In honor of National Bike Month, SLUG interviewed some of our favorite local bike mechanics to give us the scoop on their respective shops, and inspire you to pull out your own set of wheels and join them on the road. Read on for interviews with Jace Burbidge of the Bicycle Collective, Mark Polichette of Sport Chalet, Chris Ginzton of Cyclesmith and Lindsey Howard of Saturday Cycles.

Wrenching It Out: Local Bike Mechanics

By
May 3, 2012

Bike / BMX

Chris Ginzton
Cyclesmith
Cyclesmithutah.com

SLUG: How did you get into bicycles?
Ginzton: I grew up an Idaho redneck and I used to ride motocross bikes every day … Around middle school, my brother took me on a mountain bike ride and I was hooked.

SLUG: How did you become a bicycle mechanic?
Ginzton: I used to fix my motorcycles when they broke down. Similarly, when I started racing mountain bikes, I began working on my bikes as they broke. The team I raced for at the time was based around a bike shop in my hometown, and the owner of the bike shop offered me a job when I was 15. I’ve been working in bike shops ever since.

SLUG: Why Cyclesmith?
Ginzton: I love Cyclesmith because we don’t have any attitude and we don’t judge you for what clothes you wear or what bike you ride … We are just stoked that you ride!  

SLUG: Favorite part of being a bike mechanic?
Ginzton: I love how enabling bikes are and that I can help people discover that fact. I also love helping someone to build up their dream bike and geeking out about the smallest details in the build.

SLUG: What’s the best kind of bike to work on?
Ginzton: The best kind of bike to work on is the old, beat up, abused bike that should have died 15 years ago, but is still barely holding on to life. I love giving those bikes a second (sometimes third, fourth or fifth) chance at life.

SLUG: Any crazy shop stories?
Ginzton: I had a mishap while I was setting up a mountain bike wheel/tire for tubeless. You use liquid latex for the sealant and it’s this milky white fluid that fills all of the holes and gaps in the rim and tire and helps keep the tire airtight. I carelessly inflated the wheel and I was holding it in my hand when the tire exploded off of the rim. I coated the entire shop area with that nasty, milky, white solution and my hand was numb for an hour.