Mellow Johnny’s - Lance Armstrong’s Bike Shop
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I don’t believe there has been as much build up and anticipation about the opening of a bike shop ever seen (States side anyway) then the grand opening of Lance Armstrong’s shop Mellow Johnny’s. The blogosphere has been abuzz since the initial press release. Mainstream media has also picked up and relayed the news. On May 10th the shop opened for business with a star studded lineup with Gary Fisher, Chris Carmichael and Lance himself on hand. I didn’t make it down to the grand opening premiere, I was busy riding the 106 miles of the Armadillo Hill Country Classic.
I was however able to get to downtown Austin this week to the shop located on 400 Nueces. The shop is spacious, the layout is very well thought out and the use of the space is conducive. With 9000 sq. ft you can see the entire shop from end to end. This also makes it easy to see all the merchandise and Lance Armstrong memorabilia. It’s obvious that a lot of thought has been put into the layout and asthetics of the shop.
The walls are adorned with photos of Lance throughout his career. His past Trek bikes are hanging from the rafters in many locations throughout the shop, along with other things he had cluttering up his garage like 7 yellow Tour De France jerseys. This all made for a nice atmosphere.
The actual shop area is very clean, which would be understandable since they’ve only been open for a week. What will be impressive is if they are able to keep the tidiness as their clientele grows and the number of bikes they are working on increases. With the openness of the area they will have to make sure all their tools are properly put away.
Trek and Gary Fisher are the big bike brands that Mellow Johnny’s carries. There are also Swobo, DeRosa, Eddie Merckx, Pinarello, Seven and local frame builder Crumpton had a bike on display for sale. The item that really piqued my interest were the kits. The Mellow Johnny’s kits are impressive and they come in 3 different color combinations. For a shop kit’s they look good, are simple and adorned with only the Mellow Johnny’s logo. Kits are available in black with white lettering/logo, white with black lettering/logo or blue with white lettering/logo. All kits have matching shorts, bibs and socks. For me the price of the jersey ($109) was the deterring factor.
It’s not all bikes at Mellow Johnny’s, they also have a coffee shop, Juan Pelota, located inside. They offer coffees, smoothies, assortment of teas, pastries and grab and go salads and sandwiches. As for the name, no there is no bike reference and no it’s not Tex-Mex for Johnny’s Peloton. In case you missed the inside joke, it’s Spanish and translates to One Ball, another Armstrong nickname. Pretty darn funny, but makes me rethink ordering the pelo-tonic smoothie.
All in all the shop is a cool place to hang out. If you are a commuter in downtown Austin then the shop is a welcome opening as they offer a shower for commuters and bike storage for commuters as well.
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May 21st, 2008 at 2:57 pm
What? No LeMond bikes?
May 22nd, 2008 at 6:04 am
Who is LeMond???? Is he some French guy????????? I did hear about an America named Greg, I think he said he was to only America that never used drugs.
July 6th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
looks like an awesome palce to hang out!! If I ever get to Dallas this is where I must go!!
July 19th, 2008 at 8:45 am
Lance is the Man…..
Could hop on the bike and climb the podium at the tdf right now!
An awesome inspiration to me personally, and no question about it, he is the best conditioned athlete of all time, in body and mind.
Seven TDF mellow johnny’s in a row, and he did it clean…….
It’s no wonder the French hate him.
Fuck the French; Long Live Lance!
Thank you Lance.
-Joe Sciolino
August 1st, 2008 at 6:46 am
Well Joe, “Fuck the French”? You’d rather see Tour de Iceland?
Gabrielle…if you find this shop in Dallas and not Austin, you be sure and let us all know where it is, okay?
And yes, Lance was one of the best conditioned athletes to compete. But his politics suck! Mountain biking with George Bush? C’mon. I would only do that as part of a prison sentence. I guess everyone has a choice of who they support. Lance had a whole team to support him…guess that’s what really made him a winner.
September 8th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Scott? Why you haten on Lance for riding with George Bush? And since you seem so against Bush, can you articulate what specifically he has done that you are against? Or, are you just another sheep following the Bush bashing liberal spin doctors? Politics aside, I can’t wait to see this bike shop…it sounds sweet.
August 7th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
you’re a dumb ass Scott hopkins… Lance is incredible!
November 14th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Can anyone tell me if the Mellow Johnny’s jerseys are available to buy somewhere online?
December 4th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Don’t sweat the Bush connection there, Hopkins. If you’ll remember, the point of his meeting with Bush was to discuss cancer initiatives. Lance would have gone biking with whoever happened to be president at the time in order to make his point. Maybe he loves Bush, maybe he doesn’t–you don’t know ’cause Lance has been very careful to not wear his politics on his sleeve for fear of hurting his true passion.