RICHMOND, Va. — Jesse McCauley has turned a passion for 19th-century bicycles into a thriving business. The Richmond man rescues and restores vintage two-wheelers from his basement workshop in the city's Byrd Park neighborhood.
McCauley founded McCauley's Cycle Works, a 10-year-old business specializing in used bicycles from the 1890s.
His basement serves as part salvage yard, part workshop, and part time capsule — filled with hubs, stems, spokes, saddles, and antique parts of every shape and size.
"This is my office," McCauley said. "This is where I feel most myself."
The 39-year-old says his obsession with antique bicycles began with a chance discovery.
"When I found my first 19th century bicycle in a Richmond basement, I was smitten," McCauley said.
Since then, he has built a reputation for meticulous restoration work, sourcing bikes and parts from back alleys, old barns, and eBay.
His finished creations ship to clients across the globe.
"There's a unique story for almost every one of them," McCauley said. "I still get excited. I get excited about other people's excitement. I think everybody's got a bicycle story. Everybody's got some kind of connection to the bicycle."
McCauley says the learning process was not easy when he started out.
"There was a very steep learning curve. I had no idea what I was doing initially," he said.
His standards remain uncompromising.
"If it's not done right, it's not done," McCauley said.
Among his most loyal customers is Mike Wolf, host of American Pickers.
"And when I know I've got the thing, gosh, it's so exciting. I may get more excited than my average client," Wolf said.
McCauley also claims to own the largest collection of orphaned antique pedals anywhere.
He says the craftsmanship of late 19th-century bicycle makers still impresses him.
"They all vary so much, and some of them are really built with a combination of a high sense of aesthetics and really just flawless design," McCauley said.
The work carries a deeper meaning for McCauley beyond the mechanics.
"It is special. It makes me feel tethered to a part of history that otherwise is very easy to lose," he said.
The married father also finds and fixes discarded modern bicycles, donating them at no charge.
"I do everything that I can to donate objects just to keep it out of the landfill," McCauley said.
Among the most prized pieces in his collection are wood-frame bicycles from the turn of the 20th century.
"If you're going to have one or two bicycles in a museum from the turn of the 20th century, a wood frame Old Hickory would be high on that list," he said.
McCauley says he has no plans to slow down.
"I'm confident that I'll continue finding an odd antique bicycle here in Virginia for a long time, for the foreseeable future," McCauley said.
"I really do have a bit of an infatuation with bicycles, and I try to keep it within reason," he said. "I can't imagine anything that would really bring me as much joy."
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