Cyclists will soon have a spot in Long Island City where they can grab a coffee or drink a cold beer with fellow lovers of the sport.
Jane Kenyon and Damon Strub are the founders of Nomad Cycle, a bicycle shop that emphasizes providing services to the cyclist community, which opened its doors on Jan. 29 in LIC.
Nomad Cycle is currently located at Strub’s former seventh-floor architecture studio located at 51-02 21st St., but the founders plan to move the shop to a storefront location by the summer.
After making the move and applying for a beer license, Nomad Cycle plans to be a bicycle shop, café and taproom, the first in Queens.
“Manhattan and Brooklyn are very dense with bike shops and coffee shops. It seems to me that Queens, certainly this area in Queens, is growing and needs shops like these,” said Kenyon, a professional cyclist who has competed in international races. “We’re more interested in being part of the community and building relationships with our clients.”
For now, the business offers bike services and repairs, professional bicycle fittings, DIY repair work stations available for rent, and a master mechanic on hand to provide assistance.
There are also hands-on classes and other bike-related events taking place at the shop. Restored and vintage bicycles are available for sale, and they have access to a distributor of Italian bicycles.
“We’re really going to focus on quality, not necessarily expensive. We’re not going to carry stuff that is going to break down,” Kenyon said. “If you come in and tell us what you want, we’ll work with you to source with you and build up what you’re looking for.”
Kenyon and Strub are currently looking for the new location for Nomad Cycle and would like to be closer to the route most cyclists use.
When they make the move, they will first open as a bike shop and café and then apply for a beer license. The plan is to become a community space where people can hang out and socialize.
“When we do move to a storefront, we would like to be part and parcel a community space for cyclists and non-cyclists and a place that attracts people to hang out,” Kenyon said. “If you are into cycling, you know you’ll always find other cyclists to talk to.”
Although the shop plans to combine the love for cycling and beer, Kenyon added that they emphasize that their customers should stay safe on the roads. The shop even hopes to have a car service available for any cyclists who might have had a beer too many.
“What we would say is please drink responsibly,” Kenyon said.
Nomad Cycle is open Tuesday through Friday from noon to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit nomadcycle.com.
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