Welcome to Golden Pliers

What if a bike shop could feel cozy or welcoming the way a bar, café, or a record store does?

We all want a comfortable place to call home. We hope Golden Pliers will feel as comfy and welcoming to our neighbors as a backyard bonfire, a well-worn sweater, a bartender who knows your "usual." We provide quality bicycle repair, parts, outdoor gear and accessories handpicked from our favorite makers, and go-to tasty snacks. We hope to inspire others to seek the freedom and joy that a bicycle brings.

We are located on the stolen ancestral lands of the Clackamas, Cowlitz, and Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde-including Atfalati, Multnomah, Kalapuya, Yamhill and many other bands and tribes. As we reside, work and ride here, we acknowledge our trespasses and respect the original and ongoing stewards of these lands.

a repair-focused shop

The name “Golden Pliers” comes from an old story about a Super Famous Bicycle Racer from the 1950s. The racer was asked by a journalist what the key to all of their success was, and that Super Famous Bicycle Racer replied “Well, it is my mechanic of course, my Golden Pliers!” Something about that stuck with me. Bicycle mechanics don’t tend to get much credit for the work they do, and here we have this Super Famous Bicycle Racer giving all the credit to their mechanic. It felt honest and it felt right.

—Kevin Purcell, Owner & Service Manager

The Shop

You can expect to find:

• The highest quality bike service performed by a friendly veteran mechanic;

• A thoughtful collection of our favorite bike & outdoor gear;

• Art, handmade things and local products we believe in;

• Events that engage the bike community and support worthwhile causes;

• Tasty treats, packable snacks, and a variety of fun NA beverages;

• A few complete builds & choice gems from Rivendell Bicycle Works

FAQ

Do you sell bikes?

We don’t keep a floor of stocked bikes, no. (Sometimes) we can order a bike for you, build it, customize it, or order a frame and build it into your dream machine.

As of January 2020, we are Portland’s local Rivendell dealer! We’ll work closely with you to build up the steel bike of your dreams.

Why don’t you keep a stock of bikes?

So many reasons. Here are some of the main reasons:

• We want to keep our operating costs low, and a floor full of bikes requires tens of thousands of dollars, not to mention a large enough retail space to house them.

• There are always random sizes and colors left at the end of the season; the tendency in other shops might be to steer a shopper toward an unsold bike that isn’t exactly what they want or need just to get rid of it. And that’s not cool. We’d rather order what you want in your size and help you make it into your dream bike.

• Being a service-based shop keeps us in business in the age of online shopping. After all, you can’t get your fenders installed online. Not yet anyway.

• There are some really great Portland shops that do keep a floor of stock bikes, and we’re happy to refer you to them!

How do i get a custom built bike?

We’re well known for our secret spicy recipe bike builds. It’s a process that take can several months to complete. Here’s how that looks:

• Get your frame. These days (2022), we don’t have much power to order frames for you, so mostly we leave that part up to the customer.

• Get in touch to start your build process. Don’t be discouraged if it takes a week or so for us to get back to you—we’re busy! Call the shop, stop by or email to get the ball rolling.

• We’ll take a $100 deposit to start the process. There will be some email back-and-forth about how you envision your dream machine, and you can be as involved as you’d like. Some folks get way into specs, making spreadsheets and talking gear ratios, and some are just like, “make it a comfy grocery-getter,” and we can work with that, too. We’ll build a parts list and quote for you, taking into account your budget and availability of parts.

• When we have your parts list finalized, we’ll collect a deposit for the parts total and start ordering. Keep in mind some parts suppliers have lead times of several months; we’ll do our best to communicate our expected timeline throughout the process. We’ll coordinate dropping off your frame as the time nears.

• When your build is complete, we’ll collect the balance for labor (typically $300-$450). And you’ll ride that sweet dream machine into the sunset.

Do you host group rides?

Yes! The rides we (Becky & Kevin) host are infrequent, maybe a few times a year. These are social, no-drop rides. But all types of rides start or end at our shop, and we are always open to having community members organize rides and events. You can find out what’s upcoming by checking our Events page or following us on Instagram. If you’d like to organize a ride starting or ending at Golden Pliers, we’d love to have you.

Since the start of the pandemic we’ve mostly put our group rides on hold, though there are plenty of pre-ride meetups that happen at Golden Pliers.

Should I make an appointment to have my bike serviced?

It’s generally a good idea to at least give us a call. We are a small shop with one or two mechanics and sometimes we get unexpectedly swamped. Still, our turnaround is often just a few days. Scheduling your service ensures we’ll get your bike back to you in the least amount of time.

Walk-in services/things we can pretty much always do same day, often while you wait: flat fixes, shift/saddle/brake adjustments, brake pad replacement, installation of accessories (baskets, bells, cages, etc.), bar wraps, chain replacement, assessments for tuneups.

When you call or stop in to schedule bike service, there is a $40 deposit to hold your appointment. The $40 is applied to your service—essentially store credit—but if you don’t show up for your appointment, it is nonrefundable. Since we schedule staff based on how many repairs we have lined up, it’s really important for us to manage our time effectively.

What if I Can’t shop in person?

We offer a small sample of goods for purchase in our web store, available for domestic US shipping or local pickup in Portland. We always aim to keep our local in-store offerings stocked first, so if' it’s sold out online, there’s a chance we still have some in the store. Being a neighborhood bike shop will always take priority over being an online retailer.

If you’re local and looking for something specific, give us a call at 971.808.5795 during open hours. Our staff can check inventory, invoice you through email, or take credit card payment or Venmo over the phone. We can also make arrangements for contactless pickup at our storefront.

Local Pickup Policy:

If you’ve ordered online and chose “Local Pickup,” you’ll need to wait until you get an email from us letting you know your order is ready, typically within 2 work days. Please don’t come to the store before you get this email!

Pickup is at our storefront, 2905 NE Alberta Street in Portland, Oregon, during our regular business hours.

Once your order is ready, we really appreciate you coming promptly to pick it up. Our space is small, and there’s not much room for storage. We’ll email you a reminder if your order hasn’t been claimed after a few weeks, but if we don’t hear from you after 30 days, we’ll cancel the order, refund you (minus a $5 restocking fee), and put the items back in stock. Thanks for understanding that it takes a lot of time and energy on our part to manage and fulfill online orders.