Bike Spot-15th and 15th

You may be aware of some of the local bike spots like, 21st South and Trax, with Cam Wood's BMX specialty shop, The Bicycle Collective and the soon-to-open Performance Megastore (!). 90th South with the soon-to-open Scheels (hear that Trek dealers?), Highland Drive and 9th and 9th have a bit of this going on, as well. The latest hotspot may be the 15th and 15th neighborhood, with the newly open Beehive Bicycles.  Look for the Applesque (or is it The Hive?!?! with their Chub Design theories) logo with fat and funky bikes in the window:

 

Fat bike and low-voc parts washer:

Owner Greg Steele is reaching out to niches by being open on Sundays and promoting brands such as Boo:

Thousand dollar truing stand:

After an introduction from Rolling Hall, I was curious to go across the street to the 15th Street Gallery, where Steve Smock, wrench turner at Really Competitive Cyclist, shows off his creative side with a supersized photorealist exhibition of bike parts.  Huge canvases show accurate machining and detail of bike components, even the individual cuts on a modern mirror finish cassette (click to enlarge):

The background collage/tech manual detail is amazing, too:

While I appreciate these works for their precision, attention to the mechanical and their expression of utility, I can also Imagine that some folks have a more Rothko approach searching for meaning in that which is abstract and unfamiliar.  Consider it an opportunity to take someone out, without a strong fondness for components (maybe sitting across the table from you), and see what your takeaways on the art are.