February 22, 2023 - (Portland, OR) Clever Cycles was one of the early pioneers of bringing the best of Europe to the USA becoming Portland’s first Dutch city bike and bakfiets dealer, and it largest bicycle shop devoted entirely to bicycles as primary transportation over 15 years ago. Their passion for cycling was a perfect match for a city that earned the moniker “America’s biking capital” with over 150 miles of bike lanes, 85 miles of bike paths, and nearly 7,000 publicly-installed bike racks.
Along the way Clever Cycles was named Best Urban Bike Shop in the USA by Bicycle Retailer and Industry News and we caught with owners Dean Mullin and Eva Frazier for the inside scoop on the storied past, present and future of one of the most innovative bike shops going.
Please give us a brief history of Clever Cycles.
CC: Clever Cycles started back in 2007 when two couples with a shared vision got together with a plan to bring practical family bikes to Portland.
We’ve heard the store was “part of a Dutch bike invasion sweeping North America”… what’s your take?
CC: Someone always has to go first. Not sure it was much of an invasion, maybe more of a failed coup attempt. With our first shipment of bakfiets, we knew there was pent up demand for something more than aluminum frame hybrids and trailers. We might still be the only bike shop putting kickstands on everything.
Were cargo bikes always part of your DNA and how were they received in Portland back in the day?
CC: We’ve always been somewhat different, and maybe even considered weird. Portland is a place that supports and encourages that – maybe you’ve seen the “Keep Portland Weird” bumper stickers. Initially there were lots of waves or bells ringing, along with ‘what the heck is that?’ Not a lot has changed since those days… riding a bakfiets is still the best way to start up a conversation with a stranger. There’s nothing more smile-inducing than kids sitting in bakfiets front cargo box.
When did Clever Cycles first start selling e-bikes/e-cargo bikes and how did customers react?
CC: We’ve been selling some version of an electric cargo bike since the beginning. Todd Fahrner, one of our original partners, brought Stokemonkey to the business: a hub motor utilized like a stoker on a tandem. The motor was centrally mounted on a longtail cargo bike to give kid-hauling parents the boost they needed. Since then, battery technology has vastly improved and integrated systems have made e-bikes and e-cargo bikes far more user-friendly. Take the analogy of setting up your own computer using DOS vs using an iPhone. Stokemonkey has gone the way of the dodo bird, but really helped get the electric cargo bike the space it deserved, as a car replacer. While there were certainly comments of “cheating” and outrageously high costs, we carried on to get where we are today.
What brands and types of e-bikes and e-cargo bikes do you currently stock?
CC: We stock electric bikes in almost all of our categories – folding, city, cargo. The brands we stock include (in alphabetical order so as not to play favourites) Benno, Brompton, Gazelle, Gocycle, Linus, Tern, Urban Arrow and Yuba.
Talk about the demographic of your customers in general and for e-bikes and cargo bikes?
CC: Our customers come in all shapes, sizes, genders, and ages and that’s just how we like it. Our e-cargo bikes are going home with lots of families that live in the Portland area. They see other parents in the pickup line at school, strike up a conversation, then they come and find us.
How has the recent pandemic and resulting cycling boom impacted things?
CC: What a time we are living through. The last three years have felt like a decade. The first year was a rollercoaster, the second year was an even bigger rollercoaster, and now we just don’t know where things might be heading, or where to get off. For sure things have slowed a bit, but those first two years we were out of anything and everything we could get our hands on, and now we’re working hard to keep a good handle on inventory numbers. Aside from that we’re doing tons of maintenance to keep our existing customers happily riding.
Has it affected interest in the e-bike and cargo bike sectors of your business as well?
CC: E-bikes will change the world. Anyone out there who doubts that is living under a rock. The popularity of e-bikes and e-cargo bikes has exploded and we don’t see big contractions on the horizon. The only way we’re going to accommodate more people on our roads is smaller vehicles. We’ve seen countless families replace their car with a bike, so one by one, we’re evolving transportation modes.
Portland has won awards and is known for its robust cycling culture… why does cycling click there?
CC: We’ve had a long history of visionary mayors (RIP Vera Katz), politicians, and activists that have helped Portland progress to become the city it is today. Along with that, we have fun. Every Thursday night rain or shine there’s TNR, something akin to Critical Mass. From June to August, we have Pedalpalooza, which is an endless array of themed bike rides throughout the city. Portland has bike lanes, bike boulevards, three bridges that are exclusively for pedestrians and bikers, and a bike share program. There are advocacy groups dedicated to the cause, and multiple non-profits centered around bicycles. Certainly it could always be better and safer, but we really do love bicycles here.
Clever Cycles has also won awards…what are you most proud of over the years?
CC: We’re probably most proud of still being here. So many shops and restaurants have closed in the last few years, but we persist. Not only do we persist, but we’re doing more volume with a bigger staff than we’ve ever had before. The awards are nice, but we’re not here for that, we’re here for the smiles on the faces of kids when they get their first pedal bike, or a mom that can leave the stress of driving in the past.
It must be tough and inspiring to run a bike shop in such a progressive cycling city as Portland.
CC: The last few years have been a perfect storm of exhilaration and exhaustion. There’s no way around the ups and downs of running a business, but if you’re doing something you truly believe in, you can always push past the hard days.
What’s it going to take to get the E-Bike Act passed in the USA as incentives work?
CC: A squeaky wheel gets the grease. We will continue to squeak until those in power either turn their hearing aids off, or start to listen.
What do you ride?
CC: Bicycles of course! Right now, I only have two working bicycles. One is a freshly built step-through Velo Orange Polyvalent built up with SON dynamo lighting, 1×11 SRAM gripshift, thru-axles, TRP Spyre disc brakes, and a nice little Carradice saddle bag for the daily commute. The second is my trusty Brompton – sort of a hodgepodge of abandoned or scavenged parts from the shop. It’s a 2-speed with dynamo lighting. Practical and light (pun intended). This is my travel bike, as it folds up into a nice little square and is easy to toss in the back of a car, carry into a restaurant, or put in the overhead bin on an airplane.
Anything you’d like to add… ?
CC: Thanks for advancing the cause of e-bikes. The more people we can get riding bikes, the better this world will be. We also like to encourage more women to consider getting into the cycling game as it’s very rewarding and there’s never a lineup for the washroom.
Thanks for your time and all the best.
CC: Thanks as well
Read more about Clever Cycles here.
Read more about Portland here.
