In the basement of a brick building on East Main Street in Chattanooga, a new community bike shop is set to open Saturday.
Two Bikes Chattanooga, a nonprofit, plans to offer lower-cost refurbished bikes for sale, bike repairs and a community work bench where people can come work on their rides for free.
The organization will also refurbish donated bikes to donate to other nonprofit groups, including La Paz, the Chatt Foundation and the White Oak Bicycle Co-op in Red Bank.
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Founder Mitchell Connell moved to Chattanooga last year after starting the first Two Bikes location in 2021 in Knoxville's Old City. This shop will be a kind of test to see if the model could work in other cities, he said.
"You have to physically be here to build trust within the community," Connell said in an interview Thursday.
The organization's mission is to donate at least one bike for each one sold, Connell said, though in Knoxville, Two Bikes has donated significantly more than it's sold.
The shop relies on donations from individuals and bike drives, like one at Unum and one planned with the Chattanooga Football Club, to bring in bikes they can fix up to sell or donate, he said.
"If people want to support the work that we're doing, the best way to do it is to bring that dusty bike in your garage down," Connell said. "Putting more bikes in our pipeline is like rocket fuel for our organization."
After its opening, the shop plans to be open noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, Connell said.
If you go
What: Two Bikes Chattanooga opening.
When: Noon to 6 p.m. Saturday. A 7.8-mile group ride with Strong Chattanooga is set to start at 6:15 p.m. and end at Lo Main.
Where: 1810 E Main St., Suite 100 on the lower level.
Website: twobikeschattanooga.com.
Transportation
Connell said there's a need for bikes to be used as transportation in Chattanooga. For example, some people may be deterred by the cost of a $1,200 bike, but could swing a $400 one to use to get around.
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"Affordable bikes for people who can afford that," he said. "If not, free bikes."
The magic of Two Bikes is that it feels more like community than charity, Jon Jon Wesolowski, co-founder of the Chattanooga Urbanist Society, said. Walking in the shop feels more accessible than going to a traditional bike shop that will charge hundreds for repairs, he said after attending the shop's soft opening this week.
There tends to be two extremes in Chattanooga's bike community, Wesolowski said — enthusiasts and people who have no other options for transportation.
"What I see this space doing is serving that middle crowd," he said by phone, "who ride their bike often but are not mechanically minded. I see it serving as a gateway for people to cycling as a legitimate form of transportation, and giving young people autonomy to get around town."
There's high demand among Chattanooga's growing Guatemalan immigrant population, Connell said. Finding reliable transportation can be tough, especially for unauthorized immigrants, Connell said.
"There's such a hub, such a strong community right here," Connell said of the Highland Park location.
To encourage more people to use bikes for transportation in Chattanooga, Connell said he'd like to see more bike-centric infrastructure, like separated or raised lanes, and continuity between existing lanes.
"East Main is a great example of that," he said. "You see a lot of bike ridership down that road, but it's really lacking a nice piece of bike infrastructure to make people feel comfortable. If you want people to ride a bike in the city, you need to think about infrastructure for your child or your grandmother."
A plan to redesign Frazier Avenue in North Chattanooga, which will include a dedicated bike and pedestrian lane, is a good start, he said.
Workforce development
Eventually, Connell said he plans to start a workforce development program at the shop, like a program at the Knoxville location that trains high school students to work as bike mechanics.
Pharris Pollard, a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga student who participated in the Knoxville program, now works at the Chattanooga location. Working on a bike Thursday afternoon, Pollard said he likes hanging out in the shop — and the free bike parts that come with the job are a good perk, he added.
"I'm definitely looking forward to the shop opening," Pollard said in an interview.
Group rides
Connell said the shop has also been organizing group rides, and he plans to do three or four a month except in the winter. Their most popular ride so far went from the shop to the Book and Cover bookstore in North Chattanooga in February, he said.
"Most of what we do is just about trying to create a space for community to gather around casual cycling," Connell said.
Contact Ellen Gerst at egerst@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6319.