Freewheel Bicycle

Those people working at the shop were dishonest! Went there to replace a stolen rear wheel on my hybrid. They PURPOSELY used a smaller hub, and charged me ~$ 150 for the whole wheel. I didn’t notice it until earlier last year I took down the wheel to re-​apply grease on the bearings. Guess what, I couldn’t put the wheel back on because the span of the stay (135mm) is wider than the hub. I guess, they probably just bent the stay to make it fit. Surprisingly, the stay bounced back after almost two years, unfortunately for me, I had to buy a new wheel.

Very happy with service on my quirky Canondale Scalpel. Knowledgeable AND friendly. My home base now.

Actually a decently sized store with some decent product. The customer service was friendly and knowledgeable without being to pushy. Apparently they carry more product at the midtown location. Parking was easy for the area.

This is by far my favorite bike place besides my local guy down the street. They are laid back and welcoming which is great for the commuter/​novice bike person. Some newer places are getting a bit boutique. My wife was looking for a new bike and spent a few hours over two days test driving bikes. They were great. We didn’t end up buying a bike there but only because the last years model color was available at another store and the new model of that bike had a bad color. We did get all the accessories and more there and will absolutely go back and recommend it.

The place is like home to me. The bikes are great, but the service department really makes the difference to me. If you are interested in your family riding bikes, then I recommend using Freewheel Bike to care and maintain the wife’s and kids’ bikes! FW mechanics make it fun for the kids! As for myself, I love the group rides. All types of rides and always professional. I recommend calling the shop to verify if a ride is on. Sometimes the road ride becomes a trip to the trails when the weather is perfect for that! They cater to all types.

I bought my bike at Freewheel (west bank) three years ago and had a GREAT experience. Staff was knowledgeable and fun to work with. No one in this shop was out to prove themselves as cooler/​more badass than thou and they were all fun and easy to work with. I really couldn’t be happier with my bike or with the friendly service I’ve gotten when I’ve gone back in!
I’d be excited if they started selling used bikes and bike accessories in addition to new ones some day.

I decided to buy myself a new road bike to replace my 30-​year-​old Bridgestone stalwart. I am familiar with many bike shops in the area so it wasn’t an easy decision to decide where to make the purchase. I decided to go with Freewheel because they have been around since my college days, have dedicated and knowledgeable staff, are consistent supporters of bike clubs/​events and have a great selection of bikes.
Glad that Marcy was working when I stopped in. She took a look at my old bike and asked me a few questions about my riding. A few minutes later she was showing me three models to test ride. I was encouraged to take each bike for a 10 minute test ride before we discussed them. Marcy helped me select the one which best fits my needs and then helped me select pedals and accessories. I was a bit rushed so the manager offered to help the service guys get everything installed on the bike so I could be on my way quickly.
I left my Bridgestone at Freewheel for a complete overhaul, replacing all the 30-​year-​old moving parts with new. My past experience with their service team is excellent so I’m sure my old bike will be *nearly* as good as my new Trek. Perhaps I will be back at Freewheel in 2044 for my next bike – but at age 86 it might need to be a 3-​wheeler.

This is an old story, but a good one and why if I’m ever in Minneapolis I’d use them again.
It is 2006 (back when I lived in St. Paul), and I got the stupid idea to ride across the country. I had a new, stock Trek 520, a crap load of stuff, one fat guy, and a ticket to Seattle, WA.
The trip started out uneventfully enough, until I hit Montana, and the stock wheel cracked. In Whitefish, MT, I bought a new wheel which worked fin until it started throwing spokes in North Dakota. I rolled into Fargo and showed up to a bike shop. My wheel was bent. And Fargo, ND did not have 700c touring rims.
So I stocked up on spokes, and started calling Minneapolis shops to order a rim. Not only did Freewheel have exactly what I needed (48 hole bontrager something on a tandem hub), but they volunteered to drive the wheel out to Pelican Rapids, MN on the 4^th of July. Awesome.
Until I moved out of Minneapolis, they were my go to shop of choice for obvious reasons. Admittedly, that was in 2009. Still, thought it was worth sharing.
Oh, and wheel survives while the POS trek had to be warrantied due to the frame cracking.

