Pedal to the Metal: Only Bike Shop in Hayes Valley Thrives in Location

After keeping their eyes on 1592 Market for three years, John McDonell and Matt Ames opened Market Street Cycles in late November, giving Hayes Valley its only bike shop. With a mission of helping any person who uses a bike as his or her means of commuting, this is a business that wants to make it easy for people to buy, maintain and enjoy their bike.

Before coming to Hayes Valley, John was the co-founder and General Manager of Mojo Bicycle Cafe on Divisadero. He worked there for six years with (then) Head Mechanic Matt Ames. The two decided to open up a shop in Hayes Valley because they realized there wasn't one in the area. And John was specifically eyeing this location because of its proximity to the most traveled intersection in San Francisco for bikes. "We did some research, and on average, 818 bikes travel through the intersection of Van Ness & Market per day, making it the most traveled corner in the city," John noted. After passing Van Ness, "some head south down Valencia into the Mission, some navigate through the Wiggle, and others continue on to the Castro." John wanted a place that could serve as both a neighborhood bike shop for Hayes Valley and the Mid-Market area, as well as a store that people could walk into in case anything broke during their commute. When asked what types of bikes they sell, John said "right now we carry Raleigh, Surly and KHS, focusing on the city bikes of these brands. As time goes on, we might move into road and cyclocross bikes." Although the store has only been open for three months, they've expanded pretty quickly. Their inventory has tripled since they started. They recently purchased a bike rack that holds 27 bikes, allowing them to carry more in the store. A new website is launching this weekend. And if customers are interested in mountain bikes, they can even look into getting them. If John could give any advice to bicycle riders, it would be to "buy your bicycle, parts and accessories from a shop you trust and that's local so you're close in case anything goes wrong." So if you are participating in the 8th Annual World Naked Bike Ride this Saturday, you might want to get your tires checked before the big day. Here. Anywhere. Just please don't get a flat.