Longtime bicycle mechanic Clayton Haskins has opened Durango’s newest bike shop, Lost Canyon Bike Service.

“It’s something I’ve planned to do for a while,” he said. “I’ve been working in shops for around 10 years.”

Before opening Lost Canyon, Haskins worked for two years as a bike mechanic at San Juan Cycles in Durango.

“Going into winter I got laid off and decided it was kind of now or never to open up my own place,” he said. “So I found a space and decided to go for it.”

Haskins said business has been busy since Lost Canyon opened about a month ago. During the business’ opening, he launched a promotional sale offering 40% off labor costs. The sale has since ended, but brought in a lot of traffic, he said.

“It was way busier than I expected,” he said. “At one point, I had like 35 bikes, which for one person is a lot.”

Haskins said he takes an a la carte approach to pricing, offering a detailed list on his website of what each individual service costs. For example, a chain installation costs $15.

“I think charging this way is the best deal for the customer and the best deal for me, because everybody knows exactly what they’re paying for,” he said.

Lost Canyon is located at 546 E. College Drive. The shop has a patio space in front that Haskins says he wants to use to display bikes, as well as occasionally hold maintenance clinics.

While attending school at University of Colorado Boulder, Haskins competed in collegiate level downhill mountain bike racing. His love of mountain biking became a career when he got a job as a bike mechanic after graduating from CU.

“I was into bikes and I needed a job to cover my expenses. I started working at a bike shop, and I really enjoyed it. There’s so much to learn,” he said. “People think it’s kind of the same thing every day, but it really isn’t. There are unique problems to solve every day, and every bike is different.”

Lost Canyon hosts shop rides where people are invited to ride from the shop to one of Durango’s many trails. Haskins said one of his favorite rides in Durango is the Engineer Mountain Trail.

“It’s popular, but still fun,” he said.

He said because people ride their bikes so frequently in Durango, some common problems he sees include wear and tear on the drive trains and bearings. He said an important part of bike maintenance that can often be overlooked is keeping a bike cleaned.

“Keeping dirt out of the drive chain, the linkage and the bearings is important,” Haskins said. “It’s easy to do if you’ve got a hose and a spot to clean it with some degreaser dish soap in a spray bottle and some little brushes.”

Lost Canyon is the only seller of Forbidden Bikes in Durango, which is a bike company in British Columbia.

“It’s a unique brand that hasn’t been in Durango yet, it’s a very small mountain bike company,” he said.

njohnson@durangoherald.com