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Portland Gear Hub

Portland Gear Hub

Portland's Non-Profit Bike and Outdoor Gear Shop
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  • Bikes & Gear

    Portland Gear Hub

    Operating Hours:

    Tues – Fri 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
    Saturday 10:00am – 4:00 pm

    207-761-7632

    155 Washington Ave. Portland, ME

  • Bike School

    bike school workstations

    The Portland Gear Hub’s Bike School is a dedicated education and program space located across from Kennedy Park in Portland’s East Bayside neighborhood.

    85 Anderson St., Portland, ME

    Join our newsletter to learn more about available classes, programs, and volunteer opportunities!

Getting Everybody on Bikes, Together

Did you know that with your support, over 200 people earned bikes at no cost this year? Every donation and every purchase YOU make helps us get more of our community safely out on bikes through our Bikes for All Mainers and Kids Bike Party earn-a-bike programs.

Registration for our programs will open again in spring of 2024.

Volunteer With Us

Volunteering is a great way to learn about repairing bikes and meet other bike friends! View the details and sign up for a shift here:

Volunteer Information

Open Bench Time

Open Bench Time is an all-ages drop-in program at our Bike School location to work on your own bike. Individuals work independently to repair their bike using our repair stands, benches, and tools. A staff mechanic is available for assistance and a selection of used and new parts are available for sale. A bench can be used for a maximum of 90 minutes at a time.

Open Bench Time is offered at a sliding scale with a suggested donation of $0 – $20 per session. 

More Info Here!

Tuesdays 3 – 6 PM

Fridays 3 – 6PM

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Antique of the Week rolled out with the twenty-and
Antique of the Week rolled out with the twenty-and-then-some @jessebillypilgrim 

Look at these little cuties! I love a Raleigh Folder (also known as the Raleigh 20) and these two identical root beer colored (and possibly flavored) 1975 Raleigh Folders are some of the nicest ones I have ever seen. These were pretty dusty and had layer of surface rust on all of the chrome, but with a little Simple Green and a green Scotch Brite pad these bikes are just about as shiny as they were 50ish years ago. 

I had one of these bad boys back in 2008 and I would keep it in the trunk of my 1997 Subaru Impreza. The power steering was a bit rough in the Subaru and parallel parking wasn't all that easy, so I would park at the park and ride when I came into Portland and use my Folder to get around. As an added bonus I could use it to get home if my car went kaputt. Like the ones we have here at the PGH garage, it had a three speed Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub which was just enough to get up the hills, at least for a 23 year old Jesse.

These bikes have been tuned with brand new tires and brake pads and are ready to give you years of good service. The fenders and tiny luggage rack make these bikes surprisingly useful for running errands and riding in the rain. If you have a janky old car that has a little room in the trunk, I highly recommend buying one or two of these, very functional and stylish bikes. 

#antiqueoftheweek #raleightwenty

Over 200 kids, teens, and adults earned bikes with
Over 200 kids, teens, and adults earned bikes with us from our earn-a-bike programming this summer: Kids Bike Party and Bikes for All Mainers! Not only are these classes helpful for meeting transportation needs, they are also fun, a way to make new friends, and to explore our city by bike! 🚲 🚲 🚲 

Thanks to all of our supporters and donors this year, including: the Onion Foundation, the Quimby Foundation, the Rines Thompson Fund, the Michael Goulet Foundation, Martins Point Health Care (@martinspointhealthcare), Kryptonite locks (@kryptonitelock ), Kali Helmets (@kaliprotectives ), the Majorie Harris Reynolds Foundation, L.L. Bean (@llbean ), Smith Charitable Trust, and ALL OF YOU who make individual donations, in-kind donations of bikes, support our shop, and volunteer. THANK YOU. 

#communitysupport #reducereuserecycle♻️ #earnabike #gearhubbikeschool #bikesforallmainers

Antique of the Week solving mysteries with @jesseb
Antique of the Week solving mysteries with @jessebillypilgrim 

This Week's Antique is a bit of a mystery. We were donated a Mossberg branded bicycle, and I can honestly say that I hadn't ever seen one. The ornate head badge says Little Falls, New York and has a knight's helmet on it. I'm a sucker for a good head badge and this one did it for me. 

I had always known Mossberg as a gun manufacturer, and it turns out that the bicycle Mossberg and gun Mossberg are the same Mossberg. Bikes and guns have historically been made on the same factory floors since the start of the bike and it makes sense. Companys like BSA (British Small Arms) and Ivers Johnson used similar tooling to mill gun barrels and bike tubes in huge brick factories along rivers, though it turns out Mossberg guns and bicycles were never made in the same factories. It turns out that Mossberg (a New Haven, Conn. based company) bought out the Snyder bicycle company which produced Rollfast and Hawthorne bikes and started producing bicycles under their name using the existing factory in Little Falls, NY.

Rollfast and Hawthorn were always known for making Balloon tire cruiser style bikes but were not really known for lightweight performance machines. It seems like Mossberg wanted to see if they could compete with some of the lightweight imported bikes that were coming from Japan and Europe, and they produced some surprisingly nice-looking bikes. The Mossberg we have here at the PGH is outfitted with lightweight UKAI Rims and US Made ACS hubs and has 4130 Cr-Mo tubing. It even has a pair of Mossberg branded Alloy handlebars that are pretty darn comfortable. My favorite part is the big reflective M brazed into the seat stays. 

