THE HUB
A local bike shop connects with the community.
Photos and Story by Molly Gross
Letters covered in bike reflectors light the way to the Hub Community Bike Shop in Bellingham, Washington. The Hub is a one-of-a-kind, quirky nonprofit located on South State Street off the Interurban trail. In addition to fixing bikes, the shop hosts community events, repurposes donated bicycles and works with local organizations to get bikes to people in need.
Just inside the Hub’s front door, a dimly lit alcove overflows with bikes. The shop builds and sells 60 to 80 refurbished bikes each year.
The bike shop accepts donations of bikes in any condition and rebuilds them using repurposed parts — Frankenstein style.
Dennis Stickler, one of five employees at the Hub, works on a bike in the back of the shop. Stickler started as a volunteer in 2005 when he was a Western Washington University student studying marine biology. He became a paid member of the team in 2009.
Colorful murals adorn the Hub’s grounds, some painted more than 15 years ago and others just last week. Each mural’s backstory differs. Stickler said some were painted to fulfill court-ordered community service. “It’s pretty cool and it’s a win-win for us,” Stickler said.
Kyle Morris, director and founder of the shop, takes a break from fixing a gear shifter to play with his co-worker’s dogs. According to Stickler, the Hub began as a yellow bike project — an idea adapted from similar community bike programs — wherein Morris and a few others would fix bikes in their garages, paint them yellow and put them around town for public use. “I can’t think of anything else I’d rather be doing,” Morris said.
Decorations and various bike parts fill every corner of the Hub. Spectrum Development Solutions, a company based in Seattle, Washington, bought the block where the Hub is located. Forced to relocate its headquarters by November 2018, Morris said the Hub is looking to move to a new space in Bellingham off Cornwall Avenue near Wander Brewing.
The 3-meter-tall wall of frames and parts lining the Hub’s bike yard was handmade by Morris. The new development, built by Spectrum, will include a 500 square foot area designated for the Hub where Morris plans to house a second bike shop and coffee window. “It’s gonna be nice, like Seattle nice, kinda glitzy, tech-y, concrete patio,” Morris said. “It’s not a thriving space for a guy like me, but it’s an opportunity.”
James, a regular at the shop, pops a wheelie on a double-decker homemade bike in the dirt parking lot outside the Hub. This is emblematic of the quirky scene surrounding the Hub. “The party will be [at the new location],” Morris said. The satellite to be located on State Street at the spot where the shop now sits “will kinda be like a wayfinder like ‘Oh, you like what you see here? Go check out down the street.’”
