Frame Builder or very traditional bike shop in Santa Clara or San Mateo counties?

[Drew Saunders]

Long story short: my 1999 match-built (yes, it was lower case "m") Rivendell Road needs a new headset. I tried to install one (two actually, that's a story of frustration and sunk cost) but I need a few more threads on the steerer tube to get this one to tighten down sufficiently, unless I want to keep hunting for a headset that has a taller crown race. I also need the existing threads chased even if I could find a headset that would work with the fork as it is. 1" threaded, of course.

I tried Palo Alto Bikes, and the guy says he may not even know where their steerer tube cutting tool is. They have the fork now, but if they can't find the tool, then I'm out of luck. 

I would have used Wheelsmith in the past, but they're long gone. As is Cupertino Bike Shop, George Slough, etc. 

If PAB gives up on this job, and since it's not a new $15,000 carpet fiber wünder-bike for a Silicon Valley Techbro, I can see why it's low priority, I'll have to try someone else. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Drew

[Drew Saunders]

It turns out Velotech, the tiny rather boutique bike shop in Palo Alto, has the tool and knows how to use it! Sadly, they're booked through the new year. Anyway, assuming there's at least one person who needs this info, I'll reply once it's all done, with photos!

Drew

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[Guy Jett]

You might also try Bernie Mikkelsen in Alameda.  He just repaired a broken rear dropout for me (didn't replace).  He even had to deal with a "new to him" problem where I had previously repaired the dropout with a brass brazing (lasted 45 years).  It apparently reacted to the very high heat he uses when doing his repairs with stainless steel.  I'm really happy with what he did.  (Bernie was recommended to me by Grant Peterson.)  

He's going to respace a Bianchi rear triangle for a neighbor after the first.  (So it looks like he's also booked through the New Year and it's a bit farther away for you.  I'm in Martinez.)

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[Menos Joven]

Dale Saso of San Jose did lots of mods on my Phil Fisher including repair of my fork bent in a collision with a car. Not sure if he is still doing this or fully occupied with long time passion he calls a bicycle truck and busy with http://bakerebikes.com/about.html. I mention because of personal experience and he’s inSan Jose. If he wasn’t available, I would’ve gone with Bernie Mikkelsen.

[Piaw Na]

Wheelsmith was owned by the same family as Palo Alto Bicycles (who now also own Bicycle Outfitter). I'm surprised Velotech is fully booked now. They built my wife's Montebello last month, and when I called around they were the only shop with availability within the week. You may want to try Walt's in Sunnyvale, but they were also pretty booked when I checked. My brother's bike with a 1" steerer tube was built by Fitz, but they're a long drive.

[Drew Saunders]

Piaw,

I think Velotech is booked up (2 bike builds) for the remaining 2 days of this week before they take next week off for Christmas present bikes. Hopefully he has a free half hour between those other customers to work on my fork. I had forgotten that Fitz was up in Santa Rosa, which is a bit far for me (chemo brain makes long drives difficult), but I'll definitely keep that in mind should I ever get a garage and can therefore have space for more bikes!

Thanks everyone for your recommendations.

Drew

[Greg J]

It's a sad day when you can't find a shop with a 1" headset threading tool in a bikey town like Palo Alto (although I guess they're all high end bikes now down there). Some ideas:

• try the Stanford campus bike shop?
• There's a nonprofit that reconditions and sells donated bikes in EPA 
• +1 to Bernie Mikkelson
• also in the East Bay:  I would try Pioneer Bike Shop (Oakland) or Blue Heron (Berkeley). 

Greg

[Kim H.]

Hi Piaw,

I remember those bicycle shops very vividly, The Wheelsmith, Palo Alto Bike Shop and Bicycle Outfitters in Los Altos back in the early 70's. There were many others that I visited faithfully four or five times a week from MountainView, Los Altos, Palo Alto, Cupertino, when bicycle shops popped up when the "bicycle boom" was nationwide like barista coffee shops in recent years. Those were the days. Life was very good. 

I eventually bought my 1973 Cilo Sprintx road bike from Bayshore Bicycle Works for $379.00 replacing my $100.00 Batavus 10 speed bike. I converted the Cilo into a sports touring bicycle. I rode it thousands of miles. I loved all of my every road adventures filled with wonderful memories looking back. 

I moved up here to Washington state and rode it until 2011, when I retired the bike. After several bikes, I wound up buying a Clem Smith Jr L bicycle as my retirement bicycle. 

Happy.

Kim Hetzel. 

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[Eric Liu]

Chain Reaction in Redwood CIty has been around for ages, though I haven't been by in decades.  My memories are of the Chain Reaction that was located on the east side of ECR - an old blog I found listed the address as 1451 El Camino Real, whereas now they are at 1680 El Camino Real.  Worth a try?

