Nelo Breda, owner of Nelo’s Cycles and Coffee on Mesa Drive in Northwest Austin, said he was a 16-year-old bicycle courier in Sao Paulo, Brazil, when he first saw a racing bike.
Because the bicycle he used to make deliveries often broke down, Breda said he was a regular customer at a local repair shop in Sao Paulo.
“The owner of the shop, he was a bicycle racer, and every time I went in I saw this beautiful bike, ... beautiful color,” Breda said. “I [would] see some other guys stop by to visit him, some other bicycle racers. I would see these guys, and the color of their bikes, the color of their clothing, it starting catching [my attention].”
Taken in by the allure, Breda’s visits to the repair shop set him on a path to become one of Brazil’s top racing cyclists during the 1970s. He later became an internationally renowned coach whose teams competed in several world championship events and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia. It also motivated him to open his own bicycle shop, a feat he accomplished while still in Brazil.
After he got married and moved to the U.S. to continue coaching, Breda opened a shop in Austin in 2000.
Nelo’s Cycles and Coffee offers maintenance and repair services as well as custom bike fittings, which can help cyclists keep good posture and avoid back injuries, Breda said.
The mid- to higher-end bicycles sold in the shop cater toward more serious cyclists. The shop also carries cycling accessories, safety equipment and apparel.
Breda’s new coffee bar, which opened in mid-May, offers a menu with drip coffee, espresso, pastries, smoothies and breakfast tacos. He said he wanted to give customers something to do while they wait for repairs and also create a friendly gathering place for people in the surrounding neighborhood.
“Coffee and bikes match very well,” Breda said.
[g-slider gid="246078" width="100%" height="55%"]
Nelo’s Cycles and Coffee
8108 Mesa Drive, Ste. B105, Austin 512-338-0505 www.neloscycles.com Hours: Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m.-7 p.m., Sat. 7 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun. 7 a.m.-noon
