How to Find a Bike Part in Boulder, Colorado
In this list of 50-ish Boulder Bike Shops, only 8-12 are legitimately called “A Bike Shop in Boulder.” This list would better be called “Boulder Bike Businesses and Organizations”. However, the idea of this web page is to pull-in every Potential Bike Part Resource in town and place them all in one place.
For a listing of bike parts at Standard Bike Repair, click here.
Infinite Bike Parts, We Need One. Where do we go?
As a cyclist, if you need a bike part, you do not need to go online. Boulder has thousands of bike parts in town between the various bike related business, libraries online and cyclist’s garages.
A few bike shops show inventory on their website. Most bike shops who deal primarily locally think that it is too much time to post their stock online. It takes a lot of labor and upkeep. For those bike shops, calling, emailing or visiting can answer your parts availability question.
One time, Ryan had to visit the Cycle Analyst in Denver for a French threaded bottom bracket. For most of the parts that he uses in standard repairs, he sources from J&B Importers, a bicycle part distributor to independent shops, in Englewood.
Sometimes things like Rock Shox dampening systems from 1995 are found online. No matter how big or extensive Boulder’s part inventory is, there still might be cause to order a bike part from the world wide web.
However, the outdated shock parts might have been available and Ryan did not know it. It could have been in someone’s garage who did not have it for sale on craigslist or one of the bike shops not typically known for having that part.
Since most local bike shops do not have their inventory online, it takes phone calls or emails to the specific shop to find that part. Since that is time consuming and most bike stores aim for a general section of the market, it is easy to rule out those that do not cater to the suspension market.
It would be great if there was a public library online with a one-stop shop for every bike part in Boulder. It would look like a spreadsheet with specs, brands and a search function. Part of the problem in getting such a system uploaded is getting all the shops to buy into it. That could be solved with bad ass technology that makes it easy to upload their files of bike parts without having to re-enter them. It would require the code to be able to adapt to the various POS systems and inventory management software out there. Ultimately, the shops would sell more parts and the customers would be more apt to buy local. Plus it saves time if you factor out delivery.
Knowing which Resource Start With
The list of bike related organizations about 60 deep. Almost any cycling need that you have will be available. Most people using this list will want a Bike Part, Bicycle, or a Group to Ride With.
Places with Online In-Boulder Inventory
Do you need a Specific Bike Part? It is probably in town. You can call all over town. Shortening the list of places that sell bike parts to the Probably and Maybe Groups is a mental exercise. Actually calling two dozen places is worse. There is no Bike Part Library that catalogues Everybody’s Bike Parts in Town.
A Boulder based shop with an online inventory can save a phone call. It is possible to accidentally find it online if they somehow rose above the Sea of Scrapers, tagged and detailed the photo. Some day, we may all get together and freely post our items online. It would give consumers a chance to go to one place. Businesses will sell more. We need the technology and host. It could be as simple as an Edited by Community of Bike Part Sellers in Boulder Google Spreadsheet. Taking inventory of everything we have is a Great Time Spender. It is a conscious and resource-led decision to track all inventory.
The Boulder Dealers inside the city that put All of Their Bike Parts Online is a Great Resource. They are Pro’s Closet, Excel Sports, The Gear Movement and Wheels Manufacturing.
The places that don’t sell a significant amount of parts online, thus only have a store for token items or Store-Branded Paraphernalia are Almost Useless. If you need a specific bike part, call them.
Used Parts Bins
Besides, the random guy or bike part dealer selling parts on Craig’s List, there are places in town with Used Part Bins, Hundreds of New Parts, and People to Answer the Phone. There are twenty plus brick and storefront bike shops with new parts and salespeople. Most of the time, most of the shops will answer any questions about a piece of inventory they could sell if it is the right one for you.
Used Part bin options: Boulder Sports Recycler, Community Cycles, and Standard Bike Repair. For used part bin options, it is more difficult to stop our day for a single ten dollar used part. It doesn’t hurt to call, but if you truly want the perfect price at less than brand new, then a visit means all the world. We are happy to let you browse the variety of metal bike parts that seemingly last forever.
Bike frames and bike parts last forever. I have never seen a steel, aluminum or carbon frame completely dissolve and disappear over time.
Maybe in millions of years, your bike will no longer look like a bike. Bike last till the sun blows up.
Google, Bing and Everywhere Online
There are thousands of internet sites to buy bike parts. Every time, we shop online, the idea of Wow-Didn’t-Know-They-Exist happens.
I need a bike part and I want to support a local business. But they don’t have it in stock.
That is okay. They will be happy to order it for you from their bike part distributor. A lot of them are willing to match the price you found online. It will take a few days, but more of the sale stays local. You may get to know the mechanic or salesperson better, and the business gets a chance to sell you something. Who likes buying online anyway? It is all so impersonal and the Game of Will My Bike Part Show Up Begins.
