That's right folks, we did it, we added skateboard equipment.  Hello Bicycle has teamed up with Portland based outfit Shrunken Head to bring Beacon Hill it's first skate shop.  Justin from Shrunken Head came up this week and gave the new skate park a thrashing and christened it with a champagne bottle, check out the attached images so some old school skate action.  We now carry decks by Shrunken Head, Coda, and Usurper. Dirty Bearings, Independent trucks, wheels ranging from 51mm-58mm, as well as various pieces of hardware.  If you have a special order come talk to us and we'll get you set up and back in the bowl.

So far so good! We have continued to remodel our shop to offer exciting additions to our existing products and services. These include the wall of helmets, Specialized products and displays, and a big screen TV attached to CompuTrainers, which we use to hold indoor race competitions on every Thursday. Call or e-mail us for details.

The interview in Entrepreneur Magazine finally appeared.

Kona bikes are still pending as we finalize our order. I apologize to those of you who have waited patiently, but we are still trying to clear out our old stock to create space. 2011 bikes sales were good, but we need a lot of room in our new arrangement for the bikes to be displayed. We expect to have them coming in soon!

We are looking for volunteers who are both enthusiastic and able to perform basic tasks in a bicycle shop. Compensation is limited due to our small operation, but we have a strong history of volunteers and all of them can attest to a rewarding experience and lots of fun!

A few important notes on the coming year:

1. We will remain in the same location, and have already begun to remodel to spruce it up.
2. Our first Kona stock order will not arrive until early next year. Special orders are welcome anytime
3. Product lines will expand upward into more high end. For example, we are now authorized to sell and service Chris King!
4. It is planned that we will sponsor a cycling team of some kind. E-mail me with a proposal.
5. A couch will be added to the shop to bring back those early days of a more comfortable lounge area.

The shop is three years old and although we have learned and evolved in many ways we are still growing from infancy. New customers are still needed, so please let us know how we can serve you.

We're running a great bike sale for the rest of the year on all remaining stock. Swing by and see if anything suits you!

We have been Jamis dealers for most of 2011 and have been pleased with the quality, style, and selling strength of their bikes. Our contract has ended and instead of renew (Jamis is not a friendly and flexible company) we decided to try out a new brand. Kona is the other brand we had planned to carry, and now we will. No new Jamis bikes will be coming into stock, and in early 2012 we will receive our first large order of Kona bikes. Have a preview of what they offer at their website!

Moving along the chain of interviews (regarding business and technology) we also hope to appear briefly in an article that will both in the January 2012 print and website of Entrepreneur Magazine. We will probably be more of a footnote than anything, but to have our shop name appear in any media is certainly encouraging and might be helpful for marketing our business to any local readers that haven't heard much about us yet.

We were recently interviewed by a reporter for radio that may appear on NPR (details not yet available) regarding small business and technology. I was very surprised that most of the questions were about the bike shop and myself, which I had not prepared for at all. When we find out when and where this will appear it will be announced, however I probably don't sound very smart or clever due to this interview being a surprise to me!

As of today we are doing well in our current location. I enjoy the space, our neighbors, and the comfort of knowing that we have only had one address in our three year history. Our lease expires this year and I have looked at nearby commercial spaces as possible alternatives. I would like to stay where I am, but if I move somewhere I promise it will be in this neighborhood.

Speaking of three year history, Tuesday was Hello Bicycle's third birthday. That makes it three years old, and if the trends of our history can be used to model the future, we will continue to grow into a more stable business while expanding what we offer. As the owner I have currently not made any personal profit from the business (other than the snacks and parts I occasionally "borrow"), but we're in it for the love of bikes, the environment, and especially the Beacon Hill neighborhood.

We have attracted some media attention in recent weeks. The most notable of which is an extremely flattering review by Seattle Pulp that talks about what we do and why we do it. You can also find some great pictures of Sam and one rare glimpse of the legendary Kim the Wanderer (see attached image).

Also, our merchant services with Square have resulted in an interview for an article that can be found in Yahoo! News. While this reveals nothing about our character, it does make me (Miki) seem like some kind of hustler! More amusing than informative, I am happy to have been consulted for my opinion nonetheless.

Thanks for your attention and interest! I'm hoping someday we'll also appear in Bike Hugger, The Stranger, Momentum, and any of the Seattle newspapers. We have no budget for advertising, so it's greatly fortuitous to be featured at all in any media.

There are plenty of new bikes coming into stock in just one week from today... here is a list that includes most of them:

ADULT BIKES
Ventura Sport Femme    51     Gloss Black    
Ventura Comp        56     Pearl White
Ventura Comp        54     Pearl White
Coda Sport Femme    18     Monterey Blue
Commuter 2    17     Black Forest
Commuter 2    17     Midnight Blue 
Bosa Nova    54     Black Pearl/White
Bosa Nova    56     Black Pearl/White

KIDS BIKES
X.24        12 x 24     Ano Black/Ano Grey
X.24        12 x 24     Victory Blue   
Capri 2.4    12 x 24     Seafoam 
Laser 2.0    10 x 20     Monterey Red  
Capri 2.0    10 x 20     Lavender Pearl  
Laser 1.6    8x16     Victory Blue 
Laser 1.6    8x16     Electric Green
Hot Rod        8x12     Pearl White

Our inventory list will be updated when they arrive. We expect to sell a few of them within the first week so if you see something you think you want don't delay too much. Many of these will no longer be available until the 2012 model year many months from now...!

We have entered 2011 with an experimental new site that will hopefully be a useful resource for our customers. Please e-mail us with any feedback so that we know we're going in the right direction. Now if only the bike shop itself could look this clean...

In other news, our stock of Jamis is running low and we are waiting eagerly for 2012 bikes that should begin shipping by fall of this year. While there are not expected to be any major changes, the availability will help us keep good stock on more models and sizes. We may also try to simultaneously pick up more stock of Kona bikes if our budget allows. Even if you're not particularly interested in buying, come by and try a bike, it's fun to ride something new!