Freewheel Bike

Reviews 6

KE

Kevin Kendrick

Freewheel is my favorite bike shop in town. I have come here many times for small fixes, to getting a wheel build kit. Repair service is good, straight forward, and honest. The bicycle selection here is excellent. They carry a lot of Surly, Salsa, and Trek bikes. For a bike nerd like me, it is heaven. However, the sales staff are very opinionated. I came in to look at 26 inch hardtail mountain bikes, and before showing me the 26ers, the guy brought me straight over to the 29ers and 650s. He was relentless. It was a friendly debate, and I learned a lot, and even kind of enjoyed it, but I had to ask him three times before he actually showed me to the bikes I was looking for. Another small issue I had at this shop was with the service department. I came in for a very complicated project. The head mechanic talked to me, and was pretty convincing that HE was going to be the one doing the work. He had promised to have it done three days later. I came in a week later, and it was still not done. I asked him what happened and right in front of me, he started borderline yelling at a mechanic, who was about my age, for not getting it done. It eventually got done perfectly, though, and I would still not bring my bike anywhere else. Bottom line: great shop, great bikes, careful with the sales staff :)

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A

A Private User

I used to like this shop, but recently Ive had terrible experiences with them. Paid them to tune my bike up, I specifically stated that the gears shifted FINE, asked them not to mess with it, just please tighten up the pivot points (this tuneup cost $70!). Took it on a long ride after getting it back, and had a total meltdown not too far down the trail. First the rear derailleur wouldnt shift properly, and then a few miles later one of the bolts id asked them to tighten snapped in two. Took it back, they fixed the bolt and shifting and gave the bike back a week and a half later. Took it for a ride, and noticed that there was now no air in my shock! Took it back again, and they told me "it must be leaking, we noticed there was no air in it before we gave it back to you so we pumped it up again." Maybe they should have made sure it was working properly before returning it to me? They act with such contempt towards me, as if I have no idea about bikes at all. When I brought it back the second time, they didnt apologize or anything. Unacceptable. They used to be a great hometown shop, but I think they must have grown a bit too big for their britches.

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A Private User

My son was recently hit by a car while riding his bike. Although he was heavily scratched and bruised, his bike was more damaged than he was. The caring repair staff did a remarkable job of completing the necessary repair work in only two days, rather than the normal time of more than a week. This will allow my son and I to go on a ride together this weekend that we have planned for three months to take before he heads back to college. While at the shop, I asked the sales staff to show me some comparable road bikes to consider in the event that my sons bike could not be repaired. The salesman I worked with did not try to "up-sell" me an expensive road bike. Instead he patiently listened to my explanation of the components we had on my sons bike and then showed me two models with comparable equipment. Remarkable attentiveness and absolutely no pressure. I have lived all over the country and have biked more than 40000 miles over the years. I can honestly say that Freewheel is one of the best bike shops I have ever been in, from Seattle, to Madison to San Francisco to Denver or Billings, MT. They truly are a great staff of caring, talented bike experts.

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JO

Jonathan Almquist

I went to this place a while back, around 2006, so this may not be relevant today. But I was thinking about the service I received there a while ago while riding my bike today, and am still a bit frustrated that they didnt install the parts correctly. I got a full "tune-up" and several new parts to make my Cannondale as close to new riding as possible. After approximately $500 in parts and services, I thought smooth riding was in the future. Well, first thing, when I picked up my bike, they wanted to deliver it with grease all over the frame. um .. I dont think so. After pointing out the grease, I had to ask they clean the grease off the bike. No offer to clean it on his behalf. Fair chance, right? I took the bike and rode for a week, even after I realized there were problems with the gears - they were riding on edge all the time. I brought it back, and they said they fixed it. afterwards, I simply got tired of bringing my bike to them and have lived with terrible gear switching and riding for years. I wish I had gone back a third time, but whos got time to mess around like that???? seriously - wouldnt recommend to anyone.

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MA

Mark Boddy

I wasnt going to comment here, but then saw that a couple of other reviewers ran into the same issues. In about 2005, I bought a bike there. A couple of years later, I wanted to fit the bike for touring, which basically meant a new drive train. The shop manager said the work and parts would be "about $400." I said ok. A week later, they said the bike was ready. The bill was well over $600. Some of that was definitely them having put on pricier parts, where the main advantage was saving a few grams, which I was totally uninterested in. So they got to swap out a bunch of stuff for heavier alternatives. Oh, and then it turned out they had replaced my 175 mm cranks with 170s, without telling me. We eventually worked all this out, but they ended up about as mad at me (!) as I was at them. And I still ended up paying more than the original verbal estimate. Also, when they built some wheels for me, they didnt stress and retension the new spokes, which worked loose. I ended up rebuilding both wheels. So I dont go to Freewheel for repairs, ever. BTW, someone mentioned Patrick---hes a great guy.

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MY

Myles Voigt

This is an awesome bike shop. I go here for all my bike needs. They do an amazing job, and they are very knowledgeable. They are happy to answer any questions I have including repairing things on my own. There was one time that I only had $20 dollars on me and the cashier changed the price on some tubes so that I could still afford a deal they were having on buy 3 get one free. I have also brought my bike in to have a wheel trued, and they didnt even charge me for it. That wasnt the first time they have done that for me either. I just had a freehub rebuilt, and they quoted me two days, but it was done in a few hours. The prices are a little higher than what you will find online, but stores have overhead, and the knowledge and service I have received from this shop makes that little extra well worth it. What they dont have in-shop they can order from their catalog. I have ordered many parts from them and have always done an excellent job in getting the right parts in a reasonable time frame. Try them out, I doubt you will be disappointed.

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