After seven years at 380 Sherman St., across from Hartwell Park in Ridgway, Nate Miller is moving Ridgway Wrench to the industrial park at 621 N. Cora St.
“I’ve been tripping over myself in a form of controlled chaos for some time now,” Miller said. “Our current lease ends in June, the rent was going to go up, and the building we’re in is for sale; with a new owner, the rent was bound to go even higher, which would likely put us out of business. When I saw this larger space, I knew I should hop on it.”
Miller specializes in all types of bike repair, from suspension service to wheel building, and from custom builds to vintage restores and adaptive bicycle repair. His retail space is dedicated to essentials like lights, bottle cages, multi-tools, helmets, gloves, tires and brake pads, and he is a dealer for EVIL, Esker, Marin, Borealis and Revel. Miller also has a fleet of rental bikes for getting around town or out on the trails.
Miller has been spinning wrenches on bikes since he was a kid and has worked on every type of bicycle imaginable. He started out at Young’s Bicycle Shop on Nantucket Island, a four-generation business that opened in 1931. As a high school student, Miller helped keep a fleet of 1,000 rental bikes on the road.
After moving to Park City, Utah, where he serviced bikes for pro riders and made a lot of connections he still relies on today, Miller moved to Colorado and opened Ridgway Wrench in 2017.
“The timing was right, and I love having a shop and being a part of the community in this way,” Miller said.
Being part of the community is what makes Ridgway Wrench successful, said Miller’s fellow rider Tim Tait, president of the Nucla-based West End Trails Alliance.
“Nate is good at rallying the local bike community to do rides. It compliments a bike shop, and a well-rounded bike shop can wrench, do retail and bring people together on bikes,” Tait said.
Miller helps the community out in other ways, too. Last year, he served on the Noel Night committee, and for the past two years, he’s been working with Tait, others and the Gravel Adventure Field Guides to produce a Ridgway, West End and Montrose gravel road biking guide. The new book will be released late April during a weekend of guided rides and events in all three regions.
In January, Miller was one of four Ridgway businesses selected to apply for the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade’s Community Business Preservation Program. The Plaindealer published a story about the grant application on Jan. 24.
Miller and his fellow applicants will find out in March if they will be awarded funding.
“If we’re awarded the grant, it’ll help with rent a little. I also look forward to expanding some offerings in the shop, like adding some bike packing bikes for hut trippers. I’ll also improve the repair shop for ease of service. There’s definitely some latest and greatest that I would love to have,” Miller said.
He also will apply the grant to marketing efforts, which may be needed once he’s off of Sherman Street and into the industrial park.
“I’ll lose some of my walk-in traffic, but I have a following and I’m not too worried,” he said.
At the new location on North Cora Street, Miller will be across from San Juan Huts and next to the Ridgway Animal Hospital and Colorado Boy Depot.
“I think it’ll be good. And, the support that we all have here in Ridgway is great. This is why we all live here.”
More information on the Gravel Adventure Field Guide and release party is at graveladventurefieldguide. com.
Find more information about Ridgway Wrench at ridgwaywrench.com.
Editor’s note: The story has been updated to correct an error that mistakenly referred to Ridgway Wrench as the only bike repair shop in Ridgway. Ridgway Adventure Sports has offered a full service bike shop since it opened in 2018.
