LBS recommendations for Minneapolis/St. Paul - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

05-21-2004, 08:52 AM

Hello everyone,

I'm looking for recommendations on bike shops in the Twin Cities, for the
purposes of buying a new bike sometime this year. Specifically, I'm
looking for dealers carrying Fuji/Trek/Jamis or other decent touring bikes
and opinions on the bike departments at the local REIs; however, all other
input welcome too.

I did some googling and found a number of threads on this topic, but all
of them were a few years old. Perhaps things have changed.

TIA,

Reid

05-21-2004, 10:00 AM

Reid Priedhorsky <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
> I'm looking for recommendations on bike shops in the Twin Cities, for the
> purposes of buying a new bike sometime this year. Specifically, I'm
> looking for dealers carrying Fuji/Trek/Jamis or other decent touring bikes
> and opinions on the bike departments at the local REIs; however, all other
> input welcome too.
>
> I did some googling and found a number of threads on this topic, but all
> of them were a few years old. Perhaps things have changed.

freewheel on the west bank is my lbs and they have set me up for touring.
they do trek. not sure about funi or jamis. they cater to the U of M
crowd so they have a more transportational bent to cycling than most shops.

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

also kenwood cyclery, grand performance (saint paul), flander's brothers
are all good shops (they're a bit less on the touring thing, tho). rei
in the twin cities is a wash, imo. the big chains are penn cycles and
erik's and i've had some good luck with both (hit or miss). but i
mostly goto freewheel (since 1988, actually).
--
david reuteler
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

05-21-2004, 10:00 AM

Reid Priedhorsky <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
> I'm looking for recommendations on bike shops in the Twin Cities, for the
> purposes of buying a new bike sometime this year. Specifically, I'm
> looking for dealers carrying Fuji/Trek/Jamis or other decent touring bikes
> and opinions on the bike departments at the local REIs; however, all other
> input welcome too.
>
> I did some googling and found a number of threads on this topic, but all
> of them were a few years old. Perhaps things have changed.

freewheel on the west bank is my lbs and they have set me up for touring.
they do trek. not sure about funi or jamis. they cater to the U of M
crowd so they have a more transportational bent to cycling than most shops.

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

also kenwood cyclery, grand performance (saint paul), flander's brothers
are all good shops (they're a bit less on the touring thing, tho). rei
in the twin cities is a wash, imo. the big chains are penn cycles and
erik's and i've had some good luck with both (hit or miss). but i
mostly goto freewheel (since 1988, actually).
--
david reuteler
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

05-21-2004, 10:00 AM

Reid Priedhorsky <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
> I'm looking for recommendations on bike shops in the Twin Cities, for the
> purposes of buying a new bike sometime this year. Specifically, I'm
> looking for dealers carrying Fuji/Trek/Jamis or other decent touring bikes
> and opinions on the bike departments at the local REIs; however, all other
> input welcome too.
>
> I did some googling and found a number of threads on this topic, but all
> of them were a few years old. Perhaps things have changed.

freewheel on the west bank is my lbs and they have set me up for touring.
they do trek. not sure about funi or jamis. they cater to the U of M
crowd so they have a more transportational bent to cycling than most shops.

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

also kenwood cyclery, grand performance (saint paul), flander's brothers
are all good shops (they're a bit less on the touring thing, tho). rei
in the twin cities is a wash, imo. the big chains are penn cycles and
erik's and i've had some good luck with both (hit or miss). but i
mostly goto freewheel (since 1988, actually).
--
david reuteler
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

05-21-2004, 10:00 AM

Reid Priedhorsky <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
> I'm looking for recommendations on bike shops in the Twin Cities, for the
> purposes of buying a new bike sometime this year. Specifically, I'm
> looking for dealers carrying Fuji/Trek/Jamis or other decent touring bikes
> and opinions on the bike departments at the local REIs; however, all other
> input welcome too.
>
> I did some googling and found a number of threads on this topic, but all
> of them were a few years old. Perhaps things have changed.

freewheel on the west bank is my lbs and they have set me up for touring.
they do trek. not sure about funi or jamis. they cater to the U of M
crowd so they have a more transportational bent to cycling than most shops.

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

also kenwood cyclery, grand performance (saint paul), flander's brothers
are all good shops (they're a bit less on the touring thing, tho). rei
in the twin cities is a wash, imo. the big chains are penn cycles and
erik's and i've had some good luck with both (hit or miss). but i
mostly goto freewheel (since 1988, actually).
--
david reuteler
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

05-21-2004, 10:00 AM

Reid Priedhorsky <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
> I'm looking for recommendations on bike shops in the Twin Cities, for the
> purposes of buying a new bike sometime this year. Specifically, I'm
> looking for dealers carrying Fuji/Trek/Jamis or other decent touring bikes
> and opinions on the bike departments at the local REIs; however, all other
> input welcome too.
>
> I did some googling and found a number of threads on this topic, but all
> of them were a few years old. Perhaps things have changed.

freewheel on the west bank is my lbs and they have set me up for touring.
they do trek. not sure about funi or jamis. they cater to the U of M
crowd so they have a more transportational bent to cycling than most shops.

