The 1948-vintage building at 1715 E. Evans Ave. has been a bike store since the 1970s. Photo: Richard Chapman
The marquee in front of the old Denver Spoke building on East Evans Avenue has changed, but the shop’s affection for bicycles hasn’t gone anywhere.
The decades-old purveyor of pedal power is reopening under new management and with a new theme. Even a new name — City Velo.
“It will be different in that it’ll be more of a high-end bicycle store,” says manager Dennis Fresquez. “We will have bikes from about $300–$800 but only a handful. We’re going to focus on about $1,600 and up.”
That’s what riding enthusiasts want, Fresquez believes. He expects his customers to be working people who love to ride for fun or to get in shape and who train for organized rides such as the MS 150, Ride the Rockies or Tour of Colorado.
“It’s aimed at professional men and women, not professional cyclists,” he says.
That’s one reason City Velo will be a build-to-order shop, assembling bikes that are a match for the rider based on scores of criteria.
“I am arguably the best bike-fitter in Colorado,” Fresquez says. “And for the people we’re going after — male and female — the bike-fit is almost more important than the product.”
Fresquez’s secret is half art, half science — a blend of experience and careful quizzing of the customer to help decide everything from which tires are best to what kind of handlebar tape to use.
“I’ve never gotten a bike back in 18 years as a bike-fitter,” he says proudly.
City Velo — at 1715 E. Evans Ave., a half block west of Williams Street on the north side — will be a full-service store but have limited inventory.
“We’re not going to stack it from wall to wall,” Fresquez says. Nor will they work on just anything you can pedal. “We’ll fix everything except department store bicycles.”
Instead, City Velo’s emphasis will be on European road bikes — Pinarello, Eddy Merckx, Colnago and Cyfac — and domestic mountain bikes yet to be determined.
“What’s going to set our store apart is our product selection. There aren’t very many places in the country where you can ride all of those brands under one roof. Especially in a retail store,” Fresquez says.
City Velo will be open 11 a.m.–7 p.m. Mon.–Fri. and 10 a.m.–6 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information, visit www.city-velo.com or call 303-954-9110.