Atomic Cycles
(818) 609-0113
17322 Saticoy
Van Nuys, CA. 91406
11-6 Tues-Sat 12-5 Sun
Closed Mondays...
"These bladder wheeled bicycles are diabolical devices of the Demon of Darkness. They are contrivances to trap the feet of the unwary and skin the nose of the innocent. They are full of guile and deciept! When you think you have broken one to ride and subdued its wild and Satanic nature, behold it bucketh you off in the road and teareth a great hole in your pants. Look not upon the bike when it bloweth upon its wheels, for at last it bucketh like a bronco and hurteth like thunder. Who has skinned legs? Who has a bloody nose? Who has the ripped breeches? They that daly along with the bicycle!
from a sermon, Maryland, 1896.
As quoted from: A social History of the Bicycle, Robert A. Smith
EVENTS!
Bicycle Swap Meets * Choppercabras Halloween Ride & Spring Thing * Coaster Brake Challenge
Up coming events:
July 5th, 12th, 19th, & 26th: Coaster Brake Challenge.
(See below)
17322 Saticoy Van Nuys CA, 91406 (818) 609-0113
Tues-Sat 11-6 Sun 12-5 Monday closed. (all Mondays)
*Used Bikes*Uesd Parts*NOS Parts*Customizing*Repairs*Welding*
Many Used parts, full line of new parts available at any large shop.
Specializing in used and vintage bicycles, strong knowledge base in older bikes. All forms of repairs on any kind of bicycle done, usually with a same day turn-around.
Customizing: custom choppers, cruisers, and everything else in between. Can weld bmx or track dropouts to your old steel road bike frame.
Restorations: Bicycle restorations and refurbishing available, frame painting
My shop is a "full service" shop like the bicycle shops of years gone by. I will fix any bike, do painting, make custom parts, modify components, weld broken frames, build wheels, tackle weird projects even if only loosely bicycle related. Most shops look at a damaged part and will only offer to replace it while I will do my best to repair it at a lower cost and quicker than any other shop in the greater Los Angeles area, hands down. If you doubt me, feel free to shop around.
The Atomic Fireball custom paint
I'm now offering the "Atomic Fireball" custom
metalflake paint jobs starting at 350.00 for a single color in dazzling metal
flake automotive finish. Sparkley as hell and smooth to the touch in a rainbow
of colors. Come marvel at this bike in person at:
Atomic Cycles
17322 Saticoy
Van Nuys, CA 91406
I also carry mini bike and go-kart parts from Azusa
Bicycle Restoration
Before After
"There are very few accomplishments of
any value that can be gained without practice, and that which takes the least
time to learn is usually the least valuable when learned."
The Eagle Bicycle Co. catalog 1890
Click here for list of Vintage bikes for sale
Click Here to See More Choppercabras Bicycle Mayhem!
Events:
Choppercabras Rides/Events
I have two big rides/events every year: The Spring Thing Held on the Last Sunday of May, and the Choppercabras Halloween ride held on the last Sunday Of October.
The events that take place vary from year to year and event to event, they have included the following: Midget Figure 8 race, midget devil take the hindmost race, Ben Hurt Chariot race, Tall bike battle royale, Hands of the Armageddon race of doom, demolition derby. I'll keep coming up with ways to do crazy things on bikes if people keep showing up.
The events always include a bike ride of slow pace and a free bb-q after the ride.
These events start at noon. Always. Show up late and miss, you've been duly warned. Noon is not "early". On time. Noon. Not 12:30, not 1:00 pm, NOON! Get it? People come up to me and say "Aww, I was late I missed it." Yes you did. I usually get 200-300 people in attendance, meaning your presence will not make or break the event, no one is going to wait up for you...you've been duly warned.
Coaster
Brake Challenge:
January and July every Sunday. 4 races each series. Coasterbrake bikes only with no hand brakes. These are very trying off-road races in a point series. Click the old flyer for details.
Swap Meet:
Last Sunday in April and September. Free to show up, free to sell your stuff. Mini bike, go karts stuff fine too. 8 am to 2 pm. I share a parking lot with a popular bar so get there early to set up as the space is limited to about 10-20 spaces. Bring your own change and chairs. Convince store across the street, the bar has pub grub...Last time I had about 15 vendors and loads of people passing through all day. I have about 20 crates full of bike parts, 1000's and 1000's of things, I pull the contents of my used parts storage out and you can have at it. Bring your stuff, no matter how little you have. You never know who's looking to buy. Feel free to take the flyer and re-post it elsewhere.