Eric Liu
SF, CA

[ly29]

The old building was scraped in the name of “development.” The new Chain Reaction location is the former Aaron Brothers Art Mart property. Still run by Mike J.; I was there a few months ago.

The light within me honors the light within you!

"I'd put my money on solar energy... I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that."
-Thomas Edison, in conversation with Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone, March 1931

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[Guy Jett]

This thread also brings back memories for me.  Some 45 years ago I bought and built up a Holdsworth Mixte from Cupertino Bike for my now 40-years ago ex.  From our daughter I understand she still rides it.  An absolutely beautiful bicycle, but OMG, what a stiff rear triangle!  Whether it makes it back to England when my ex moves there next year, I don't know.

G.A.Jett

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[Kim H.]

@Guy,

Was Spence Wolf managing as  the owner of the Cupertino Bike Shop when you bought your Holdsworth mixte  ?

Perhaps not. I remember it being the Bicycle Tree. There was an actual section of an old tree with a bicycle embedded into it. Thus the given name. 

Bill Stevenson was an apprentice under Spence in frame building. Bill moved up here in Olympia, Washington. Both he and his son Sean have been making custom framesets by the name of Stevenson Cycles.

Unfortunately, Bill has grown older in his late 70's and doesn't frequent his Deschutes River Cyclery much to the best of my knowledge. 

Kim Hetzel. 

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[Guy Jett]

Kim,

The Spence Wolf name rings a very distant bell, so it's possible. I also frequented PAB, and visited Wheelsmith a time or two. 

G.A.Jett

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[Kim H.]

@Guy,

I could not find any information on the internet about The Bicycle Tree bicycle shop in Cupertino, California, just referrence to the Cupertino Bike Shop. I remember vividly visiting The Bicycle Tree bicycle shop on numerous occasions.

At any rate, there is mention of Spence Wolf and quite a rich and notable background on the Cupertino Bike Shop in the 70s. 

https://wp.me/P2U57z-2

Kim Hetzel. 

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[chrisd]

I bought and still have a Holdsworth road bike from Terry Shaw in San Jose in the 80s. After getting a Rambouillet I converted the Holdsworth to a fixie since it had horizontal dropouts.

I did have the derailer hanger crack but Riv sent it to a builder in Sacto to rebraze it (no charge)

Chris

[Piaw Na(藍俊彪)]

On Mon, Dec 22, 2025 at 7:20 AM 'chrisd' via RBW Owners Bunch <rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

I bought and still have a Holdsworth road bike from Terry Shaw in San Jose in the 80s. After getting a Rambouillet I converted the Holdsworth to a fixie since it had horizontal dropouts.

Terry (his shop was called "Shaw's Lightweight Cycles") was the best bike fitter in the valley. One of my co-workers went to him, he set her down on the bike and then said: "when you were growing up you had this syndrome where your thigh grew faster than your shins." Her jaw dropped. Another co-worker visited him and he put him on the bike and then said: "one of your parents is Asian and the other is Caucasian." His jaw dropped. 

He retired when his heart problems forced him to get a transplant and he had to be on immune suppressant His only employee at that time (Jerry) now works at the Bicycle Outfitter.. I asked him who would do a good job fitting my wife and his response was: "Wade Hall, Spokesman Cycles, Santa Cruz." After my wife got fitted on her Road Logic she put 8000 miles on it in 18 months. I've sent a few other folks his way and they all came back satisfied.

[Drew Saunders]

I got a call from Velotech late yesterday afternoon that the fork was done! I misunderstood the days that they'd be out for the holidays, they're taking tomorrow through January 1st off. I picked it up this morning, and, since there was sunshine (it was expected to rain all day), I could set up my stand in my little back "yard" and finish the job. Tom at Velotech did a great job cutting new threads and chasing the somewhat munged old ones! $25! 

As promised, pics: Starting with it in my stand in my little back yard (yeah, some day I'll have a garage...)

Much time passed, and here are the fresh threads cut on the steerer tube (I had already whomped the crown race on):

And, finally, the Tange/IRD headset from Riv, plus the Crane spacer bell, all done: 

A quick trip around the neighborhood (after some brake adjusting, etc.) and it handles better than it has in years! 

Drew

[Josiah Anderson]

I'm glad they were able to get it done, and the bike looks great. I will say that the very long threaded section of steerer with all those spacers makes me a little nervous. The stem wedge could end up in the threads; they go much farther down than Nitto would've anticipated when they marked the minimum insertion line. As long as you check that the stem wedge is well below the threaded section, it'll be fine, just don't forget and raise it up to the line. 

Josiah Anderson 

Tacoma WA 

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[Drew Saunders]

Josiah,

That's as far as the stem goes before it stops, and it's also the perfect position for me, with the handlebars level with the saddle. The minimum line is well buried. This frame was built long before upswept top tubes and longer head tubes, so that's how I get the handlebars where I want them.

Drew