Sales
Nancy (Co-Op Member)
Nancy begins with the classical music you hear at the front of the store. She is the queen and last of the original three founding members of the Urbane Cyclist since its inception in 1996. She refers herself as the "Least likely to be working in a bicycle shop." but actually knows a great deal (though, she does call certain bike parts squiggly things and leaves any explanation of them to the parts and service folks in the back of the store). If she's not working at Urbane, you can most likely find her kayaking or playing hockey. Come in and say hello, a lot of people do. You may have to wait in line.
Marty (Co-Op Member)
Marty joined the sales team of Urbane in the spring of 2006 and has helped hold down the front of the shop ever since. His genuine love for cycling and great knowledge of the industry has helped commuters choose the right bike and accessories they need to navigate the streets of Toronto. Along with being an avid commuter, he also competes in local mountain bike, cyclocross, road and triathlon races with his team, Black Fly Racing, which he started back in 2004. Marty's favorite places to ride are Albion Hills, through the Don single track and participating in the Ride for Heart. When not pedaling Marty spends his quality time with his wife and their son... maybe a future Tour de France winner! 2033? Hmmm.
Reba (Co-Op Member)
Reba has been with Urbane since 2000 after running her own shop, The Bike Ranch for a number of years. A veteran courier and master messenger bag designer and maker, Reba's experience in the industry has been instrumental in helping Urbane become one of Toronto's busiest bike shops. Also one of the shop's most experienced bicycle touring riders, Reba has made numerous trips deep into Quebec and throughout Europe. You can also see Reba competing and supporting her husband, "The Ice Emperor" at Toronto's winter ice racing events.
Check out her homemade messenger bags at www.pushtheenvelope.com
Parts
Ashar (Co-Op Member)
The Parts Guy. More than a poly-linguist, Ashars’ gravity defying gymnastics moves have us convinced that he has taken to guarding the Vatican in his spare time. There are others; however who claim that he is actually an encyclopedia disguised as a human.
Givago (Co-Op Member)
As a fun loving speed demon and graduated courier, Givago has developed a deep admiration for the comfort of Brooks saddles. His all purpose sidekick, Minnie the multi-tool, has proved useful on countless occasions around Urbane. A master in all areas of bike-ery, Givago has yet to leave a single question unanswered.
Mechanics
Carey (Co-Op Member)
Carey Chen joined Urbane Cyclist in 1999 bringing more than 20 years of technical, commuting, touring, and bicycle design experience. This practical experience gave Urbane a good kick start to the shop's rise to where it is now. Carey was a recumbent designer and builder when he joined Urbane, but since the shop has become busier he hasn't had the same amount of time to build them. His experience with recumbents has helped Urbane become one of the largest recumbent dealers in Canada.
He also knows a little about boats!
William (Co-Op Member)
Our Macau-born mechanic, William has certainly bought into the "Steel is Real" philosophy by expanding his own fleet of bikes with the old school material. When not looking through the distributors catalog's for the best deal on parts, William will be more than happy to fix your helicopter and take a picture of it.
Maggie (Co-Op Member)
Maggie brings extensive mechanical knowledge to Urbane with her many years of hands-on experience in the bicycle industry. She has recently furthered her knowledge by graduating from the Winterborne Bicycle Institute in Guelph.
Giles (Co-Op Member)
Referred to by those closest to him as Niles, Nigel or Nilly, Giles is best known for his valiant attempts to break the norm of bicycle design. “I see all bikes as scrap metal,” he admits. In light of the recent city strike, Giles has also taken to collecting Urbane’s excess waste in hopes of launching an organically powered rocket ship; at least there are no handlebars in space.
