October 22, 2005

The secret bike shop

Ashland entrepreneur does most of his work for rest of the world

By Alan Panebaker
Ashland Daily Tidings

Mike Desalvo works on bike frames in his garage workshop. Alan Panebaker | Ashland Daily Tidings

Thirteen years ago, Mike DeSalvo landed work as a mechanic at a bike shop in Yreka, Calif.

Now, in his own classic 1950s-style workshop, DeSalvo runs a one-man show of building DeSalvo Cycles — specialty bikes for a niche market.

“As a kid, I was more into skateboarding,” DeSalvo said. “But the bike shop was my first job. I kind of grew into it through the job.”

With frames lining the rafters and just a few boxes cluttering up the shop, DeSalvo runs a clean, home business.

“My trash goes out with the home trash,” DeSalvo said. “It’s mainly just filings and sandpaper.”

This is convenient for DeSalvo, since his house is located directly in front of the shop. In fact, the only identifiable business sign on DeSalvo’s business is a small, welded bicycle sign hanging underneath the shed awning. Local advertising is not DeSalvo’s main focus. With a recent article on DeSalvo in the online publication www.velonews.com, the local builder has found an international market while maintaining a low profile locally.

“The Internet is huge for me,” he said.

Internet shoppers who visit his Web site order most of the 110 to 130 bicycles DeSalvo builds every year. Last week, he’d just shipped three bikes to Singapore, Australia and the United Kingdom. In fact, DeSalvo preferred that people not know the location of his shop — potentially compromising his focus on building bike frames.

The frames that are built in DeSalvo’s little old garage are finely tuned machines. Each frame built there starts with a computer generated drawing to specify the type of frame needed for a customer’s size, physique and riding style. Then the framer miters the tubes down so that they will fit together into the frame puzzle that is then put together in a vice fixture.

All of DeSalvo’s frames are either made out of specialized steel tubing made in Columbus, Italy, or aerospace-grade titanium. After he shapes them together, he sends them to Spectrum Powder Works in Colorado Springs, Colo., for a custom paint job.

“Basically, if you want the green frame with purple spots, you can have it,” DeSalvo said.

It is this specialty niche market business that DeSalvo says allows him to maintain a one-man operation. DeSalvo cycles makes everything from mountain and road bikes to special bike messenger cycles that work on a fixed gear system so the rider just slows his pedals to stop instead of braking. The Ashland resident even makes specifically designed bikes for riding in the snow. People race these in the Iditasport — a bike, ski, foot or snowshoe race along Alaska’s classic Iditarod trail to Nome. DeSalvo has even made a specialty bike for NBA player Elden Campbell.

And DeSalvo’s little one-man shop may be the smallest operation around. Moots Cycles in Steamboat Springs, Colo. — another small bike-building company, makes about 800 to 850 frames a year and has 15 employees. While Moots is still one of the smallest bike companies in the country and does not compare to the likes of Trek or Specialized in production capacity, it’s still an operation about 10 times as large as DeSalvo’s.

Ian Bagshaw — owner of Flywheel Bicycle Solutions in Talent — is DeSalvo’s local pusher. A local mechanic for the last 12 years, Bagshaw also worked with DeSalvo at the United Bicycle Institute in Ashland before DeSalvo Cycles became a real business.

“The Bicycle Institute was kind of where Mike cut his teeth in frame building,” Bagshaw said. “The bikes he makes now are pretty high end. It’s a pretty specialty market.”

And with steel frames running $950 to $1,200 and titanium ones starting at $1,700, the people who buy DeSalvo Cycles are pretty committed to their bikes.

“I hate to use the art analogy, but I really think people are drawn to different builders for their style,” DeSalvo said. “There are a number of builders around here. It’s the style that keeps everyone busy.”

For more information on DeSalvo cycles visit www.desalvocycles.com.