Oregon Bike Shop #1 - Hutch's Bicycles, Eugene

Of course, I had a chance to stop in and gather a little bit of bike-shop dirt under my nails, while on vacation in Oregon. I don't go anywhere without hitting a few local shops, that is unless I'm locked in irons...

...again.

Erm, never mind.

First stop!...Hutch's Bicycles in Eugene. Dig the 70s wood!

Co-motion Tandems with S&S Couplers

Cargo Bikes. They were also selling small children. Must be some locationally-fueled cultural connection to the Pacific Rim.

Outdoor Style! No bike rack tho...hmmmm. Didn't get the memo about Oregonians humping their bikes to sleep on cold rainy nights, maybe?

Start the grill...

Stuff!

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3 Flamers! In the shadow of Chris King...lots of Chris King stuff. I know for Oregon, King is pretty common...but for a Florida kid used to crap-shops that have to get tubes and spokes from the QBP catalog, it was good to see. The whole "Bike shop based out of the QBP catalog" thing is a massive cop-out to me. See, as a cyclists on a budget, I don't want to hear any BS about supporting the local shop, if all that really means is the shop is going to essentially MAILORDER the parts from QBP and then keystone it 100% and gouge my eyes out financially. Stock it, make the risk, and I'll give you your keystone. If you have to order everything I ask for, then you're not much of a shop. No thanks. I'll be at Pricepoint.com if you need me. So stocked parts, high and low end all over?...good job Hutch.

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Merchandising!

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4 Flamers! Glass cabinets stuffed with good quality goodies, and a wide assortment to boot. They also had a lounge area. Lounge Good. Lazy Good. Good and Lazy is Good. Mmmm good. See above "anti-QBP" diatribe.

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People!
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3 Torched Tots! I walked in, the guy said "hello, need something?" and I said "drop dead you fruit-bat!" and he left me alone. Thumbs up.

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Bikes!

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2 Poached Pinkies! Cannondales galore, which is OK I guess. Maybe a little less so now that Pacific is at the head of the New England based bike maker...and maybe a lot less so now that a slew of Creak-n-fails are made overseas. I swear, carbon crap frame sets are just an excuse to hide the fact that all these plastic piles of crap all come from some monster of an environmental nightmare bike frame pumping behemoth manufacturing facility on the banks of a chemically festering glowing river in central China. Plastic bikes are crap. Expensive plastic bikes are crap with stupid owners on board. Expensive plastic bicycles with stupid owners on board and little stickers on the seat tube with "Designed in the USA" or "assembled in the USA" printed on them are fraud. If your bike is 1500 dollars, it had better be made in the states or at least some other westernized country paying a living wage. If it aint, well, as they say..."a fool and his money are soon parted!" You on the plastic Trek = Fool!

They did have some cool Co-Motion frames and bikes, and some Big-Dummy style luggage bikes and tandems too, some with S&S couplers for travel. Very cool. Saved from a minimum score by S&S couplers.
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Atmosphere, Da Fuzzzy!

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4 Flamers! The place had rough sawn timbers on the handrails, and a crap load of heavy orange shag carpet. ANY place with orange shag carpet gets 4 flaming babies, period. The place could have been stuffed to the fury-pits with Roadmaster bicycles and Target branded helmets, and still with shag carpets I'd give up the 4 flamers. Also, the walls are rimmed with 9000 plastic water bottles from all over. Woo!
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Tally!

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3 Torched Tots! Not a bad shop. I'm not sure exactly how they can brag about being in business since 1927. Most no-risk business models can stay open like this, so where's the cheese, please? At any rate... Need a bike part? They got you covered. Need to bask in the warm glow of the cycling community until your American Express chews its way out of your money clip under its own power and rings up a bill big enough to send your FICO score plummeting into the low 500s?...Keep looking. Free Chris King stickers tho. I dig free.

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All and all, nothing shockingly delicious, yet not nauseatingly failing either. An Oregonian Standard.

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Hutch's Bicycles

960 Charnelton St

Eugene, OR 97401

(541) 345-7521