Tony Martin wants to work on your bike. In his garage. Not because he needs the money, but because he loves the work. 

Martin has been building, repairing and riding bikes since his childhood in England. For the past six years, he's been doing this out of his garage in a Liberty Lake neighborhood. A mechanical engineer by trade, Martin says he diverted his energy to repairing bikes for neighbors around the time he retired in 2009. About the same time, he volunteered to fix the bikes of a couple missionaries from the nearby Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, who put a lot of miles on their bicycles. Soon, the church started bringing all their bikes to him, and a small business was born.

With May being National Bike Month and Bike to Work Week in Spokane being May 18-22, Martin will be busy getting bicycles tuned up for the busy season ahead. He also sells restored bicycles. When he's not repairing both adult and children's bicycles of all kinds, Martin spends his time restoring bikes that he picks up cheap, then resells for a reasonable price. Affordability is part of his garage business's DNA, Martin said. 

"I'm not here to make money, just here to enjoy myself," he said. "I want a reason to get up every day." 

Another reason Martin gets up every day is to ride. He takes a 6-mile bike ride seven days a week, which he says keeps him young. Martin also credits bicycling with helping him quit smoking. He didn't ride when his children were young, but once they left the house and he decided to quit smoking, it all kind of fell together. 

"I quit smoking, bought a bike and never thought about smoking again," Martin said. 

A self-trained bicycle mechanic, Martin's expertise dates back to the 1960s. At that time, bikes were very important in the United Kingdom where he grew up. 

"That's how you got around - by riding bicycles. We couldn't afford cars," he said. That changed in a decade. "There was no interest in bicycling in the 1970s, in the U.K. or the U.S. It's been steadily coming back since the '90s though." 

He says that's mainly because more bikes began to be manufactured in China and Taiwan, making them more affordable for the average family. 

"Eighty percent of my business is Walmart bikes," Martin said. 

Which he's fine with. He says he fixes many gears, replaces tires and tunes-up many "everyday" bikes. With a serious biking population in Liberty Lake, though, and the nearby Coeur d'Alene Triathlon taking place every year, Martin is eager to work on more of the higher-end triathlon bikes and vintage bikes. He has several vintage bikes himself, ranging from ones made in the late 1960s to the 1990s. For older bikes, Martin combs eBay and other online sources for the proper parts, as well as local second hand shops.

The growth of local bike culture, evidenced by events such as Bike to Work Week that have become popular in recent years, makes Martin happy not just because it's good for business but because the shift in attitude has brought more bicycling infrastructure with it, such as recreational trails and bike lanes. He also believes that, along with the increase in biking, an increase in bicycling education is necessary. Martin says he tries to avoid riding in traffic because many drivers aren't willing to share the road with bicyclists or just don't see them like they do other cars. Conversely, he also sees many bicyclists who don't follow the rules of the road, which can cause conflicts with drivers.

Even so, Martin says he's a bicyclist for life. And the best part is that he gets to see and experience all kinds of bicycles that come in and out of his garage, a garage that is very convenient for many Liberty Lake residents because it's right in the community. Not having the overhead of a shop also allows him to keep his prices low. Martin doesn't charge by the hour. Mostly he says he charges for parts, a little for his time, and the rest of his pay comes from the fun of being around bikes all day.

• • •

Bicycle mechanic Tony Martin, who works out of his Liberty Lake garage, can be reached at 998-2359.