About Us

Counterbalance Bicycles is a neighborhood shop with an interesting history.  Founded circa 2000 within a small redbrick corner store at the foot of Queen Anne Ave N & W Roy near where the rail cars ran before WWII. Hidden 50 feet away beneath the road still lies our namesake; the 16 ton ‘counterbalance’ needed to cable assist trolleys up and down formidable Queen Anne Hill.

As our successes rapidly outpaced capacity, we added our second location adjacent the Burke-Gilman trail in 2008. The new shop featured an open and inclusive floor plan, a ramped deck entrance and space for over 100 bikes and 6 working stands. Now with room to breathe, we added fitting services, rentals and expanded our custom bicycle program to include tandems.

In 2010, we consolidated our entire operation to the University Village location and sadly, said goodbye to all the good memories and good work we shared with our Queen Anne community – many of whom still come see us at the ‘new shop’.

Now 15 years on, our tiny shop has grown to serve greater Seattle with the best selection of high-value steel frame, commuter and lifestyle cyclist gear in the city. We are Seattle’s premiere Co-Motion, Salsa, Jamis, All-City dealer as well as the only shop open 7 days a week and on duty 7:30am weekdays for our early risers.

We remain committed to providing ‘highest-value’ options with bikes, parts and accessories in every price range. Outstanding customer service is who we are and with over 50 years of professional mechanical experience among our permanent staff, we can handle any and all service with competence and courtesy.
Come see us and be a part of our evolving story! The future is bright and as we grow, we are excited to see what the next 15 years will bring!