poco, short reach
Saddle: Comes with Saddle Library card ($25 value) so you can choose the one that perfect for you.
Curious? Stop on by. Test rides are welcome and encouraged. And, yes, we will ship.
In case you haven't noticed, we love building people's custom dream bikes. There's something special about sitting down, figuring out exactly what a person wants out of a bike and then guiding them through the process of picking out every part and color to ensure that they're getting a bike that fits their body, riding style and personality perfectly. We get to know these people and their bikes incredibly well through the process -- so much so that they become more than just customers, they're friends of shop and the bedrock of the community that makes this place tick.
And so, it was such a treat to see so many of them together in one place on February 25 when we hosted on first annual gathering of Gladys' Semi-Custom Bikes and their owners. Check out some of the photos!
On Thursday, March 12th we were lucky enough to host a party to celebrate two of the best new pieces of bike commuter gear: the sleek and lightweight Metroride helmet from Nutcase and the long-awaited-but-worth-the-wait Levi's Commuter Jeans for women.
See below for some photos from the event and stop by Gladys to see the new helmets and jeans in person!
Before joining us at Gladys Bikes Kathy was a worker owner at Citybikes for 7+ years, where she honed her skills as a mechanic by working on all sorts of different bikes and with all kinds of people. When she's not working on bikes you might find her writing papers about legal cases (she's currently pre-law and in the process of applying to law schools), singing lead in her band, designing and sewing clothing, skateboarding all around town or cooking up the most delicious vegan mac and cheese you've ever had.
We feel pretty darn lucky to have Kathy as a part of our shop and can't wait for you to meet her too. Be sure to say hi the next time you're in!
We've waited patiently (ok, maybe not so patiently all the time), and they're finally here: LEVI'S COMMUTER JEANS FOR WOMEN.
As far as we can tell, these are basically the unicorns of the pants world -- they seem to look good on an extremely diverse array of body types and sizes. Come on by to see them in person!
Many of you may remember that last year Gladys Bikes fell in love with another bike shop, Kenton Cycle Repair.
Well, over the year our love has only grown, and so have our hearts such that there was room for yet another bike shop in our lovefest, Cat Six PDX.
So, why on earth would three bike shops in relatively close proximity choose to promote each other's shops? Well, beyond the fact that we all just really like one another, we decided that collaboration is way more fun than competition.
In that spirit, on Valentine's Day our three shops (along with some friends) will be taking to the streets to give out Valentine's gifts to about 200 lucky bikes, and also through the end of February whenever you purchase something from one of our shops, you'll get 10% off at the others. Why? Because we love you too.
xoxo,
Gladys Bikes, Kenton Cycle Repair and Cat Six
2014 was our first full year in business and, oh, what a year it was. We expanded to a new location (moved there by bike with your help!), began our partnership with Sweetpea Bicycles (swoon), brought on some amazing new staff (you know who you are), tried out cyclocross with a group of first-timers (what, what CX Curious Club!), helped 200+ butts find comfort through the Saddle Library, fell in love with another bike shop (hey there Kenton Cycle Repair), helped get many folks on sweet new bikes, planned some ridiculously fun events (Dress Like Your Bike anyone?), and even got some cool accolades in the process (don't worry, it won't go to our heads).
Thank you (again and again and again) for your support and enthusiasm this past year. I cannot wait to share what 2015 holds with you all. Here's to spending another year learning, growing, playing and riding bikes with all of you! Happiest of New Years!
-Leah
Your butt will thank you.
This event is like getting to go on a bunch of first (saddle) dates in 1 night. Get one-on-one time with many saddles in one night so you can QUICKLY see which one you have an interest in investing in for the long haul.
When: Tuesday, April 14, 6:30-8:00pm
Where: Gladys Bikes
Who: Anyone who is interested in getting a saddle/seat that feels better on their bike. We have almost as many 'male' saddles as we do 'female', all bodies are equally welcome.