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

also kenwood cyclery, grand performance (saint paul), flander's brothers
are all good shops (they're a bit less on the touring thing, tho). rei
in the twin cities is a wash, imo. the big chains are penn cycles and
erik's and i've had some good luck with both (hit or miss). but i
mostly goto freewheel (since 1988, actually).
--
david reuteler
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

05-21-2004, 12:47 PM

On Fri, 21 May 2004 11:52:58 -0500, Reid Priedhorsky
<reid@reidster.net> wrote:

>Hello everyone,
>
>I'm looking for recommendations on bike shops in the Twin Cities, for the
>purposes of buying a new bike sometime this year. Specifically, I'm
>looking for dealers carrying Fuji/Trek/Jamis or other decent touring bikes
>and opinions on the bike departments at the local REIs; however, all other
>input welcome too.
>
>I did some googling and found a number of threads on this topic, but all
>of them were a few years old. Perhaps things have changed.

I've had several positive experiences with the Schwinn / Trek dealer
located in Maple Grove near Cub Foods. I can get out a map or a
receipt from a purchase there and find the real name of it if you
can't figure it out from my inept description. Anyway, I don't live
in the Cities but my kids do, and I've purchased cycling items at that
shop as gifts for my kids, thinking that if they had problems it would
be better to have a LBS take care of them right there. I've found
staff members at that shop to be knowledgeable, helpful and
respectful, which are, in that order, the attributes I seek in bike
shop staff. Nice bunch of folks, nice clean, well-stocked shop.

For recumbents, hands down, it's Calhoun Cycle. They're my main "LBS"
when it comes to bents, even though they're nearly 150 miles away.

Good luck.

05-21-2004, 12:47 PM

On Fri, 21 May 2004 11:52:58 -0500, Reid Priedhorsky
<reid@reidster.net> wrote:

>Hello everyone,
>
>I'm looking for recommendations on bike shops in the Twin Cities, for the
>purposes of buying a new bike sometime this year. Specifically, I'm
>looking for dealers carrying Fuji/Trek/Jamis or other decent touring bikes
>and opinions on the bike departments at the local REIs; however, all other
>input welcome too.
>
>I did some googling and found a number of threads on this topic, but all
>of them were a few years old. Perhaps things have changed.

I've had several positive experiences with the Schwinn / Trek dealer
located in Maple Grove near Cub Foods. I can get out a map or a
receipt from a purchase there and find the real name of it if you
can't figure it out from my inept description. Anyway, I don't live
in the Cities but my kids do, and I've purchased cycling items at that
shop as gifts for my kids, thinking that if they had problems it would
be better to have a LBS take care of them right there. I've found
staff members at that shop to be knowledgeable, helpful and
respectful, which are, in that order, the attributes I seek in bike
shop staff. Nice bunch of folks, nice clean, well-stocked shop.

For recumbents, hands down, it's Calhoun Cycle. They're my main "LBS"
when it comes to bents, even though they're nearly 150 miles away.

Good luck.

05-21-2004, 12:47 PM

On Fri, 21 May 2004 11:52:58 -0500, Reid Priedhorsky
<reid@reidster.net> wrote:

>Hello everyone,
>
>I'm looking for recommendations on bike shops in the Twin Cities, for the
>purposes of buying a new bike sometime this year. Specifically, I'm
>looking for dealers carrying Fuji/Trek/Jamis or other decent touring bikes
>and opinions on the bike departments at the local REIs; however, all other
>input welcome too.
>
>I did some googling and found a number of threads on this topic, but all
>of them were a few years old. Perhaps things have changed.

I've had several positive experiences with the Schwinn / Trek dealer
located in Maple Grove near Cub Foods. I can get out a map or a
receipt from a purchase there and find the real name of it if you
can't figure it out from my inept description. Anyway, I don't live
in the Cities but my kids do, and I've purchased cycling items at that
shop as gifts for my kids, thinking that if they had problems it would
be better to have a LBS take care of them right there. I've found
staff members at that shop to be knowledgeable, helpful and
respectful, which are, in that order, the attributes I seek in bike
shop staff. Nice bunch of folks, nice clean, well-stocked shop.

For recumbents, hands down, it's Calhoun Cycle. They're my main "LBS"
when it comes to bents, even though they're nearly 150 miles away.

Good luck.

05-21-2004, 12:47 PM

On Fri, 21 May 2004 11:52:58 -0500, Reid Priedhorsky
<reid@reidster.net> wrote:

>Hello everyone,
>
>I'm looking for recommendations on bike shops in the Twin Cities, for the
>purposes of buying a new bike sometime this year. Specifically, I'm
>looking for dealers carrying Fuji/Trek/Jamis or other decent touring bikes
>and opinions on the bike departments at the local REIs; however, all other
>input welcome too.
>
>I did some googling and found a number of threads on this topic, but all
>of them were a few years old. Perhaps things have changed.

I've had several positive experiences with the Schwinn / Trek dealer
located in Maple Grove near Cub Foods. I can get out a map or a
receipt from a purchase there and find the real name of it if you
can't figure it out from my inept description. Anyway, I don't live
in the Cities but my kids do, and I've purchased cycling items at that
shop as gifts for my kids, thinking that if they had problems it would
be better to have a LBS take care of them right there. I've found
staff members at that shop to be knowledgeable, helpful and
respectful, which are, in that order, the attributes I seek in bike
shop staff. Nice bunch of folks, nice clean, well-stocked shop.

For recumbents, hands down, it's Calhoun Cycle. They're my main "LBS"
when it comes to bents, even though they're nearly 150 miles away.

Good luck.