El Cyclista

04.26.12

The Exceller Bike Shop / Bruges / Belgium

In a city where the primary mode of transport seemed to be by bike, it takes a little effort to stand out from the crowd. In Bruges pretty much everyone was riding the typical dutch commuter, or sometimes a modern hybrid. But every so often we would spot someone on a classic Moulton folder, or a beautiful Pashley Guv’nor and wonder where they were picking them up. On one of our days off from the classics wondering around the streets I think we found the place, the wonderful bike shop Exceller. Over a cup of coffee with owner Christian he talked about how a love of design and all things well made became his way of defining what products he would sell through the shop.

He carries everything from beautifully built bikes (Pashley, schindelhauer, Cooper and Creme to name a few) to accessories, tools and the clothes you would expect to find in a quality boutique shop. But by coffee number two the good stuff started to unearth. Custom built lugged steel stems built by the same frame builder that built the original Merckx frames as executive paper weights. Handmade bells and pedals by Søren Søgreni. Custom saddles by Gilles Berthoud. But maybe my favorite of all was a box of Tressoplast cloth tape that I hadn’t seen in years. If ever you are passing through Bruges this shop is well worth a visit, especially if it is during the Tour when the stage starts in the main Square, Christian informs us there will be live coverage, sausages and beer served in the shop.