Bob knows bikes. He should. He\u2019s been fixing flats, changing chains and brushing-up brakes since 1970. That\u2019s half a century! “Who would have thought I\u2019d still be repairing bikes,” says 73-year-old Bob Bohn, owner of The Bikesmith on Garnet Avenue, near Lamont Street. “I\u2019ve been in this bright yellow building for a long time. I painted it yellow so people would notice it.”
\nBob started working at a PB bike shop in 1970. “I was fresh out of the Navy. I worked as a battleship mechanic. There was a job opening at a bike repair shop and I always liked fixing things, working with my hands. I wasn\u2019t really looking at bicycles as a profession. I didn\u2019t choose it, it chose me.” But it was a good choice. When his employer\u2019s shop closed in 1978, Bohn opened his own place in PB, The Bikesmith. He\u2019s been there repairing and selling bikes ever since.
\nBob admits, “I really think of myself as more than just a bike repair guy.” He considers himself a true bicycle mechanic. “I work and restore racing bikes, mountain bikes, beach cruisers, foreign bikes, even rare models. You never know who or what is going to come through the front door. One day I was repairing a tricycle and right next to it I was working on a $3,500 high-end racing bike.”
\nBob says things have changed a lot since the bike heydays of the 1980s when BMX and mountain bikes flooded the market. At one time he had two full-time mechanics, beside himself. “Now, it\u2019s just me. My meat and potato business is fixing flats, I average fixing five flats a day, 30 a week. But I sell enough refurbished bikes and do enough tune-ups, cleaning, brake work, and rim repairs to keep me in business.”
\nAnd his PB business has accumulated a lot over the decades. The old-school shop is chocked full of floor-to-ceiling bikes. His walls are festooned with tires, pedals, handlebars, seats, inner tubes and memorabilia. There\u2019s only enough room for a single line worn path to the front counter.
\n“This is the shop time forgot. I have something for everybody\u2019s bike needs,” says Bob. “That\u2019s why so many people have come here and keep coming back. I give people quality work for a fair price.”
\nWhile many his age are retired or thinking of retirement, the 73-year-old Bohn says he doesn\u2019t know how long he\u2019ll continue working. “I\u2019m here six days a week. I bring my lunch every day. I enjoy the people. I\u2019ll be repairing bikes as long as I physically can.” That\u2019s what Bikesmith\u2019s do.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bob knows bikes. He should. He\u2019s been fixing flats, changing chains and brushing-up brakes since 1970. That\u2019s half a century! “Who would have thought I\u2019d still be repairing bikes,” says 73-year-old Bob Bohn, owner of The Bikesmith on Garnet Avenue, near Lamont Street. “I\u2019ve been in this bright yellow building for a long time. I […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":278095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11559","_seopress_titles_title":"Bikesmith Bob has kept Pacific Beach pedaling for 50 years","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11559,11551],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-278094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beach-bay-press","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278094\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}