1. Arrive promptly at 6:30pm for a brief introduction to your many potential saddle love matches.
2. Talk 1:1 with our experts about what you're looking for in a saddle and we'll help you pick out up to 5 saddles to try for 10 minutes each.
3. Because no saddle --no matter how pretty, expensive or aerodynamic-- will feel perfect if it's not set up properly, after you find your saddle love match you'll get a FREE quick fit with Gladys' fitter extraordinaire, Natalie Ramsland. During the quick fit she'll dial in your seat height and position to make sure it's set up to support your body as best as it possibly can.
***Space is limited to 6 participants so that you get our full attention and the quality time you need with your saddles. To reserve your spot email hello@gladysbikes.com. ***
The bike world plays fast and loose with the term "custom bike." And why not?! It conjures up sexy images in our mind of beautiful paint, elegant details, and a world in which there are only tailwinds. But the word "custom" can be used to describe anything from getting to pick a new paint color for a Surly frame to having a frame designed to accommodate your unusually long femurs. And it's all good stuff, but it can help to know what custom can mean and, critically, how you can get some custom-y goodness no matter what your budget or current bike status.
So, in the next couple of weeks we are going to dig a bit deeper into definitions and present a point of view regarding custom that is no-nonsense and inclusive. I'd like to invite you to ask all of your burning questions about custom bikes and I'll give you my best answers (and most opinionated opinions).
I spent the last week in Duluth, Minnesota. I probably can't describe with my lingering California accent can quite how cold it was. Suffice it to say: Dude. It was gnarly cold.
I've been spending a little chunk of winter in Duluth every year for the past ten years or so (one of the many benefits of marrying a Minnesotan) and I typically have the same internal monologue.
Natalie: Wow. Snow is so beautiful! I bet I could live here...
Natalie: But you can't really bike here in the winter.
N: But you can cross country ski, snow shoe, and get all Nordic!
N: You get awfully grumpy when your toes get cold.
N: Buck up! You know you've always wanted a pair of moon boots.
N: But what about your bikes?
N: Yeah, you're right. I'll never leave Portland.
This last trip was different, though. I saw WAY more bikes. A Litespeed (unlocked?!) outside the food co-op, a cargo bike parked downtown, and lots of fat tires out on the trails. I went for a favorite run in Hartley Field and saw so many fat, happy tracks in the snow that I felt a certain tug at my heart. I could love these trails, not more, but in a different way on a bike. I could bike here. I could live here.
The known truths are relearned: there are more ways to have fun on a bike than there are days in a lifetime. I could live anywhere and find myself at home on a bike. A Portland girl can always vacation in moon boots.
As robust as the English language is, I am always a bit relieved when it comes up short. How nice to think that when we search for a word to explain some nuance of the human experience, that some other language might have just what we need. For example, it is greatly comforting that the Japanese have a word for looking worse after a haircut. The word "age-otori" reassures me that I'm not the only one this happens to.
I want you (and everyone you know) to know about my favorite untranslatable Danish word, "hygge." If all we had was the English word "cozy" your life would be less rich I am sure. So, let's hear from the Danes about hygge:
I've got a pretty firm grasp on cozy. It's hot chocolate and sock knitting. It's big sweaters and long novels. But the word "hygge", perhaps because of its foreignness, suggests that we should try to translate it. We should try to cultivate a hygge atmosphere. We should explicate its relational quality. It is having a sip of your friend's hot chocolate and knitting a sock for your brother. It is wearing your boyfriend's sweater and reading a favorite passage out loud.
Hygge. Say it often. Say it together. And let a new kind of coziness be found in its translation.
Join us on November 25 for Bike Fit 101 when Natalie Ramsland, Gladys' resident bicycle fitter, will be on hand to answer all of your burning questions about whether or not the bike you're riding is really the right size for your body!
WHAT: Bike Fit 101
WHEN: Tuesday, November 25, 6:30pm-8pm
WHERE: Gladys Bikes
HOW: This event is limited to the first ten people who RSVP to hello@gladysbikes.com. This will be a hands on event, so BYOB -- bring your own bike, that is.
COST: FREE
