Adam Alvord, owner of West Georgia Cycling, has opened a shop but is continuing his mobile service. (Photo by Ricky Stilley/Times-Georgian)
“It started when I was a little kid,” Alvord said. “I tinkered with my neighbor’s bike, as well as my own, out of curiosity and fun.”
He rode his bike everywhere, to school at Central High and all around Carrollton.
“I didn’t even get my driver’s license until I was 20,” he said.
Through years of military service and work in the automotive industry, Alvord keep biking as a hobby and always spent a lot of time working on bikes.
Last October, he opened West Georgia Cycling as a mobile bicycle repair service, doing all the work from his highly decorated van. In June, he opened a store at 415B Bradley St., Carrollton, to have a shop where bikers could visit. He still offers the mobile service for Carrollton, Newnan and Douglasville.
“My main goal is to make cycling fun again,” Alvord said. “It’s not about having the latest or the greatest. Whether you have a department store bike or a high end model from a bike shop, having fun is what it’s all about.”
Alvord works on all kinds of bikes: road, mountain, cruiser, kids’ bikes and three-wheelers. He is in the process of getting dealership credentials for bike brands such as Haro, Masi, Litespeed and Santa Cruz. He also has some used bikes for sale.
“We have a complete line of parts and accessories,” he said. “We’ll fix it in the shop or come to you location. There’s no extra charge for road service.”
West Georgia Cycling offers three levels of regular bike maintenance.
The bike inspection for $35. The service includes a quick bike wash and inspection, brake adjustment, derailleur adjustment, chain and derailleur lube and test ride. If additional parts are needed, those charges are extra.
The second level of service is the complete tune up for $65.
“If you’re riding a lot, you may need more than one tune-up per year to make sure your bike rides safely and efficiently,” he said. “Think of it like an oil change for your car — three months or 3,000 miles, whichever comes first. With your bike, the harder and more often you ride, the sooner you’ll need another tune-up.”
The complete tune-up includes wash and inspection, wheel tuning, brake adjustment, derailleur adjustment, headset and bottom bracket adjustment (if needed), lubrication of cables, chain and derailleurs and test ride. Parts are extra.
The most intensive service is the complete overhaul for $175. It’s for people who may have neglected their bikes and need some additional parts and labor to get them back into shape.
The package includes a complete tune-up, along with a cleaning, repacking and adjustment of bearings in the hubs, headset and bottom bracket, new shift and brake cables (a total of four) and a test ride to make sure everything works perfectly.
Alvord was born in Schenectady, N.Y., and moved to Carrollton with his mother in 1985. He attended Central High School, where he played in the band and graduated in 1996.
“I went into the Air Force in 1997 and was in for four years,” he said. “I left active duty on Sept. 10, 2001, the day before the Twin Towers were hit.” He remained in the reserves for a few more years.
Alvord was a diesel mechanic while in the Air Force and was stationed in Idaho. It was there he discovered the mountain terrain and fun of mountain biking.
“The more I rode, the more I learned about bikes and what it took to work on them,” he said. “I became friends with Steve Parrish, who was known as the ‘Idaho Dirt Dart.’ He had a mobile bike service there. That’s where I learned to work on them really well.”
After leaving the Air Force, Alvord returned to Carrollton and worked a year at another bike shop. He then went to work for Scott Evans Nissan as a parts manager, where he remained for about nine years.
“I always did bike work on the side,” he said. “People heard about me from word of mouth and they came to my home to get their bikes fixed. Last October, I officially started my mobile bike service. I’ve been going non-stop ever since. I opened this store front a month and a half ago.”
Through it all, Alvord said he has maintained his passion for biking, noting that he has about $8,500 invested in his own bicycle.
West Georgia Cycling has a Facebook page and a website at www.westgeorgiacycling.com. His phone number is 678-476-4974 and his e-mail is AdamAlvord@att.net.
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