The final stop of the recent Tennessee bike tour work trip was Harper’s Bike Shop in Knoxville, Tennessee. This was a large shop just outside of the University of Tennessee campus, and has been around for 50 years. At least, that’s what I was told.
The shop carried a nice variety of bikes, but the bikes that most caught my eye were the staff’s bikes. Check out this SyCip. Isn’t it amazing?
I love the custom rear rack. Shawn, the bike’s owner, said that he had added the wood panel to the top of the rack. I also love the way SyCip uses coins on the top of the seat stays and the fork. Shawn thought maybe this bike was a little overkill for an around-town bike, but I’m not sure if I’m able to make that judgment. If you’ve got a beautiful bike, ride it anywhere you want.
This shop’s inventory included a Lynskey titanium road bike as well. Apparently Shawn was freeing it from his personal stable. (Was this his previous “around-town” bike?) Check this out.
I bet if I owned this Lynskey I would be able to do all my 200Ks in 6 hours or less. Ha ha!
Shawn mentioned that Lynskey uses helix technology on the seat stays, which is visible here.
I’m not really sure what helix technology does (I’m sure it MUST make you faster, more vertically blah, more laterally something), but it does make for a nice aesthetic.
Finally, one of the other employees had a gorgeous green Waterford with what look like Honjo fenders and a great Sackville front bag. Delicious.
I have a few more pictures from my stop at Harper’s, and they are here.
Harper’s is definitely a cool place, and well worth a visit if you ever find yourself in Knoxville. Just don’t even think of staying past closing time, though, or I’m pretty sure they will kick you out. They’ve got bike riding to do!
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