We created Renaissance Bicycles to focus on customer-driven bike builds.  These builds usually fall into two categories:

• All new with a retro style:  Complete bikes spec’d from the wishes, dreams, and desires of the customer.  Rivendell and Soma frames are our two most popular starting points.
• Upfits of classic lugged steel:  An old neglected friend that is need of a new life.  Your frame and “keeper” parts, our new components, wheels, saddles, etc.  We provide a detailed price quote before anything else.

While we do some occasional bike repairs and parts sales, our mission is to provide high quality and highly individual complete bikes.  In other words, we purposely avoid the normal day-to-day distractions of a local bike shop in order to focus on the needs / wants / whims of our individual customers.

Our little secret is that we can provide high quality service, parts, and upfits for less than the local bike shop.  Since we don’t stock the usual bounty of helmets, kids bikes, car racks, etc. we avoid the high overhead costs associated with brick-and-mortar bicycle retailers.  We only stock the most common parts needed to build our custom bikes, a few components and accessories we feel are “best in class”, and the unique items necessary for a specialty bike business.  By using these inventory best practices, we are able to sell custom complete bikes for less than most local bike shops.

However, we want to make it abundantly clear that we love local bike shops! By no means are we promoting using online discount resellers (we’ll just call them “Discount Direct Warehouse Fort”), but instead we promote supporting the small business owner by playing to their strengths.  In other words, if you live in Western North Carolina and want to buy a new Giant, Orbea, Raleigh, or Surly, please visit our local shop, BikeWays.  Heck, we might even see you there on one of their weekly bike rides.

If you are one of the unfortunate souls who finds themselves dissatisfied with your LBS (the usual quote from customers is along the lines of, “Our bike shop said we should just buy a new bike.” or “The sales-teen was too busy texting and pulling up his pants to help us.”), then we are happy to make a recommendation from our dealer network.  Don’t be satisfied with less-than-stellar service.

So in summary … Renaissance Bicycles does not fit neatly into the typical “online retailer” profile.  We feel our model is a great way for a customer to get a very unique bicycle at a reasonable price.  We also know that all bikes, regardless of condition, original price, or outdated technology deserve a second life.  And hopefully it is abundantly clear that we are equipped to help you make decisions about paint, parts, and potential … and then to make your dream bike a reality.

We specialize in building custom item-by-painstaking-item complete bikes … but we hope that you’ll visit your locally owned bike shop for all of your parts, accessories, and service.

• (1) You Dream (2) We Build
• Quoth the Raven, “LBS Nevermore”
  

One of the unique qualities of our shop is the in-house photo studio.  While it usually doubles as a storage area, we try to set aside some time to take a few photos of our “end” products.  Here is a quick guide to our latest additions:

• Gunther’s Soma Speedster — Spec’d for commuting, recreational rides, and an occasional charity event, Gunther’s Speedster is one smooth machine.  Bar-end shifters, durable Pasela tires, and Rivendell Grip Kings makei it a perfect all-rounder.  Fenders and lights to be added very soon.
• Stephen’s Schwinn Prelude Singlespeed — Stephen knew what he was after … an everday vintage steel ride converted to the simplicity of a single speed drivetrain.  We knew what he wanted … affordable yet keep the vintage lugged steel look.  So we found the bike, ordered up the parts, and everything came together perfectly.
• Bryan’s Rivendell Quickbeam — Sometimes we indulge a little.  Knowing this is the last of legendary Rivendell Quickbeams, we really had no choice but to get one for ourselves.

Obviously, these “Glamour Shots” are another little perk of buying a bike from Renaissance Bicycles.  You can own it, love it, and show pictures to your friends.

So check back in the Gallery often … we are always photographing and displaying our custom builds and unique bikes.  And if you have questions about how we do our photo magic, just contact us and we’ll gladly divuldge our secrets.

Okay, maybe building up your custom bike is a little more involved than the two step “You dream … we build” process. But just to give you an idea, here is the basic outline of what goes into all of our custom builds:

1. You Dream:
   1. Contact us with your intended application (like a retro-style commuter), your general requirements (like an all Campy build), and your budget (like a $1,000,000).
   2. We’ll create a detailed price quote based on your requirements, needs, and monetary criteria.  We’ll also leave some wiggle room for options, suggestions, and stuff you already have.
   3. We confirm, discuss, verify, and cross-check every detail.  This is usually the longest part of the process, but it ensures that the customer gets exactly what they want.
2. We Build:
   1. Once we have a deposit, we organize and order everything needed for build.  From this point, it is usually 7-10 days to a completed bike.
   2. We send photo updates of the build progress, make sure we address any important decisions, and get the final stamp of approval.
   3. Take a few Glamor Shots for our website.
   4. Carefully package and ship the bike via UPS to your destination.

So the obvious question is:  Why can’t you just go to your local bike shop (LBS) for all of this?

We feel that we work in a symbiotic relationship with your LBS.  We can provide a top-notch item-by-item build service, and your LBS can provide all the accessories, service, and local lore.  You can read more in our blog entry Renaissance Bicycles + Your LBS.  Basically, you get the best of both worlds.

If we had an automated answering machine system (which we never will just on principle), the initial greeting and prompts would probably sound like this:

Thank you for calling Renaissance Bicycles, where Heritage Craftsmanship Meets Modern Technology.

Please listen to the following options (or you may press 0 at any time to speak with a real human being):

• To speak with a representative about a custom bike build, please press 1.
• To speak with a representative about”renaissancing” a vintage road or mountain bike, please press 2.
• To order a new lugged steel frame from Rivendell, Soma, or VO, please press 3.
• To order a new Batavus Dutch city bike, please press 1904.
• To speak with a retro-grouch, please press #.
• To speak with a commuter cyclist, please press 3FEET.
• To speak with a weight-weenie, please hang-up and call Competitve Cyclist.

… Please hold while we transfer you to the next available cyclist, and thank you for calling Renaissance Bicycles.