Denver Bicycle

 by The Colfax Rover

Located on the southeast corner of Locust Street and Colfax Avenue is an Ace Hardware store owned by Bob Elb. So, what's so unusual about that, you might be asking. But if you'll head to the back of the store and climb the well-worn stairs, you'll find an A-1 bike repair shop known as DENVER BICYCLE. Not only is there a stock of Power Bars, Endurance Gel, bikes, helmets, tools and FBI socks ("Dopers Suck" woven into the ankle top), but you can watch TV while you wait in big, comfy leather easy chairs for your repair to be completed (if it's not too complicated and needs to be put on the waiting list).

 Altogether, the able staff of Chris, Matt, Eric and Fritz have fifty years of biking experience and are uber knowledgeable about bikes, wheels, brakes, derailleurs, you name it. The shop has seen many incarnations, starting with the name Heritage in the early sixties. This generation of the store is five years old and so well loved that it should be around for a long time to come. If you long for the good old days of small, neighborhood hardware stores where you can find a nut, bolt, screw or a nail which you can buy one at a time and where the staff is laid back yet helpful, and if you love the notion of a friendly neighborhood bike shop with pro-level service, try Denver Bicycle on the second floor of Ace Hardware (voted Best Bike Shop Above a Hardware Store in Westword, 2007).