Rock The Bike

We bid adieu to Mike Cobb: welder, seamster, bike mechanic, bicycle customizer.

Mike’s been a member of our West Berkeley workshop community since 2001. His devotion to bicycle advocacy and mechanics, and high quality worksmanship has been a great example to the rest of us.

I don’t always agree with Mike on every subject. For example, he refuses to make eye contact with drivers at a 4-way stop, because he doesn’t want them to get in the habit of always letting cyclists go first. It’s not that he doesn’t want to give them the satisfaction of letting the bike through. It’s that he doesn’t want fellow cyclists to get accustomed to cars letting them through — the cyclist might get hit if the car driver doesn’t feel like waiting.

Like I said, Mike’s got some strong opinions, but you got to admire a guy who lives by his principles. He walks the walk and he bikes the bike. The picture you see above is Mike riding a little commuter he built up for an ex-girlfriend who is recovering from Carpal Tunnel syndrome. Hence the upright stem, and the basket mount welded to the head tube instead of attached to the handlebars (less load on the hands).

Within the Rock the Bike world, you might know Mike as the guy who invented and makes our ‘Second Wind Bicycle Cog Wind Chimes‘, which by the way, make a fabulous bike gift around Christmas time.

He’s also helped me build up bikes for custom jobs like the Soul Cycle Slim. I’m proud to be riding wheels Mike built on my Choprical Fish.

We wish Mike the best of luck as he brings his sewing machines, metalworking tools, and tremendous talent and spirit to Portland, to fulfill his long term wish of returning to the Pacific Northwest. If you’re in need of a caring, creative, affordable, and resourceful bicycle customizer in the Portland area, give Mike a shout.