Citizen Chain's Owner On Theft, Repairing Old Bikes, And Serving North Beach

Citizen Chain's Owner On Theft, Repairing Old Bikes, And Serving North BeachPhotos: Blair Czarecki/Hoodline
Blair Czarecki
Published on July 22, 2015

Bike theft is a constant concern for San Franciscans who get around on two wheels—nearly any bike, in any neighborhood, is a potential target. We caught up with Sasha Grigorovich-Barsky, co-owner of North Beach's Citizen Chain (2064 Powell St.), to chat not only about the realities of bike theft, but to get insights into what makes his full-service bike shop in North Beach a success.

Citizen Chain is all about educating customers. In the span of 15 minutes, at least half a dozen people pop in and out with questions—and to pet August, Sasha’s pit bull. “He’s the principal owner; he’s the big boss man,” jokes Sasha.

But Sasha's take on bike theft in North Beach is no laughing matter. “Specifically in this area, bike theft usually happens out of shared garages and shared spaces; not so much off the streets. In this particular area, it’s garages that are getting broken into and left open, and that people are lifting out bikes from."

"My basic thing is, you can cheap out on a bike, but you can’t cheap out on a lock in San Francisco—even if you have a hundred-dollar bike. Some people say, 'This lock cost as much as my bike did,' and it’s like, 'Look, if you don’t want to buy another bike ... If you buy a cheap lock—they are just going to take it.'  Buying a good-quality lock, regardless of the quality of your bike, is a good way to go,” says Sasha.

Sasha mentions an article from Outside magazine that explains that “there are basically four valuable things in the underground market: cash, sex, drugs, and bicycles. And cash, sex and drugs aren’t left on street corners by themselves."

Most buyers know to be wary of used bikes for sale at rock-bottom prices on Craigslist, but even good Samaritans can perpetuate the cycle of theft. "Some people [buy Craigslist bikes] to try to be good citizens and good Samaritans," Sasha says. "They're like, 'Look, this is a $20 bike, I know this thing is stolen.' So they buy it and throw it up on Craigslist, saying ‘I found your bike, come and claim it.' It’s a double-edged sword, because the person that stole the bike still got to sell it, and they're probably going to do go it again. It’s really, really tempting to be that good person and try to get that obviously stolen bike back to the person, but you are really just perpetuating the system.”

Sasha and co-owners Dallas Adams and Niko de Vries have run Citizen Chain since 2007, offering both new bikes and repairs. Their specialty, however, is rehabilitating used and vintage bicycles. Sasha and his team often strip old bicycles down to the frame, rebuilding and retuning them from the ground up.

Before starting Citizen Chain, Sasha built his expertise in bike repair at nearby rental company Blazing Saddles. With numerous tourists in the neighborhood, Citizen Chain could potentially do a solid rental business, but he and his fellow owners have decided to stick to sales and repairs.

“I liked this neighborhood and I knew this neighborhood didn’t really have a bike shop, so I wanted to fix neighborhood bikes," Sasha says. "I wanted to become more of a part of this community ... I see these people every day, whereas with the tourist traffic, it’s here today and gone tomorrow."

He says he opened the shop, in part, to get the kind of customizable experience other shops weren't offering. “I could never find the bike that I wanted just by walking into a store. I was always like, ‘I want those pedals, that frame, those handlebars, that seat.’ A lot of bike shops are trying to sell you the bike they have on the wall, and get it out the door, so a lot of people end up not understanding that you can customize these things."

“If you buy the bike that doesn’t fit you, it’s like buying the shoe that doesn’t fit you," he says. "You might wear it once, twice, but ultimately you are going to stop wearing those shoes, because every time you do, it’s uncomfortable."

Sasha believes the shop's reputation for customer service is what sets them apart. "We have been here long enough that some people like what we do here, and they actually will send us bikes. They will have heard about us by word of mouth or online, and they'll say, 'I’ve had this bike since the '70s; it’s very dear and personal to me; I can’t believe I’m actually selling it, but I don’t want someone to bastardize this bike, and basically disassemble it.’ They often will give me a pretty good deal on the bike, because they know that I will take care of it and try to get it to someone that respects it. I’ve had people send me bikes from Texas or Nevada, just because of my business plan."

Repairing and selling vintage bikes can have its downsides, Sasha admits. “It's not the greatest financial business plan in the world. It’s a lot of labor; it’s really intensive. But I am personally invested in it. I like doing it myself. And instead of importing bikes from China, I sell these bikes that are 25, 30 years old. Their carbon footprint has been absorbed already, so I'm almost doing the environment a favor just by keeping these bikes on the road, as opposed to introducing new bikes.”

While Citizen Chain has succeeded with locals, Sasha doesn't have any big expansion plans for the moment. “With the real estate situation as it is right now, and rent costs, I am pretty much willing to hunker down here for the time being. Ideally, yes, I would like to make it bigger, make it better. It's TBD ... I don’t particularly want to leave this neighborhood.”