As you can see from looking at our Labor Rates section, we do many types of minor frame repair and modification, though we prefer to leave major repairs, such as frame tube replacement, to the many excellent frame building shops in the area.

We have a large stock of used and vintage parts, and we can usually find what your older machine needs to keep it running in this age of immediate obselesence and trendy technology. While it is not possible at this time to catalog the parts we have, we will be happy to look if you call to tell us what you need.

We also have the expertise and experience to service most vintage cycles, and we are undaunted by the prospect of overhauling outdated hub brakes or internal gears. New  Departure, Morrow, Bendix, Sachs, and Sturmey-Archer are all names we know and love, and deal with on a routine basis.

Besides renovating vintage hubs with internal mechanisms, we are also fully versed in the intracacies of most of the more modern internally geared hubs. There are now a wide variety of 3 speed, 5 speed, 7 speed, and even  12 or 14 speed hubs available from Sturmey-Archere, Sram, Roloff, and others. We have installed many of these hubs on a wide variety of bicycles, and have no problem overhauling them.

We welcome custom jobs, and have created quite a few innovative vehicles to solve  unusual transportation problems. We have build bikes with full braking and  shifting functions for customers who have fewer fingers or hands than most of us. We developed a self stabilizing outrigger system so that a customer  with no balance could ride a bike that would still fit into the trunk of his car.  We have engineered and installed various distinctive cargo hauling systems, including extreme trailer applications and frame mounted baskets. We are always interested in finding new solutions to unusual problems.

Ordinary problems sometimes call for interesting solutions, as  well. We have wide experience in finding obscure parts for bikes that have been abandoned by the mainstream. We have access to a greater variety of sources than most shops, and we do not hesitate to research. While we cannot  guarantee to find what you need, we can promise to search thoroughly. Often, if our search is not  successful, we may be able to  adapt an existing part or even fabricate the necessary device.

Since one of our featured bike lines is a custom framebuilder, it also follows that we can fit you to your bike, whether custom or stock. Several of our staff have had many years of experience fitting bikes to riders, and  we have worked with enough of the  official codified fitting systems to realize their limitations. In  addition to relating your crucial measurements to these of the bike, we also emphasize the importance of individual preference and physiology. Not everyone needs to be in the classic "perfect" riding position, and we are happy to work with you to find your personal and unique ideal posture.

Finally, this brief  description of our special services would be incomplete without mention of two devices not likely to be found anywhere else: the Brake  Director and the 2 speed Fixed Gear hub.

The Brake Director was not developed at the Bikesmith, but was invented by David Hawkins and David Krafchick. David Hawkins is one of the most widely experienced people in the bicycle  industry, and our top mechanic. The Brake Director is a modulation device that allows the activation of two or more brakes by the use of one lever. In contrast to levers which simply pull two cables, the Brake Director alters the leverage of whatever brake lever is chosen to give the maximum possible braking power without the use of excessive hand force. The response of the two brakes is automatically balanced, as well, so the both wheels are always  braked evenly. The Brake Directory is not yet in production, but David has laboriously handcrafted several for those who need them.

The two speed fixed gear hub was developed at the Bikesmith, and is the  result of almost a year of  competetive collaboration between three of our mechanics. As anyone who has ridden a fixed gear bike knows, they work best on level terrain, as there are no alternative gears. As anyone who has seen Seattle knows, many of the roads here are on an incline. To resolve this conflict, we offer a specially modified coaster brake hub which gives two truly fixed gears that can be shifted on the fly, using the shift lever of your choice. The hub has an 18 tooth cog which is not interchangeable, and the higher of the  two gears will be this  cog in combination with whatever front chainring you deem appropriate. The low  gear is about 30% lower. This gives just enough hill climbing ability to make the fixed gear bike truly practical in varied terrain. 

If you have a problem no one else has been able to solve, let us try. We may need to refer you to someone more specialized than we, but we are committed to helping you fulfill your  wildest cycling dreams.