This place was recommended to me by a friend who’s probably spent more hours biking than I have doing all types of physical activity combined.
I popped in to get my front shifter fixed — I’d broken the cable during some overzealous shifting into a gear I didn’t have.
$ 30, 15 minutes, and a pleasant chat later, I was back on my bike with a perfectly-​working front dérailleur system.

Stopped in for three items. They did not have two of them. Why the four stars? Customer service! I was asked by two different people if I needed help. The first time was right when I walked in, so I said I was just going to be looking for a bit. After not finding the things I wanted, I was approach by a nice young lady who offered to help me find stuff. When the store did not have it she offered to special order it. Seeing I was a buy it now kind of gut she offered to call another Freewheel location. Turns out they had what I needed. So off I went (that location however had awful customer service so I spent my money elsewhere).
BUT I will for sure stop back by here next time I need something!

I’ve been to Freewheel Bike about a half-​dozen times over the last couple of years and I recommend them. They’ve got a great selection of bikes and the staff is helpful. The service department easily fixed an issue I was having with my disc brakes that another shop couldn’t figure out (or couldn’t be bothered to figure out).

The service department should be shipped to France where they can be rude like the French. Spending my money elsewhere? You betcha!

In the spirit of optimism, let me begin with the positive— they have a good selection of women’s chamois (aka: bike shorts). Unfortunately, the list of pros concerning this shop and my experience stops there and at the service area of the shop.
For some context: I have been cycling across the country for a charity. Minneapolis marks the halfway point of my route (2000 miles) and I needed to get a small bike check up. As one would imagine, along the way I have seen and visited a plethora of bikeshops… funky, top notch, heavy duty, stuck up, etc.
I heard from the grapevine that Freewheel was a good bet, so I popped in to have my gears simply adjusted and have someone look at my bike. The shop is clean with a simple layout and has a good selection of treks and gear for both men and women. As stated prior, good bike short selection.
There’s no cute analogy or clever way to put it: my experience with Freewheel’s service arena and particularly, Patrick, one of the bike technicians was, simply put: notably sour. After taking a look at my bike, Patrick began to list of everything wrong with it, calling it verbatim «a worn out mess and would be lucky if I get 100 more miles on it.» He then proceeded to tell me all of the «huge issues that other bike shops would not catch and he’s not surprised, because ‘we are not any ordinary bike shop’.»
The list of absolutely needed repairs in Patrick’s professional opinion amounted to about $ 600 (he didn’t even bother to provide explanations of the absolute necessary and one would need a glossary to understand everything he said)…and that’s not all, lucky me, he noted that «even if you wanted me to do all the changes needed, there’s no way I can get to it for a week» AND «even if you wanted to buy a new bike from us, im sure its not news to you that someone of your size will have difficulty finding something with us» (i’m 5’0). I am a realist and have a pretty thick skin… if there’s an issue, there’s an issue, but Patrick’s delivery was nothing short of rude, condescending and icy. As I left the shop, Patrick simply said «why don’t you go have a hearty meal and make some decisions?» …Umm excuse me? My own siblings dont even speak to me like that mid-​bickering.
At the end of the day, even if I were to shell out $ for all the repairs, or even if my bike was hit by a car and I needed to buy a new bike in a snag, there is NO way I would be giving this shop my business.
So what did I do? I took my bike to a neighboring shop Hub. Hub made only the necessary adjustments (for ¼ the price Freewheel wanted to charge, made an effort to explain everything in detail, went to another shop for a part they needed and rushed the service so I could be out the door the next morning). As result, I had all 22 bikers in my group of cross country cyclists visit HUB shop for tools, tune ups, etc. Good, clean, kind service.
They say that a bad egg can ruin the box… this seems to be the case with my experience at this shop. The same goes for vice versa… perhaps if I had been helped by a different technician it would be a whole different story. And let’s face it… we dont always live in a ‘the customer is always right’ world. Sometimes customers are pains in the butts and simply wrong… however, the experience at Freewheel evoked a certain «you’re a customer and you just don’t know squat» feeling.

