Exploring the streets of Downtown on a bicycle is a treat. The roads traversing the Arts District and the quiet, Fremont East-adjacent neighborhood nicknamed “Lawyer’s Row” see relatively little automobile traffic, and many of them have dedicated bike lanes. I’ve biked them many times—sometimes alone, sometimes on pub rides where the cyclists number in the dozens. And on those group cruises, nearly everyone has something in common, no matter what we’re riding: We got our tune-ups at Crank & Grind Cycle Shop.
“Some people have called us a bicycle kitchen, a co-op,” says Carlos Vivaldo, one of Crank & Grind’s co-proprietors (with Daniel Pierceall and Hannah Todd). “We’re trying to stay away from being a typical bike shop.”
Typical, they certainly are not. It’s not a showroom; the only bikes they sell are reconditioned. They don’t advertise, have minimal web presence (though messaging them at Facebook.com/CrankAndGrindLV is the quickest way to reach them) and, until recently, they didn’t even have a proper storefront; they operated out of the garage of a private home.
Now, they have an Arts District storefront, located off an alley. (Their Facebook page tells you how to find it.) And Vivaldo is telling it true: Crank & Grind really is a bicycle kitchen. Pierceall and Vivaldo, who met riding BMX bikes as kids, fix pretty much anything two-wheeled with minimal fuss … and most times, they don’t even charge you for the work.
“It’s free labor, though tips are accepted,” Todd says. “Or gifting. We have one customer who bakes stuff for the guys.”
The work is top-notch, and fast: “You can drop off a bike [for a tune-up] and have it back in 15 minutes,” Todd says. But there’s more to Crank & Grind than the repair work: They run a bicycle valet at many Downtown events (including First Friday); help customers and friends to find specific bikes via Craigslist; and work with local charities to get bikes to folks in need.
In other words, Crank & Grind is a (free) labor of love, intended to get Downtown onto two wheels, a little at a time. And according to Pierceall, it seems to be working: “All the people I’ve met Downtown are like, ‘Let’s do bikes.’”