Sellers: Please note that if you expect top dollar (ebay dollars) for your bikes expect to take them home. This is a bargain hunters meet and you should have a good selection of things that you're willing to sell for cheap as well as high end and collectable stuff. Just some fyi....
Some frequently asked questions:
Q: When I ride, I get saddle sore. Will a bigger seat help?
A: Ride more. A bigger seat will help a little but you really need to get some saddle time, this will get you used to riding and thus less saddle soreness. If you're not riding for at least a 1/2 hour three times a week, you're not going to reap much benefit from it.
Q: My back hurts when I ride my mountain bike.
A: One, if you ride more, your body will adjust and you'll feel the pains of the road less and less. Secondly, if you still want to do something about it, I recommend ditching the straight bar (great for navigating dirt roads and bumps) to a swept back bar (that puts your hands in their normal relaxed position). You'll usually have to re-cable the bike.
Q: What is my bike worth?
A: What someone is willing to pay you for it. There is no Kelly blue book for bikes, used bikes of no particular caliber are not worth much and "collectable" bikes have no set value either. I pay next to nothing for bikes because they come easier to me than most people so my marginal utility for a given bicycle is less than a private citizen. I recommend you go on line and do your homework if you want top dollar for your bike. E-bay is generally an inflated price, so don't use it as your sole guide. Keep in mind that what you paid for it and sentimental value do not factor in.
Q: Are all Schwinns worth money?
A: No. Schwinn made many different kinds of bikes in the USA before they went overseas in the 1980's. Only some of the bikes they produced have a value to collectors. Varsities and Colligates are on the bottom of the barrel, girls bikes of any kind are low in the pecking order. Keep in mind that an original, unmolested bike in poor condition will fetch more than one that has be redone with non-factory parts and paint.
Q: Do you get "x" collectable bike in and how often?
A: I get this one a lot. I wield no control over what my inventory is from day to day. You cannot open up a catalogue and order vintage bikes. If something is rare back in the day then it will be even harder to find now. So for example, you're not going to find a 26" Cooks bros bmx because they only made a few of them for a few years in the 1970's. It's not going to happen, this stuff does not just wander into my shop on a regular basis. Not to mention that collector bikes are a small portion of my business and I make the majority of my money from low-end bikes. I'll sell 50 used mountain bikes before I sell one sting-ray, so I don't go out of my way to find this stuff. I'd say for every 300 bikes I get, I'll get one rare gem. High end bikes are similar because the people that buy them are aficionados and they know what they have and plan to keep it, so you don't find Italian road bikes for 10 bucks at a a yard sale and thus they seldom are hanging on my wall with a price tag on them.
I recommend the following:
e-bay. expensive but there it is.
Long Beach Bicycle swap meet. A collectors market, so expect to pay. Last time I went it was 10 bucks to get in and the pickings were slim.
Craig's list.
You'll have to go to countless garage sales and swap meets to find your treasure, it's hard work but it is the only way.
Q: Chinese Junk! Why?
A: All bikes come from China or Taiwan, get over it. The $99.00 klunker from wal-mart and the $6000.00 full suspension mountain bike with hydraulic disc brakes, they may even come from the same factory. Bicycles cannot be made in the US; it's too costly. Americans have the highest standard of living in the entire world, do you really think they will take jobs for 8 bucks an hour so the bicycle manufacture can sell a bike for a hundred bucks? No. We have labor laws and environmental laws that make the manufacture of mass produced bicycles out of the question. China does not, they are one of the most polluted countries in the entire world however. Bikes and parts used to be made in Japan and in 1985 our government with a few others tried to increase the value of the Yen in relation to our dollars (the g-5 summit) this made the cost of producing high quality but affordable bicycles and components out of the question. It was more commonly know as "yen-shock". This forced the Japanese to take their manufacturing to other places, namely Taiwan and China. Us Americans as avid consumers, wanted things cheaper and cheaper so guess what? You got it. Frankly if you buy a bike from Target or Wal-Mart you get exactly what you paid for: junk. Good bikes start in the 750+ dollar range. A 350.00 bike is only a step above the ones you get at the department store. You can use this stuff as long as you realize that it will break and break often. Building a bike here means huge costs in labor, taxes, infrastructure, and environmental fees and constraints. The costs to manufacture the tubing for the frames, the forging, stamping, casting, painting , chroming, of frames and parts would be huge. This would make a $99.00 beach cruiser cost about 650.00 just to have the "Made in USA" sticker on it. Inner tubes would be 15.00 each instead of 5.00, and so on. And who says it will be made better? How many people do you know that do just the bare minimum at their workplace as not to get fired? Exactly. So enough of this then, deal with it.
Flyers from events past....
