The Classic Bike Experience
Essex , VT
ph: 802-878-5383
Services
The Experience
Like our name implies, we are looking to provide the Classic Bike EXPERIENCE, whatever that means to you. Our intent is to provide a wide range of options for you to enjoy a classic bike. This can mean restoring your own with us helping with parts. It could mean a full turnkey (or "managed" as we like to say) restoration by CBE, or maybe you doing the work in our shop using our facilities, tools and technical advice. Or, we can find a bike for you and customize a restoration plan as required. Sometime in the future, it may mean rentals or long term leasing of machines.
Parts
We have an extensive inventory of over 14,000 new and used parts for restorations and maintenance. What we don't have we can typically get in a day or two. Prices are competitive and you have the assurance that you are getting the right stuff. We have selective used parts that are changing all the time.Service
We have a well equipped shop and a terrific set of suppliers for machining, coatings, etc. We consider service to be work done in our shop by our guys on your bike to keep it running and/or affect repairs to broken or worn out stuff. Restorations, on the other hand, implies a major teardown and rebuild to an agreed to standard.Managed Restorations
Managed restorations are, well, managed by us. We do the teardown, inspection, sourcing of outside services (eg machining), reassembly, sorting and check out. We will write down a phased plan that you will approve as we go along. There are a lot of decisions to be made in a restoration and we want you to make as many of them as possible - hey, it's your bike! Notably, we will agree on the level of restoration you are looking for. We expect most of our customers will be looking for great looking bikes that have sensible upgrades for safety and reliability so they can ride them. Payment will be expected at the end of each phase of the restoration.
Assisted Restorations
Many of our customers will have mechanical skills ranging from basic to advanced, but no place to work on a bike. Space permitting, we can offer access to our shop and tools to work on your restoration project. We can set up hourly, daily or monthly rates based on your needs. Makes a great father/son project!Find a Bike
We have a good eye for what is out there on eBay, Craig's List and word of mouth. One man's trash is another man's treasure........however, the opposite is also true. Buying old bikes is a risky proposition. Typically the machines have been through several owners (not all are loving!) and have sketchy pedigrees at best. We've been through the good and bad and can spot the treasure from the trash.
If you are looking for a certain bike, let us know. We can help you find the bike of your dreams and get it properly sorted for you. Or, maybe you'd like a complete, restorable bike to work on with us as an assisted restoration.
Rentals & Leasing
Today we can offer several machines for rental at special events, such as weddings. We ultimately hope to be able to rent or lease bikes for riding....stay tuned!
Doing Business with CBE
We find that the people who own and enjoy these machines are, by and large, honest. So are we.
Our preferred payment method is a check so that we can avoid bank/credit card fees. For small and medium phone orders we will simply send you the parts and ask you to send a check when you open your goodies and are happy with them. We request you try to keep your minimum order to at least $25 to make it worth Nick's time.
For service and restoration work or phone orders estimated to be more than $500, we will normally ask for a deposit and installment payments as necessary to keep us reasonably cash positive.
We can process Visa and Mastercard if you'd like as well.
The Classic Bike Experience
Essex , VT
ph: 802-878-5383
