Beixinqiao

 

If you are in to Beijing, and want to satisfy a bicycle hankering, you must head to Beixinqiao. Bicycle heaven. Take the 5 subway line to the Yongehong stop (Lama Temple). Visit the temple which is one of Beijing's great landmarks, and then go to the nearby Natooke fixie shop, if that is your desire

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If not, walk back to the main street, Yongehong Nan Da Jie and then head south.

 

At Jiaodouku Lu, cross the street.  Now you are approaching bicycle heaven. If you go west, you will run into a strip of local shops and a Giant bicycle super store.

 

   

  

 

I'll say this for the Taiwanese Giant  brand, they know how to do a bicycle shop up right! The have a huge stock of proprietary bikes, nicely displayed with upscale components including Shimano and Campy conveniently located nearby. From the looks of things, I'd say that the French "Randonneur" style of bike is coming back into vogue.

 

 

On the north side of Jiaodouku Lu is a Giant eCycle super-store, if you'd rather let the volts due the pedalling.

 

 

If you head back to the corner of Jiaodouku Lu  and Yonghehong lu and head south, you'll see are the Pawnshops, one on either side of the road, followed by some more local shops. The road is now called Dong Si Shi Tiao

 

 

 

 

The pawnshops usually have a good selection of roadsters:  British, Japanese and Chinese, of course.

 

South of that on Dong Si Shi Tiao are several local shops sell new roadsters: Flying Pigeon, Phoenix, Forever. There's a lot of folding bikes and eCycles mixed, in there of course.

 

 

  

 

There are also several street side bike doctors in the area.

 

 

At the extreme south on the map is a shop selling high end German and Chinese bikes, particularly the Merida brand. If you feel like a carbon fiber race bike, you can find them here.

I would then turn around and head north again to the junction of Jiaodouku. Then turn east. You are now in a section of the street is called "Gui Jie", or Ghost Street. It is wall-to-wall restaurants for about a kilometer and a half, many of which are open all night. The "ghosts" in this case are the diners who come in at 3 AM wearing pajamas for some late night hot pot.  I've been at 1:30 AM and many restuarants still had a waiting line outside! At any time, this is a great place to get some good food and a Yanjing beer.

 

(Map credit to Google Maps)

Comments

[Erik]

This has little to do with this post but, thank you for sharing your experiences with us. I have long loved the traditional roadster and hope to soon have my own pigeon. Your blog is a good source of information for all of us afflicted with "roadsteritis." I love reading about people who actually use their bikes for transportation instead of a toy only used on the weekend.

I wish there was a store here in the U.S. that sold parts for roadsters of all makes and models. Have you ever considered selling the cool stuff you find over there to those of us who are starved for roaster parts? how about the 3 speed hubs for 40 hole rims, saddles, and other cool stuff you come across. I am sure it would be a bigger pain than it would be worth. I was looking for a 32t cottered crank for climbing the big hills we have here, and can't find one in the states for an adult bike. I found the part I need, however, they are in China and India not in the U.S.

Keep up the good work, I really enjoy your blog!

Erik

[Yihang]

Hi there. what is the exact location of his shop? i would love one of his seats.