Triathalon Bikes on 4th Ave.

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Jurkowski sells three brands of bikes: Colnago ("Old World Italian--their bikes are very beautiful"); BMC ("Swiss with a very distinct aesthetic--customers aren't usually interested in both, unless they're me"); and the very triathlon-specific Quintana Roo, with the parallel handlebars for resting the forearms, an arrangement Jurkowski insists is for aerodynamics but surely serves the dual purpose of giving an exhausted triathloner a moment of repose. Transition's bikes start around $1,800. Jurkowski also builds custom bikes from components. Customer Ed Baas was in finalizing the details of his 29-inch single-speed mountain bike, and says they've spent hours, over a period of months, talking it through. "This bike in particular we spent a lot of time picking out. But we did a bike a few weeks ago, and it took five hours," says Jurkowski.

Jurkowski adds: "There's a lot of pretentiousness in this sport and a lot of information that's hard to get. One of our most important principles is we welcome anyone who wants to ask questions. We all had help when we were starting out, and we'd like to pass that along."

Transition Rack, 217 S. Fourth Ave., 214-9700. Mon., Wed., & Fri. 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Tues. & Thurs. 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Sat. noon-6 p.m. Closed Sun. transitionrack.com   

[Originally published in August, 2012.]