Andrea Smith's first hint that a women-focused bike shop could fly in Vancouver didn't come to her while working as a bike mechanic. It walked up to her desk at a nine-to-five office gig.

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"When people found out that I used to be a bike mechanic, they would always want to talk bikes, especially the women," Smith recalls of her time as a project manager at a research institute. "It just seemed like a need that was out there."

More than a year later, Smith and co-founder Lucas Gallagher are set to unveil their Sidesaddle shop at the corner of Victoria and East Broadway Streets. The bike shop will be the first of its kind in Canada.

It's a project that grew out of Smith and Gallagher's love of cycling and social justice. The space will welcome all genders, Smith explains, but like similar start-ups south of the border, Sidesaddle's staff, classes and layout will intentionally put women's needs first.

According to a 2013 report for the National Bicycle Dealers Association, 89 per cent of bike shop owners are men in the U.S. In a quick survey of 35 shops in Vancouver, The Tyee found that males also dominated ownership, with only one female owned shop and three husband-and-wife owners found in those surveyed.

The Tyee caught up with the pair ahead of the grand opening to chat about feminism, accessibility, and starting out slow.

On bike shops that start with men:

Andrea Smith: "I think a lot of women generally find bike shops a little intense to visit. There's a lot of nice people in the bike industry and a lot of awesome shops out there, but often there's no women on staff or the women's products are in sort of a back corner. Even just saying it's a women-focused space I think sets people at ease that they can kind of be honest about where they're coming from, whether they're a super cycling expert already and just need to be listened to, or they're kind of new to it and want to have things explained respectfully."

On the meaning of 'women-centred':

AS: "Just simple things, like women tend to carry a purse often when they're commuting around the city so you need a good basket that's mounted properly. It should look nice, but it has to not be rattling around and making the bike go off balance.

"There is some gender difference in terms of how women and men move around the city. Men tend to do a straight shot to one destination. Whereas women do what's called trip-chaining where they're coming home from work, but they stop and get some ingredients for dinner, and then they stop and pick their kid up at childcare, and then they stop somewhere else to pick up some dry cleaning or whatever, and the bike has to be able to get them through all that."

Lucas Gallagher: "I think that the biggest thing that is important in terms of gender is just approachability and accessibility of the shop, having a space where women are considered first and everything is kind of designed from that standpoint. Will women feel comfortable? Will women respond to this? And then secondary: Is this still available to men? Is this still accessible for anyone coming in?

"I think it's very important to make everyone feel comfortable, and I think that women are often overlooked in that regard."

On starting slow:

AS: "I expect that all kinds of people will appreciate a more mellow welcoming vibe. We're trying to be really clear that we want to put women first and at the centre of our shop, but everyone else no matter how you identify is totally welcome… Long-term, our goal is to have regular group rides running out of the shop for a variety of skill levels, whether you want to learn to ride your new road bike, or you're an experienced road biker and you want a fun group to ride with.

"My personal baby, because I'm a slow rider and I like to go slow, [is] to host the 'Sweet Ride' where once a month we'll ride as a group -- very slowly -- to a dessert restaurant that maybe is chosen by a local food nerd, and eat pie or something. Then [we'll] ride home together, very slowly. So that kind of thing, and then maybe classes ranging from getting into some advanced mechanical stuff if people want that, but also just basic stuff like how to inflate your tire, how to lock your bike properly so it doesn't get stolen, that kind of thing."

On feminist cycling's current 'moment':

AS: "It's funny, I think historically it's been kind of hard to talk about feminism, and people haven't really wanted to talk about gender, but it feels like there's sort of a resurgence, whether it's Beyoncé calling herself a feminist and just a lot of talking about gender dynamics, and I feel like it's a conversation that people are ready to have again.

"It feels like we're really part of something that's happening at a particular moment."

On calling East Van home:

LG: "Creating community I would say is personally what I'm most looking forward to, just being in the neighbourhood, knowing people, helping people, making sure that they can either start cycling or can keep going and get their bike repaired and working well."

"I think Vancouver is one town in North America where the gender divide of ridership is pretty near close to 50/50 in terms of the most recent studies. I would say that the culture here is pretty promising.

"East Van tends to have a social climate, which is more progressive or will call itself more progressive than other parts of town, and likes to trumpet that as one of the qualities of the neighbourhood, so we think that the community will appreciate [the store] more immediately whereas other neighbourhoods might not understand the need for something like this."