Freewheel Midtown Bike Center

Nice bike shop with a coffee shop on the greenway. I’ve had a bad experience with their coffee shop people. After waiting 5 minutes to get the baristas attention, I whistled and then was scolded out. «Don’t whistle, I’m not a dog». Very strange…

Started our bike ride with a friend, but quickly realized his tire wasn’t holding air. It was almost 8pm and we had little hope for a fix, but decided to head down and see if they could help. We were quickly greeted and led back to the service area where a tech dropped what he was doing and said he’d have it done in a couple minutes. Only $ 18 later, we were on our way with a brand new tube (and a totally delicious Scotcharoo bar). I’ll probably never ride by this shop again; I’ll stop every time!

Super Friendly Empoyees!
They are WAY better than Erik’s.
Check out the fat tire bikes — super cool!

Easy in. Easy out. Nice staff. Great bikes. It was super fun! Definitely worth it. More expensive that nice bike racks but that’s a whole different thing. Park on e 29^th st and walk down to the greenway

Friendly service. Copious bike parking. Reasonable selection of seasonally appropriate gear. If you are looking for something specific: call ahead. Bike storage! Don’t need it, but that’s cool. Clean restrooms for Greenway pit stops. Classes! I took a MTN bike skills class from Freewheel last summer. Fun and free!
A little hard to access if you aren’t on a bike (I’ve driven there twice and you must park on the street above and walk down onto the Greenway), but I think that’s the idea.

I ended up with a flat as I was riding along the Greenway. Luckily, I was right near Freewheel and was able to pull up to their shop right off the of trail. I can’t explain how convenient it was to swing by their shop instead of having to lug my bike off the trail.
The service desk was really helpful and didn’t charge for air. It was also the perfect place to pick up a smoothie after a long day of riding, and the Midtown Exchange is in sight if you want to grab a bite to eat. I’ll be back to check out their accessories next time I’m in the area.

Stopped by for the first time today, totally impressed with this place! Very helpful staff (from bike repair to merchandise questions to coffee), great space and overall nice atmosphere. I’m new to biking and didn’t feel overwhelmed or like a newb. I’ll be back for sure!

Rented a bike so that I could cruise the trails while visiting the twin cities.
Heads-​up: if you’re driving here, you will not see it from any roads — it’s located below the roadway, along the Midtown Greenway bike trail. You’ll have to park along 10^th Avenue and then work your way down to the store by foot. It’s super easy to find, so don’t be surprised when you don’t see it from the road.
+ Nice selection of parts and accessories
+ Holy fat bike selection, Batman!!! Salsa, Surly, Trek — they’ve got ‘em all.
+ Check out the Closeout room
— Prices are still quite high; case in point: I was looking at some of the closeout helmets — none were more than 30% off, and most were clearly very well-​used helmets. Each of the ones that I picked-​up had heavy scratch marks; one had a dent in the top, as if it had been dropped (or crashed). No thanks.
+ Easy rental process
+ Rental includes a helmet and a lock (should you desire one)
— Rates are a tad high; $ 15/​hr
+ Bikes were in good shape
+ Indoor bike wash station? Super cool
+ Ramps for rolling your bike up into the store/​service area? Extra cool
+ This shop seems to «get it» — they’ve thought of everything.
For those who commented about the staff being a bit aloof, here’s a newsflash: most bike mechanics are pretty relaxed and easy going. They’re not going to jump all over you to assist or help, but if you approach them, you’ll find them to be some of the nicest folks on the planet — Freewheel is no different. Just be courteous and a little patient, and you’ll have a great experience.
+ Cool little coffee shop in-​store
— Pricey coffee

These guys are awesome. Absolutely fantastic. Friendly, effective, helpful, and just plain nice. Let me tell you why: Came to Freewheel Midtown last week to have a new headset put in which was above my ability level for working on the bike myself. Had a great conversation with Gary at the time who was able to walk me through the more technical choice on which product to use. Gary also helped me put together a saddlebag kit for my wife, who is new to riding — finding the cheapest but most effective items for her, even down to the correct tire lever for a 105lb girl with small hands. My bike work was done right and early, and I got a call as soon as they had wrapped things up — which is awesome.
But wait, there’s more! I did some work myself on the bike (rebuilt my back freehub) and didn’t have the right lube, so I rode past Midtown this week on the way home to pick up something that would work. Since they didn’t have a small bottle (I only needed about 5 drops) of this stuff, they first offered to try and find a small bottle that they could siphon their shop oil off into for free, but realizing I knew how to do the work, they instead set me up in their public shop, provided advice on how to properly do the service and lent me the proper lube, q-​tips, rags, everything I needed to do the work. Not only honest, professional, and effective like Carlo A. says, they’re really nice to boot and concerned about their customers.
I’ve been to a number of shops in my 10+ year riding career and I generally find mechanics to be an odd breed — often a bit surly, arrogant and prone to ignoring you — not unlike many bartenders in Nordeast! But these guys are good people. Really solid. No BS.
Big shout out to Gary and James, you guys are awesome and you’ve now got a dedicated customer in me. Well done!

A great spot with awesome bike techs. The location is fantastic if you find yourself flatting out or needing a repair on a vital stretch of greenway. And they understand that most people that come in needing a repair don’t want to sit around all day waiting for their bikes. That said, if you do have to sit around, they’ve got decent food and drink and free Wi-​Fi to help pass the time.

