School of Bike

The tip came in over Twitter:

Spotted on Meridian near 45th in Wallingford this morning: School of Bike. #seabikes pic.twitter.com/NAvds17jY8

— M.J. (@mountaingrrrl) January 24, 2014

A new bike shop in Wallingford? Sounds worthy of an investigation!

This past Saturday, I rapped on the window of the new building at 46th and Meridian, across from Cutz, and met Cory Gassmann, proprietor of the soon-to-be-opened School of Bike.

If you’re expecting another Gregg’s Cycles, with rows and rows of Treks and Specializeds ready to roll out, don’t. The slender space Cory chose for his shop can barely fit the handful of bikes he has on display and a few work benches, but that’s by design. There will be a handful of bikes on display, mostly those he’s built for himself and his family, but the idea is for them to serve as a reference and source of ideas for custom built bikes.

And no, he won’t be building the bikes custom for you: he’ll help you build it yourself.

Yep, School of Bike.

Cory wants people to understand their bikes, so he’s offering bicycle repair classes, bike workspace rental and “build your own bike” classes that include, well, building your own bike.

For those less ambitious, he’ll also provide free (donations accepted) afternoon workshops on fixing flats, basic maintenance and the like as well as “Beer and Bike” events in partnership with local breweries and bars (Murphy’s? Octopus?).

Cory is new to Seattle, recently moved from Wisconsin, where he’s owned and operated Cory The Bike Fixer, a more traditional bike shop, for 17 years.