This List is Great, but It Needs More
The following questions are still unanswered
What are the 20+ Bike Shops in Town?
What stores have online stores, but not their whole inventory?
I am an X-Caliber Rider, how can I find a Group?
I want to build a custom bicycle. What are my options?
I want a map of they city. Where do I go? Now that stretches of Boulder Creek resemble a river, it makes getting around town harder.
Bike Shops That Offer Repair Services
- Boulder Cycle Sport
- Full Cycle
- LTD Cycleworx
- Sports Garage
- Trek Store of Colorado
- University Bikes
- Vecchio’s
Bike Event Calendars
- Beti Bike Bash
- Boulder Bicycle Swap
- Boulder Cycle Sport’s Cyclocross Calendar
- Boulder Cycling Clubs Weekly Rides
- Happy Thursday Bike Rides (on Thursdays: starting points unknown)
- Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance Rides and Social Events
- Bicycle Village Weekly Saturday Rides
- Full Cycle’s Venus de Miles Rides
Bicycle Advocacy Groups
All of us.
Non-Profit Bicycle Advocacy Groups
Bike Clubs
Places to Rent a Bike
- Boulder B-cycle
- Boulder Bikesmith
- Boulder Bike Tours
- Boulder Cycle Sport
- Bicycle Village
- Full Cycle
- University Cycles
Places to Buy a New Bike Part
Places to Buy a Used Bike Part
Places to get a Bike Frame
- Boulder Bicycle Swap
- Rene Hearse Boulder Bicycle
- Standard Bike Repair
Internet Only Stores
Guided Bike Tours
- Boulder Bike Tours
- Boulder Cycling Club
- Standard Bike Repair
Bike Shops Have Many New Bikes on the Shop Floor
About and Service Guarantee Pages
- Boulder Cycle Sport’s Policies on Tubeless Tire Repair
- Boulder Mountain Bike
- Boulder Sports Recycler
- Rene Herse Boulder Bicycle
- Full Cycle
- Pro’s Closet
- U-Bikes
Bike Shops that Offer Custom Bikes
Cycling News Agencies and Links
- Boulder Cycling Club’s News Feed
- Boulder Mountain Bike Club’s Press Releases
- VeloNews
Blogs Based from Boulder
Information on Area Trails
- Boulder Bikesmith’s List of Fun MTB Loops
- Boulder Mountain Bike Club’s Incredibly MTB-Only Trails
- Full Cycle’s List of Road and Mountain Rides
Consignment Options
Places to Buy a Used Bike
- Community Cycles
- Pro’s Closet
- Standard Bike Repair
- Craigslist
Cycling Related Jobs
Bikes & Beer Events
Bike Maintenance Classes and Workshops
- Watch/Help/Learn by Standard Bike Repair
- Maintenance Class Series by Full Cycle (usually offered in the Fall; call Full Cycle for info.)
Places to Get your Bike Fitted
- Full Cycle
- Colby Pearce Fitting
- University Bikes
- Vecchio’s
Women Only Events, Rides and Services
- Full Cycle’s Venus de Miles
Coaching for Bike Riders
Custom Wheel Building
- Vecchio’s
- University Bikes
Carbon Frame Experts
Cycling Apparel Manufacturers
Complete List of All Bike Service, Component, Apparel, and Organizations in Boulder, Colorado
- Beti Bike Bash
- Rene Herse Boulder Bicycle
- Beti Bike Bash
- Boulder B-cycle
- Boulder Bikesmith
- Boulder Bike Tours
- Boulder Cycle Sport
- Boulder Cycling Club
- Boulder Happy Thursday Cruiser Ride
- Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance
- Boulder Sports Recycler
- Campus Cruisers Bicycles
- Colby Pearce Fitting
- Colorado Brevet Series 2013
- Colorado Multisport
- Community Cycles
- Cycling Technology
- Dave Phinney Foundation
- Excel Sports
- FasCat Coaching
- Girl Bike Love
- Go Boulder
- Dirt Labs
- The Fix Bikes
- Full Cycle
- Green Guru
- International Mountain Bicycle Association
- James Frames
- Louisville Cyclery
- LTD Cycleworx
- Mosaic Cycling
- Optibike
- Panache Cyclewear Co.
- Pearl Izumi
- Performance Bike
- PreRace.com
- The Pro’s Closet
- Rene Hearse Boulder Bicycle
- Retul
- REI
- Rocky Mountain Cycling Club Events
- Sports Garage
- Standard Bike Repair
- Strider
- 303 Cycling.com
- Trek Bicycle Store
- University Bicycles
- University of Colorado Bike Station
- Vecchio’s Biciclettaria
- VeloNews
- Venus de Miles Women’s Cycling Club
- Wheels Manufacturing
- Zinn Cycles
