Howdy all-
Is anyone aware of good tri/bike shops in the Minneapolis / St. Pauls area? Or anything up along I-35 farther North to Duluth?
Thank you!!
Gear West in Long Lake, MN. It’s a western 'burb. Very good, in my novice/naieve opinion.
Lehmkuhler
Gear West is truly a wonderful shop, great staff, all the Tri goodies you could ever want/need, professional fit and service. Yes they do sell Elite, but sell many other brands as well.
Gear West 1786 W. Wayzata Blvd. Long Lake, MN 55356 PH:877.874.7587
DGG
Thanks all. I’ve heard good things about Gear West. Any other shops or are they about it in those areas?
Gear West is basically the tri shop in Minneapolis. All others are bike shops/running stores that carry tri stuff.
If you want something in particular, call ahead. Kevin runs the best tri-nerd shop in the country, although Austin Cyclist sounds pretty cool.
Now…if you’re a cycling enthusiast…you’ll want to put Hollywood Cycles, Flanders and Grand Performance on your list.
If running, Marathon Sport or the Gear West Run shop (which is down the street from the tri/bike store)
i’ve only had one negative experience with gear west…asked about getting a new bike (tri newbie)…the guy just looked at me and asked how tall i was and said “so&so bike in this size”. no discussion about fitting or type races i would be doing. having said that, every other experience with gearwest, especially with kevin has been outstanding.
a decent bike shop would also be hollywood bikes 35w and 98th st in bloomington. one-man shop by a life long wrencher. has his own team and sells javelin and bianchi. bought my javelin from him and he did a real nice job (and fair price) of setting me up. last time i was in he was building up an arcole for someone.
Gear West. Kevin has done so much for the sport around here…and Jan and her run store (a blcok down) are great as well.
If you’re bike shopping, call ahead and see who’s working. Ask when the best time to come in is–by getting thier undividied attention, you will ensure a quality experience. Can you drop in? Sure…but it’s worth the effort to call and set up an appointment.
Kevin and Gear go above and beyond–I’ve never had a bad experience there, and they’re always willing to go the extra mile. Plus, their race support and their committment to the tri community is wonderful. He’s not a bullshitter, either. Very frank, straightforward, and always a joy to deal with (and if he heard me calling him “a joy to deal with”, I would never live it down.).
Thank you all very much!
I have to second (or third, or fourth) Gear West… when we’ve raced in the Minneapolis area they are the shop that takes care of our bikes. Owner Jan Guenther does a lot for the local tri community and is also a pretty darn good athlete.
Jan no longer owns the Gear West Bike (the tri shop), she sold it to Kevin who does a great job. She does however still own Gear West Ski & Run which is a couple blocks down the road and obviously sells skis and running stuff. And yes, she is a damn good athlete, although Kevin is not too shabby either!
If its tri related Gear West is the only way to go, which reminds me I need to see about getting refitted.
However I have had my road and mtn bike repaired/upgraded at Flanders and they really know what they’re doing with road bikes.
Well…next time you go into GW, you’ll probably be surprised at who you see then…