I Just had a fabulous service on my old and beloved bike.
Honest, effective, professional.
Best bike service experience so far in the Twin Cities.

I don’t mind being given space to look, but when I am ignored and then made to feel in the way, well then I say goodbye. This town has like 3,578,942,267 local bike shops. And everyone I have been to, except the greenway freewheel, has had someone offering to help me find something.
My lone interaction with an employee was almost being hit by a fixture that a an employee was wheeling onto the floor. It was good I saw it and moved because he didn’t bother to tell me it was coming at me.
The store looked cool and is probably a nice stop on a ride down the greenway. If you want to buy from freewheel and need help I suggest the West Bank location.

I transplanted here from Portland, OR (from one bike capital to another) and, although Portland is full of Greenways/​bike corridors, to my knowledge there are no stores operating exclusively off them, but it makes so much sense! That I can get all my bike needs met & obtain a healthy smoothie and sip it outside in one stop is very convenient. This place has a good bike-​community oriented vibe about it, and they have free pocket bike maps on hand which has helped me not get lost so much. If yr riding past this place on the Greenway and need some air or snacks, it’s worth the pitstop.

Great stop right off the Midtown Greenway. Weekends are more packed, particularly with middle-​aged men from Eden Prairie who’re squeezed into spandex like so much human sausages, but don’t let that stop you. Perhaps it may even be an incentive.
Aside from stockpiling bike gear or getting a tune-​up for the old two-​wheeler, it’s an oasis for quality coffee, a hearty snack or meal. The coffee is from Peace Coffee and I forget where the foodstuff is from, but it’s superior.
They’ve also got a bike shower if your frame is particularly filthy.
Ride as fast or as slow as you want on the Greenway, but don’t forget to pause here for a much needed break.

This place is really fantastic. I work at Abbott so it is exceptionally convenient to park here. The showers and lockers are really handy — they even stock towels for you to use!
Their iced mochas are really fantastic for some reason unknown to me. What do they put in there?
The staff can be a little flaky about things but the convenience more than makes up for it. This place is a great resource

Not only can you get all your caffeine needs taken care of with our locally roasted Peace Coffee, but you can also snag some bike gear and get your bike fixed in the shop. If you’re a DIY-​er, just use their own little fix-​it area that is provided.
The Midtown Bike Center right on the Greenway, so no business/​café could be more accessible by bike. It’s not hard to get to if you drive either, since there are some nearby stairs going to the Greenway from the street.
Nice Ride is headquartered here, so they have their offices and a great spot to turn in your borrowed bikes if you’re going to the Midtown Global Market or stopping in to Freewheel for something.
The place is really well-​designed to be a meeting place or a quick stop for bikers, whether you’re just a leisurely biker or a serious racer. As Colin mentioned, one of the great parts is the educational material they have here, including the mock bus bike rack so you can practice.

What a brilliant idea. It’s a gas station for bikers. Located on the Midtown Greenway. It’s a great place to stop and refuel.
Inside there’s a café that serves a nice double-​shot cappuccino. There’s also a shop which sells the usual range of biker gear. I bought a helmet and water bottle here. The staff member who showed me the head gear was knowledgeable. There’s also a space where you can fix your bike if it needs a little TLC.
Finally there’s a copy of the bike rack that they fit in front of the buses. This means if you are a complete newbie like me you can practice before using the bus.

I haven’t taken my bike in here for anything other than some free air in the tires. But, it’s a great location and nice to know it’s there in a pinch.
The owners are great and have let us congregate there more than once, plus they offer repair classes that I have yet to check out — but they sound great.
It’s a bit pricey, but that’s the price of convenience. Great place to grab a snack or coffee on the weekend when you’re riding through. The waffles smell delicious :)
It’s a great concept!

I really like the Midtown Bike Center. It’s one of those stores/​cafes that comes to define a place — how many other cities in the country have a pit-​stop café for bicyclists on a trail? (For that matter, I think Minneapolis might be the only city in the country to have marked vegan items on the menu of an airport café — French Meadow.)
I should add that the Midtown Bike Center is a well-​done place. It’s not just an ad-​hoc joint set up on the trail. It’s a spacious and well-​designed store with all sorts of bike gear for sale and even offers bike rentals and valet parking and storage, among other things.
It’s also right in front of the Midtown Global Market, which is a great location for bike day trippers.
The café used to be rudimentary with offerings like Clif bars and cheap coffee, but they recently added smoothies and Salty Tart baked goods which are made at the Midtown Global Market.
What’s really clever is that they also sell day-​old baked goods for only $ 1 ($ 1.07 with tax, to be precise) which is a cheap way to snack. I had a day-​old mocha chocolate cupcake and it was delicious.
The Midtown Bike Center is a classy, innovative, well-​implemented store/​café aimed at bikers on the Midtown Greenway, but has enough stuff to attract even non-​bikers. Kudos to them for doing such a good job and making Minneapolis an even cooler, cutting-​edge city.

You know those famous rest stops in Chicago where the bridge itself has a McDonald’s or Wendy’s? You just pull off, get your gas, take your leak, and get a burger and head on out.
This is the same but for the Greenway, but instead of gas, you get air in your tires, clif bars, bike clips, etc.
It is a joint effort with Allina Heath Systems (which is across the way) and has classes, rental, showers, workshops, bikes for sale and café.
Staff is really knowledgeable, and their hours are extensive.
I recommend riding over here and eating at the Midtown Market while the experts tune up your bike.
Bloody Genius.