From buying materials and setting up the shop to assembling bikes, they did everything themselves—proving that self-reliance can lead to a good life.
According to statistics from the Chengdu Bureau of Statistics last December, the city currently has around 25,000 resident foreigners, including teachers, students, white-collar workers, artists, and businesspeople, most commonly found in bars and cafes. Of course, there are always exceptions: Jacob Klink, 29, known as "Lin Gaogao," and Larry Adamson, 34, nicknamed "An Boyuan," came to Chengdu and opened a bicycle shop on Xiaotian South Street. From buying materials and setting up the shop to assembling bikes, they did everything themselves—proving that self-reliance can lead to a good life.
Larry Adamson (An Boyuan), Age: 34, Education: Master’s in Biomedical Science, Previous Job: Researcher
Jacob Klink (Lin Gaogao), Age: 25, Education: Bachelor’s in Chinese History, Previous Job: Bike Mechanic
No ID card
Problems opening a bank account
Before this, An Boyuan came to China and taught biology at an international school in Beijing. Lin Gaogao majored in Chinese history and after graduation went to Inner Mongolia to experience the “real China.” In 2011, the two met in Beijing, where An Boyuan introduced him to teaching English at the same international school. “Those kids were all rich second-generation types—they just wanted to play in class, so I couldn’t teach there.” Last June, during the summer break, the two quit their jobs. “Since Lin Gaogao had previously volunteered at NATOOKE, a fixed-gear bike shop in Beijing, they decided to open their own bike shop. ‘The Beijing market was already saturated, but Chengdu has flat terrain and mountains nearby—it’s an ideal base.’”
Starting a company first requires registering for business and tax licenses, opening a bank account, and other procedures. As foreigners, their biggest hurdle was not having ID cards. “Even many intermediaries didn’t know how to handle it,” said An Boyuan. On October 5, they received their business license and needed to open a bank account. “Our passports have all-uppercase names, but our business license has a mix of upper and lowercase letters—their system thought we weren’t the same person…” Later, switching banks solved these issues. “Finally, we got it open.”
Carrying building materials ourselves
Handling all the renovations ourselves
From July when construction began to completing the renovation, the two spent just one month. They laid walls, painted, built cabinets, and even crafted the shop’s clock DIY-style using a wheel hub. “Except for the large iron plate used for the fixed bike assembly stand, which we had delivered by a ‘fire tricycle,’ everything else—cement, wood—we carried back ourselves from the Fuhe Market on our bikes.”
Even shopping for supplies had its challenges. “Some vendors at the market thought we were crazy!” We hadn’t even spoken yet when they said, ‘No way, no way,’ and pointed at us. We just laughed—it was the first compliment we got here.” In the end, they could only ask nearby shops to help deliver the heavier items they needed. “Even surrounding shop owners asked us where we bought our building materials,” said An Boyuan. Including their first stock of inventory, they spent over 100,000 RMB in total. “The American way is to figure out how to solve problems yourself.” During the interview, Klink also treated us to freshly baked bread he had made himself.
The entire shop is only about 40 square meters, but by doing everything themselves, the two only spent 20,000 RMB on renovations. They even built the loft staircase themselves. “Even some nearby shop owners asked where we got our building materials,” An Boyuan said. Including their first stock of goods, the total cost was over 100,000 RMB. “The American way is to deal with whatever comes your way yourself.” During the interview, Klink even served freshly baked bread he had made himself.
Selling “fixed-gear bikes”
No haggling, just better service
Since opening on October 5 last year, business has been good—they’ve sold over 20 bikes so far, ranging from 2,000 RMB to tens of thousands. “We never haggle. We focus more on service. For every buyer, we recommend products based on their needs.” Klink said someone once offered tens of thousands to buy a full carbon fiber bike. “I told them, ‘Why? We won’t sell products to people who don’t need them.”
A unique feature of the shop is their many fixed-gear bikes, which also come equipped with brakes. “Fixed-gear means the cog is fixed—you can pedal backward, but that doesn’t mean you brake that way,” Klink explained. “Many people come in and say, ‘If you put brakes on, is it still a fixed-gear?’”
Riding without brakes and relying solely on backpedaling to stop is very unsafe and is even banned in many countries. On this, Lin Gaogao explained that he used to ride without brakes in the U.S. too. The following year, he got into four accidents due to braking issues, so he voluntarily installed brakes. “Not having brakes isn’t cool—it’s playing with your life. We want everyone to ride safely.”