10/08/2026
Volunteer Spotlight: Greg Schell 🚲🔧
60 Bikes, Countless Hours, and a Love of the Challenge
When Greg Schell retired after more than 30 years as a machinist, he knew one thing: he wasn't ready to stop working with his hands.
He had always loved bikes and had been working on them since he was young, but after retiring, he wanted something more than a hobby and he didn't want another job. He wanted bikes to work on, on his own terms.
That's how Greg found his way to Lucky Bikes.
Greg had been coming into the shop for years, picking up parts and working on bikes of his own. After he retired, he approached Fernando with an idea: What if he could select a bike from Lucky Bikes, take it home, rebuild it, use parts from the shop, and then bring the finished bike back for us to sell?
It turned out to be a pretty great arrangement.
Since he started volunteering in September 2024, Greg has completed 60 bikes and he's already working on number 61.
Greg takes each project home to a small bike workshop he's created. At home he's created a dedicated bike shop, complete with his tools, parts, and everything he needs to bring an old bike back to life.
And these aren't quick tune-ups.
Greg typically spends 40–60 hours on each bike, sometimes working on one for a week or two. He takes the bike all the way down to the frame, removes and cleans the components, services bearings, evaluates the wheels, and rebuilds it from the ground up. He often replaces the drivetrain and searches through Lucky Bikes' used parts to find the right pieces for the project.
His machinist background comes in handy, too. Greg makes his own jigs and custom parts when needed, often figuring out creative ways to solve problems that come up along the way.
That's his favorite part.
“The challenge of trying to figure it out is what makes it really, really fun,” Greg says.
Greg has a particular soft spot for older bikes. He's drawn to bikes that have character and enjoys turning them into comfortable, practical rides. He often looks for larger tires and that classic, easygoing feel that reminds him of the bikes he rode growing up.
As he works on a bike, something interesting happens: he starts to form a connection with it.
Once he's stripped a frame down, cleaned it, polished it, and started putting it back together, Greg says it can feel almost like working with a piece of wood or creating a piece of art. Some bikes are harder to let go of than others. In fact, he's kept a few of his favorites including one with a unique CNC-machined aluminum fork that he couldn't resist.
Nearly all of Greg's bikes, however, come back to Lucky Bikes to be sold. And over time, his unique builds have developed a following among customers who look for his bikes when they hit the sales floor.
For Greg, volunteering at Lucky Bikes gives him something that a traditional job couldn't: freedom. There's no time clock, no customer telling him exactly how a bike needs to look, and no deadline forcing him to rush through a project. He can walk away from a bike, think about a problem, come back with a new idea, and figure out how to make it work.
It also keeps him learning.
Greg doesn't consider himself an expert, bikes are too varied for that, but his skills have certainly grown. Things that once took him hours to figure out can now take minutes, thanks to experience, problem-solving, and the mechanical skills he developed throughout his career.
And it all comes back to something that has been part of Greg's life since childhood. He remembers working on bikes with his dad when he was around six years old and learning how to pack bearings while helping his dad work on cars. Decades later, those early lessons still come back to him when he's working on a bike.
For Greg, there's something special about the simplicity of a bicycle and what it can do.
“I just love the detail and the simplicity,” he says.
We love having Greg as part of the Lucky Bikes community. His 60 completed bikes represent hundreds of hours of skill, creativity, and care and we're pretty sure number 61 won't be his last.
Thanks, Greg, for sharing your skills and your love of bikes with Lucky Bikes!
