Ride On It

Yahoo! Was super glad slash concerned when this shop opened in Marpole: super glad because hey, I have a bike! I like having a bike shop nearby! Concerned, because, do we have the hipster population to make such a shop viable in Marpole???
My cousin and I have very insanely signed up for a sprint-​distance triathlon in the spring, which means I need to hop on my bike and train for the damn thing. I took my bike down to the shop for a full tune up ($ 49.95). Paul did the initial examination on my bike and was great, and gave me an estimate of worst-​case-​scenario-​fixes that might need to be made (turned out none of them were, except for replacing my rusty bike chain for a whopping 20 bucks). Bike was ready in a day, although they forgot to call me to come pick it up, so I ended up picking it up after a few days.
When I went to pick it up, I ended up in some random conversation with Paul and another customer in the shop, about life, dating, Marpole, the election — you name it — that we all agreed was the weirdest conversation we’ve ever had in a bike shop. But it was kind of cool that Ride On was a sort of hub for us (pun not intended) to meet and have a chat. That’s what builds a neighbourhood. That’s community. I like it!

I’ve been a big fan of Ride On esp in the late 90’s at their broadway location in my BMX hay days. It surprised me to see a new Ride On in Marpole so I had to take a peak.
The bike selection is more targeted to the commuter and childern bike, demographic. The staff are chilled out, knowledgable, and are great bike problem solvers. I rolled in to grab a couple of cable ends that I misplaced while working on my new derailleurs. The guy just gave it to for free. I love small community based bike shops! Ride On still lives up to it’s great community bike store culture. I’ll definitely be back to get my wheel trued. Cuz you know; for me truing a wheel takes up a bit of Gandalf magic wizardry.
P. S. ask for good guy Paul.

I’ve didn’t buy a bike, but I’m excited they’re here. The store is large and there is a lot of stock on display. They’re right on Granville Street at 71^st, beside the new location of Granville Island Toy Company. Marpole is perfectly situated to be a bicycle area – lots of pathways and parks along the riverfront.