This place was pretty spendy but they have a bigger selection than most of the other bike shops for both bikes and accessories. The place is massive. I was approached by a couple employees that were more than helpful, but they didn’t have what I needed which was cotton bar tape for my really old school fixed gear. They only had the modern faux cork padded stuff. oh well. If I’m in the market for some accessories I’ll go here.

I am not a bike expert. I liked that Natalia helped me without making me feel like a loser. I had gone to two shops in the past couple of weeks that either didn’t provide good service, or gave me the snub for not spending a couple grand.
I ended up with a bike I’m very happy with, and was helped weigh my options with patience and knowledge.
I also appreciate their 15% off accessories (for 30 days) when you buy a bike! And they have a good selection of accessories. I will be back.

Love this place. Sometimes the service is a little spacey but more often than not I leave happy. People here do care about biking and it shows!
In my opinion, this is the best of the three Freewheel locations to look for bikes and accessories. The Eden Prairie one is geared more towards triathletes and the Greenway location is better as an oasis.
They could improve by having better stock; sometimes they are out of things which seems odd for a bike shop. But this remains one of my favorite bike shops in the Twin Cites.

I have been turning into a bike-​junkie lately, and I love it!
As I have been learning to repair my own bikes, I have also been frequenting bike shops. Freewheel has much better options for parts and accessories, including kids stuff, than the ‘other leading bike-​shop’ and generally more affordable too. They have plenty of selections depending on how much you want to spend, or the quality you need.
The staff is always more than helpful. They will help you weigh your options as far as quality and affordability. If they can’t help you, they will tell you where to get what you need, or when they will have it.
The bike selection seems standard. Although I am not in the business for purchasing a new bike, I think they excel at bike parts and accessories.
One thing I have learned is that one bike shop is not always the only one for you. Try a few different locations. You will find what you need somewhere. I think you know why I like this one!

I had my bike fully tuned up at Freewheel last year and it’s still riding strong. I don’t have anything to compare it to because it was my first bike tune-​up, but I was happy with their work.
I secretly always thought my bike was kinda janky, but my boyfriend kept telling me it was «really nice.» I thought that was just because he gave it to me and was trying to cover his tracks for giving me such a crappy bike. Then I got it tuned up and MY tune changed. When I hopped back on my wheels after bringing it to Freewheel, it was like a brand new bike!
I thought the price was fair for the quality of work at Freewheel. The only thing that was kind of a rip was having them do the brake pad replacement. Changing the brakes is such an easy DIY job, but I just had them do it since they already had the bike. It was pricier than expected, so I wouldn’t let them do that again.
The super-​helpful staff checked up on everything thoroughly and gave it a little scrub-​down before calling me to tell me it was ready. The bike was also finished a day or two sooner than they thought (even though I dropped it in the spring – busy time), which was a nice surprise.

The staff was very friendly and helped fit me to the right bike — which was a pretty big deal having not ridden in 15 years. After training for and riding the Great Mesabi Trail (53 miles) up in Hibbing one summer, I swapped out that bike (Trek 7200) for my current commuter bike (Trek 7.3). The prices are reasonable, bike accessory selection is great (and local in some cases — i.e. pannier sacs from Banjo Brothers).
I’ve referred two of my friends to Freewheel, who subsequently bought their bikes here. Other purchases I made here include bike shorts, bike trainer, shoes, 2-​sided pedals (alternate between clipless and regular shoes), 2 Banjo Brothers Pannier sacs, 1 rack among other things. I’ve shopped at Erik’s (2 of them) and am a member at REI, but will always get my bike stuff here. Oh… and if you are really into biking, check Surly Bikes (also local) :D

It’s been over a year since I first reviewed Freewheel & what a difference a year makes. I complained about the inattentiveness of the staff & they did a complete 180, I was quite impressed.
While my husband sticks to The Hub for his repair/​maintenance needs Freewheel is where I go & I am always very satisfied. The location is convenient for me whether I can ride or if I have to walk my bike over there. So far I have yet to wait more than 15 minutes for a repair, from start to finish. Most recently a new real wheel for my vintage Schwinn, which apparently required a tool they don’t use much these days.