Bike shops for Maintenance...

[yetirider]

Being somewhat new to the area, I was wondering if any of you out there could recommend good bike shops for service. I do most of my work myself, but there are those overhaul things that are just sometimes easier to drop off on the way to work and pick up for the evening ride...

Thanks in advance...

[KleinCrazy]

If you want to stick to a shop that carries your ride ( I am assuming you ride Yeti) The Gravity Labs in Burnsville. just north of Buck Hill Ski Area would be the only Yeti Shop in town.

They have great offers on partial and complete overhalls right now and the wrenchers there are to notch.

[BrightYellow]

I've had really good luck with the Erik's bike shop in Richfield. It seems a little different than the other Erik's. For one thing, they carry some top end stuff there - Seven, Intense, etc.. and the service has been great.

I tried Flander's Bros. one time. Not a good shop. They couldn't even rebuild my shock. After screwing around there for two days and almost buying a new shock from them, I took it to Erik's and they had it done in couple of hours.

[yetirider]

Thanks for the info on Gravity Labs... Although definitely not necessary that they carry Yeti, it doesn't hurt! (didn't know if there were any true Yeti dealers around this area!)

Thanks again and look forward to seeing you guys out on the trails soon!

Robb

[yetirider]

Forgot, I do ride a Yeti AS-R! Being in the "clysdale" range for XC, I have yet to find a bike that works better for me. I am 6'4" and around 210. I rode the 12 hrs at the Summit last year, solo, 105 miles 10k+ vertical feet with not a single mechanical failure! (not even a flat tire)...

So those of you that are shall we say, not light, looking for a great XC bike, I will be passing along my experience... Not to mention, I have the bike under 24 lbs.! (I know, lose another 10 lbs of body weight, but hey... life goes on, and I have learned to love those Culvers shakes!) :)

[KleinCrazy]

For general shops, I keep closing them behind me so I don't have a lot of historical info to pass on.

I have had very good service at Freewheel by the U on Cedar and have yet to have them close for 2 years now.

I have also heard very good things about Kenwood.

I find the the Independent shops will usually have very good service, and usually the opposite from other shops.

Also the Mechanic at REI in Bloomington is well known to the MORC community and does a good job.

[SickBoy]

Flanders is a road shop. Definitely don't go there for anything suspension related. There is a particular mechanic at Erik's Richfield (can't remember his name) who knows suspension stuff really well.

Otherwise I would say that Tonka Cycle and Ski has a very competent mechanic (ask for Jeff). If you talk to him and make sure he does your stuff he'll do a really good job. Unfortunately the way they schedule his time you might have to wait a while, especially if you wait another 2 weeks or so when he gets bogged down with Joe Sixpack repairs.

[soupboy]

First, let me say that I encourage everyone to tinker with their own bikes. I may be more mechanically inclined that the average person, but bikes are surprisingly simple things to work on once you take the initiative to roll up your sleeves and start wrenching. Yes, you will end up investing (wasting?) several hours of your life playing with your bike. The upside is, if you or a fellow rider's bike fails mid-ride, you will likely know how to address the issue. I digress.

Erik's in SLP (Richfield is good too) has a great mechanic named Chris Balser among others. They also have a guy in their Dinkytown location who is real familiar with damper maintenance and repair (can't recall the name right now).

The only things I don't typically tackle are headset installs - don't do them often enough to justify a $100 tool - and wheel builds (soon, though, soon).

Penn Cycle in both Uptown and Mtka (Cedar Lake Rd) seem to do decent work as well. Just get a hard quote upfront from whomever you choose to work with!

--Sean
:etard:

[Paul Bunyan]

I agree with soupboy187. If you are mechanically inclined, try it yourself. The Park Tools website has excellent instructions on bicycle repairs. I needed a shock rebuild on my Duke C. I checked out the Rockshox website and found a PDF document that gave step by step instructions. I added a couple of tools to my kit, ordered some parts and had at it. The shock feels better now since I have rebuilt it.

First caveat... Use the proper tools. You may end up ruining parts with the wrong tools. This can be a large investment, but will pay for itself in the end.

Second caveat... The bike mechanic at the shop will probably do a better job in half the time.

Third caveat... Be prepared to ruin parts. Also prepare to eat some crow if you can not finish the project and have to take the disassembled mess to a bike shop. This may be a necessary part of the learning curve. Bike shops and mechanics love unskilled individuals using the wrong tools.

Good Luck