Passion, Echelon one in the same
“I thought about it for years — what kind of name would I want?” said the owner of Echelon Bicycles, 138 West End Ave. in Farragut. “I wanted it to be a cool word — not just my name — but something that was really descriptive.
“I finally uttered it out loud, and knew that was it.”
While Echelon connotes a certain level of authority or achievement, it also is well-known to racers as a type of formation that might occur under specifically tenuous circumstances.
“When Echelons form, it breaks up the races and it upsets the apple cart,” Hamm said with a smile.
For the last nine years, Hamm has done just that by creating a specialized and unique bicycle shop, providing sales, repairs, consignment services and even a Tap Room to quench bikers’ thirsts
both before and after rides Hamm and associates frequently lead.
Despite COVID-19, “Over the last 10 to 20 years, the riding scene has really exploded,” Hamm said. “It has been trending in a lot of places, but it has certainly grown exponentially here.”
Though admitting “group rides have been disrupted a bit, along with most other aspects of the business, the last two years,” the Echelon owner added, “this Spring should be a big step back toward normal.
“Traffic patterns have changed and getting out during rush hour would be much less of an issue if we got out a little further west, maybe Melton Hill Dam. Saturday rides from the shop won’t change, but weekday rides after work certainly might.”
Starting back carefully, “For now, we’re going to resume the Wednesday rides and see how it goes before making the call on Tuesday/Thursdays,” Hamm said.
Opening his own shop was a long-held dream for Hamm and his wife, Tanya Hamm, who live about 6 miles from the West End Center business.
He is making plans to fully reopen the Echelon Tap Room in the near future. “We are looking at being open seven days a week, and my plan is to be working behind the bar,” Hamm said, noting the need for an additional revenue stream as ongoing global supply chain issues have impacted the availability of parts and supplies — but has not diminished his customer base.
“We do a good job and have a great reputation,” he added. “We treat people like we want to be treated. We want our customers to be our friends, and that is how we do business.”
Tour de France
While he enjoys riding and pushing himself, Hamm has never been a professional racer, yet he did follow on the trail of some of the top pros — in the gold standard of worldwide bike racing — in 2009.
“A few friends and I brought our bikes to France and followed the Tour (de France) through the Alps in 2009 and got to ride some of the great climbs we’d all seen on TV for decades — Col du Galibier, Columbiere, Verbier, Mont Ventoux,” he said. “It was the trip of a lifetime.”
He also traveled to Sedona, Arizona, for a week-long biking trip last week.
Kentucky to Farragut
A native of Somerset, Kentucky, Hamm began riding mountain bikes in the late 1980s as a teenager.
“There are not a lot of mountain bike trails in that part of Tennessee,” he said, noting when he moved to the Knoxville area in 2000 he discovered East Tennessee was “bicycle-riding heaven.
“This part of the country, with the long riding season, the lakes, mountains, the trails — you couldn’t ask for a much prettier place to ride, and I certainly haven’t been any place I’d rather live,” he added.
“We really are blessed.”
