Bike Shop Profile: The Jay Cloud Cyclery

Shop Name: The Jay Cloud Cyclery
Owner’s Name: Ethan Dull
Location: Montgomery Center, VT
Established: June 2013
Primary Brands: Trek, Santa Cruz

The Jay Cloud, where’s the name come from?

Well people around here know the Jay Cloud for providing the above average snowfall, and that’s our ultimate goal – provide great service and get you the goods!

What makes the Jay Cloud unique?

We’re a smaller shop, and that allows us to provide a highly personal service, build relationships, and really cater to different riders individual needs. We’re full-service and do our best to keep you rolling, from a flat fix, to custom wheels, or suspension rebuild. Between myself & my right hand man Dean, we can usually find a solution.

How’d you come to own a shop?

It is something I have always dreamed of! I’ve worked in shops all through high school here and college in Colorado. As I was finishing up with college, I was presented the opportunity to take over the bike business back home in the beautiful green mountains – “I’m done doing bikes, if you want it, its yours!”. We shared the space seasonally for 5 years, before moving to our new location.

Montgomery is a beautiful little town. What do you love about it?

Montgomery has a great sense of community that is hard to find anywhere. It’s a small town, but there is a lot going on. I especially like the wide variety of people we get to work with. Having a cafe in the bike shop brings in many people that are not necessarily bikers, and keep us involved in the bigger picture community. From our summer music series, to events like the People’s Prom Montgomery is a fun town and place to be a part of.

Can you describe the local scene?

The local mountain bike scene is about as “underground” as it gets. We’ve got a strong contingent of local riders who love ripping around our super fun trail network. When school is out you’ll see the kids out ripping around town, at the pumptrack, or doing shuttle runs themselves on side-by-sides. Due to landowner requests we can’t map or promote the trails in Montgomery, so many trails are of the if you know, you know variety. Come join us for a Thursday evening shop ride, or for our annual Treads Fest- this year happening Sept. 19-22!

A newbie walks in your store ready to invest in a bike. What’s your go to?

We like to see you get in a bike you can grow into and progress on. Whether it’s a hardtail or full suspension will depend on your budget, but we are here to take the time to get you on the best bike for your needs. We have the most fun on bikes, and want to see our customers doing the same. The Trek Fuel EX or Santa Cruz 5010 are our best options for entry level price with top level performance.

What’s the ideal setup for the veteran riders in your scene?

A longer travel trail bike with 140-160mm of full suspension travel is ideal for the mostly hand built trails and fun filled features. We’ve got a ton of locals on Team Remedy (Trek Remedy). That being said, there’s a handful of riders ripping singlespeeds- even rigid.

How much trail can you access from the shop?

We’ve got about 15 miles of trail accessible right from town. Super fun trails, more old school than new that keeps things fun and interesting. Not much on the beginner side of things in Montgomery, but we’re working on that. For mapped, family friendly, and a machine built flow trail check out the Jay Community Recreational Centre.

Recommended loop? Any beta for a visitor?

After work rides usually are some variation of the “Dog Trails” and always ends with ripping Racecourse back down to town! Stop in the shop and we can point you in the right direction for a good ride for you.

Flannel of lycra?

Flannel for sure. We’re up here in the woods.

Bud Lite or Heady Topper?

Oh I like the great selection of IPA’s available, but there’s always a pile of Banquets in the empties bin!

Heard stories about the magical trails that don’t exist up in Quebec Sud? Join us for 4 days of mountain biking in the best undisclosed location in Vermont. Music, food, fun, and friends celebrating off-road two-wheel pedal power in Montgomery & Jay.
We will be hosting evening rides @ 5pm Thursday and Friday, group rides for all abilities Saturday & Sunday, and taking advantage of 2 nights of amazing local music offerings! And, our Bike Rodeo is back for it’s 7th year with CASH prizes for showing your skillz! BBQ and live music Saturday night, and camping available at in Jay at the Base Camp Campground behind the country store. This is a family friendly event, remember riding for the real youngsters is limited to the new pump tracks and beginner flow trails at both the Montgomery and Jay Rec Centers. Save the date – September 19-22, 2019.