About Us
How did you start?
We thought the bike industry was getting a bit too serious. Bikes are meant to be fun.
We want to bring back that fun, whether with wild colour schemes, radical rebuilds or experimenting with indie components. We'd like to be a place where everyone has a mutual respect and admiration for each other's rigs.
We hope you'll love your bike more if it's customised to be totally you (at least the bike version of you anyway).
What sort of customisation are you talking about?
We do custom paint projects and sell a select range of high-end components. We partner with R3 Cycles (who we share a shop space with) for bike builds. Check out our project gallery for an idea of builds we've worked on.
Why the name Bike Sanctuary?
Originally we wanted to do bike rescue and "re-homing" (restoration). Nowadays, it means respect for craftsmanship, whether it's from a 60 year old or 60 day old company.
There's so many cool independent makers now and we'd like to offer a safe space where the next generation of brands can get a bit more exposure to a wider audience.
If you're a paint shop, why do you sell components?
For many people, paint is just the start. Top-quality components are just one way to put the finishing touches on your build. We bring in good-looking products on the 'shreddier' side (e.g. mudguards, full-suspension frames, carbon enduro rims) to give our customers a sampling of cool stuff out there that might not be considered by bigger shops.
We have a soft spot for independent makers so we do our bit to spread awareness of their work. We strongly encourage you to buy from them direct (helps with their margins).
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Are you collectors?
We enjoy nerding out on bike culture but you probably won't find pristine, period-correct builds destined to hang on a wall here.
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We're happy to restore your rig to mint condition but when it comes to our own, we believe bikes are made to be ridden. We love seeing our projects out in the wild.
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Why steel bikes?
Are they heavy? Yes. Are they versatile? Yes. Do we regret owning so many? Nope. We started out with a fondness for NJS track bikes for their simplicity and 26er mountain bikes for their practicality (both seem to have equally crazy colour schemes).
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Why 1% for the Planet?
We love nature and we're pretty sad about the amount of landfill and pollution humans are generating. We use water-based paint, recycle / restore components wherever we can and donate annually to 1% for the Planet. Sometimes the solution isn't always buying new. There are enough bikes and quality old components in the world already, waiting to be found.



