Mechanic of the Week - June 27th, 2016 #mechanicmonday

​PBMA is excited to introduce you to our Mechanic of the Week, Matt Feiner of The Devil’s Gear in New Haven, CT!

For those of you just tuning into #mechanicmonday, this is where we feature one mechanic each week, chosen at random from nominations submitted the week before. It’s all about mechanics supporting fellow mechanics!

Matt Feiner is a mechanic, shop owner, artist, and community activist. He brings wisdom and passion to all that he does. Matt grew up racing and working in Connecticut bike shops, and he founded The Devil’s Gear in 2001 with the goal of “turning people into riders, and riders into cyclists.” Over the past fifteen years, his shop has come to define New Haven bicycling culture. Devil’s Gear supports a wide range of cyclists: from city commuters, to college students and student-athletes, to elite racers, to families “just looking to get out and ride together.” Matt and his team (who are truthfully more like his family!) make sure that everyone who walks through the door feels like part of the Devil’s Gear family, regardless of their ability or expertise.

This past weekend, Matt led a “Cycle-bration” event as part of the annual International Festival of Arts and Ideas, to celebrate the 150-year anniversary of the modern bicycle in America. This event was the result of more than a year’s collaboration between Matt and his team, the Elm City Cycling club, the American Wheelmen, the Arts and Ideas festival organizers, and the City of New Haven. Among other things, “Cycle-bration” included a ride that re-traced the original route Pierre Lallement took around the New Haven Green in April 1866, which is widely recognized as the debut of the modern bicycle in America. (Interestingly, The Devil’s Gear shop is located in the same building on Orange Street that once housed the New Haven Daily Palladium newspaper, which printed the first article about Pierre Lallement’s first bicycle ride!)

Matt was nominated by his New Haven community to be featured by the PBMA and we could not be more proud to recognize him as our Mechanic of the Week this week. We look forward to following Matt and The Devil’s Gear as they continue to inspire cyclists and grow the cycling community throughout Connecticut!
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Nothing makes us happier than seeing mechanics supporting fellow mechanics, so we encourage you to join the conversation: Post a picture of YOUR favorite mechanic and tag us @probicyclemech, #probma, or #mechanicmonday, or nominate him or her to be featured in next week’s post!

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