While digging for info about this bike I found that Mossberg created the first US made carbon fiber bike and built one of the first purpose-built BMX bikes.  It may have been this drive for perfection that was their undoing because it seems like they only existed from around 1970 to 1980. If you are looking for a unique piece of Northeastern US bicycle and gun history that also shreds, we have one here at the Portland Gear Hub.

#antiqueoftheweek

Saturday, October 7th join us for a self-supported
Saturday, October 7th join us for a self-supported* Benefit Ride for the Gear Hub. Routed and organized by our very own board member, this will be a lovely fall ride through the rolling hills of Freeport. Registration is free with donations strongly encouraged to benefit our organization!

25, 35, and 45 mile options

*Self-supported means you ride at your own pace - it’s not a race! Riders can download the route to your preferred device. We’ll have cue sheets available day of and will mark turns on the road. There’a 1 rest stop but no sag vehicle. 

🍻 Participants will get $1 off a beer at Good Fire Brewing after the ride!

➡️ Link in bio for more info and to register ⬅️ 🚲 🚲 🚲

Antique of the Week carried to you by papa pilgrim
Antique of the Week carried to you by papa pilgrim @jessebillypilgrim 

People have been trying to carry their kids on bikes since the invention of the bike. It's a great way to hang out with your kid outside and get some much-needed exercise. There are lots of ways to carry a child on a bike. There is the traditional child's seat mounted to a rack on the back of the bike, there is the ever popular method of pulling a trailer, and my favorite setup which is the "Front Mounted" seat. We were recently donated a cool old Raleigh Sports 3 Speed (I have reviewed a similar one in a past AOTW) with a classic well-loved Brooks saddle (I have also reviewed a similar one in an AOTW) and a very cool but kind of dangerous looking child's seat. 

The seat was made in England and is "A Genuine Leed Product." There really isn't much on the internet about the Leed brand, but according to their label you must "Beware of Imitations." I don't know if an imitation of this seat could be more dangerous than this one, but if you find an imitation, please beware. We obviously won't be selling this seat because of the sharp metal foot pegs, lack of seat belt, and inadequate leg protection, but we can appreciate that it looks like a child and their parent spent many quality hours together on this classic bike. 

A child seat that I CAN recommend though, is made by the company I Bert and mounts in between your handlebars and you, which allows the child to see everything you see and be in a safe and comfortable position. My daughter sits in her seat, watches the world go by, eats crackers and sometimes takes naps. I am also lucky in that my daughter loves wearing her helmet which is a Giro Scamp with MIPS. She can even ring the bell and shift the shifter for me if she wants! They do have some drawbacks in that you can't really stand up and ride, and the mounting position makes it tough to fit on certain bikes. I have mine set up on an LL BEAN fat bike which is not fast but the big ol' tires really make for a smooth and fun ride on all terrains, including the beach! The bike has a SOMA Dream High Rise handlebar which has the perfect sweep for reaching around the seat.

Scenes from our last Bikes for All Mainers class o
Scenes from our last Bikes for All Mainers class of the season! 
The rain held off and we were able to ride bikes, and for some Learn to Ride! 

It’s been an incredible summer meeting new people through the class, working with our outreach partners, and teaching with our All-Star Program Team led by Sara and our youth leaders! 

As always, excellent photos taken by Francisco 📸 @cisco_2201 

#bikesforallmainers #earnabike #gearhubbike #gearhubbikeschool

YOU’RE INVITED! 🎈We’ve got 2 upcoming event
YOU’RE INVITED! 🎈We’ve got 2 upcoming events in October!!

🧁 Please join us for a Celebratory evening on Thursday, October 5th to thank and congratulate our volunteers, program participants, donors, and YOU ALL for another successful summer season. 
📣 📣 We’ll also be making a very exciting Special Announcement about the Gear Hub’s future that we don’t want you to miss. 
RSVP on our website or via the link in bio. 

🚲 Saturday, October 7th, our own board member and volunteer Bob Brown is hosting a benefit ride in Freeport to raise funds for the Gear Hub. It’s a self-supported ride with 25 -35 - 45 mile options on routes Bob rides! Registration is free, donations encouraged. ➡️ Registration is live on our website and via a link in our bio. 

Hope to see you all soon 🥰🪩🌸

Blowing the Yard Sale out to next month. Officiall
Blowing the Yard Sale out to next month. Officially POSTPONED to Saturday, October 14th due to Hurricane Lee. 💨 

We’ll plan to be open though and we will have new Camping Gear on sale inside the shop for those venturing out. 🏕️


Very happy for a sunny day this week! ☀️ 
We’ve got bikes out, a volunteer shift this morning, and a team of students volunteering this afternoon! 🔧 
This evening @mainecycling is leading one of the last road group rides of the season, leaving from the Gear Hub at 6pm. Join us and bring your lights! 

#shopusedshoplocal #reducereuserecycle♻️


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The Portland Gear Hub
155 Washington Ave.
Portland, ME 04101
(207) 761-7632

© 2023 Portland Gear Hub. All Rights Reserved.

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336 Black Point Rd
Scarborough, ME 04074
(207) 883-8977

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Fall Ride Benefitting The Portland Gear Hub

Registration

Seasonal Pause on Bike Donations

Due to storage contraints the Gear Hub will not be accepting bicycles from October 1 – March 1. Please hold on to your bikes until spring when we will gladly begin accepting bike donations again!

We ARE accepting all donations of XC Ski gear at this time!

Thank you.

 

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