Category: Shop News

Due to the current COVID-19 emergency, our shop will be closed for regular business until further notice. We will be open by appointment only and offer paid repair services. We will continue to give away bicycles to people who are on our wait list. Pickups will be by appointment only. Appointments will only be available during times when the shop is usually open, which are Sundays from noon to 4 PM, Tuesdays from 5 PM to 8 PM and Thursdays from 5 PM to 8 PM. Persons needing to purchase basic maintenance items (tubes, tires, cables, brake blocks) should call ahead and place an order.

Please also note that we are not accepting donated bicycles at this time. We have no storage space available. We do not know when we will again accept donations, but we will announce it here when we do.

The number to call for appointments/placing orders/gift bicycle requests is 651-641-1037. Our shop email address is [email protected]. Thanks.

Our shop schedule for the remainder of March is as follows:

Tuesdays – March 10, 17, 24, and 31 – 5 PM to 8 PM

Thursdays – March 12, 19, and 26 – 5 PM to 8 PM

Sundays – March 15, 22, and 29 – Noon to 4 PM

Spring weather is here, which means we are very busy at the shop. The wait list is currently open, but we anticipate getting a lot of requests in a short amount of time, so if you want a bicycle, be sure to call soon so you don’t miss out. Be sure that you leave all the information requested on the voice mail. We get hundreds of calls, and we don’t have a lot of spare time to do follow up when people don’t leave all the necessary information. The needed information is your first and last name, your height, and a RELIABLE telephone number to reach you when the bicycle is ready. If you don’t specify a style of bicycle, we will choose for you.

We have some issues that we wish to bring to everyone’s attention. First, we are still very short of storage space, so please do not bring large loads of scrap bicycles to the shop. We lack the space and the time to process them. It also costs us money to dispose of them. We appreciate your desire to help us and to reuse bicycles, but some bicycles are just too far gone to save and processing them takes away time from repairing the bicycles that we give to those in need. We also have had issues of late with folks leaving bicycles outside our shop when we are not there. This is also not helpful because we have to hold them to check and make sure that they weren’t stolen, which takes precious storage space away from the bicycles we will give away. We also have issues with people coming to the shop outside our regular hours and expecting us to help them, even though we are closed. There are times when we have a lot of things to get done that we can’t do when we are open to the public, so please respect our time and don’t come to the shop outside our regular hours unless you have an appointment. We seldom complain, but there has been a large increase in these sorts of issues, so we respectfully request your cooperation. We want to give away as many bicycles as possible.

The shop is open the following hours in February 2020:

Sundays – February 2, noon to 4 PM (closed all other Sundays in Feb 2020)

Tuesdays – Feb 4, 5 PM to 8 PM (closed all other Tuesdays in Feb 2020)

Thursdays – Feb 6, 5 PM to 8 PM (closed all other Thursdays in Feb 2020)

On Sunday, February 9, the shop will be closed, but come and shop at the Blaine Velo Swap. The event runs from 9 AM to 2 PM at the Schwann Center in Blaine. There is an admission charge. There will be a lot of other vendors there with cool stuff to sell. You won’t want to miss this event.

We will be closed the remainder of February to allow us to travel for our full time business. We will be exhibiting at the CABDA Midwest Bike Expo in Schaumburg, IL on February 12 and 13, then we hit the road to visit shops and spend time with family and friends. The shop will reopen on Sunday, March 1 at noon.

We do accept bicycles all year long. However, there are times when our storage space is so full that we don’t have space to add more bicycles, so if we tell you to hold off a bit in dropping off bicycles, please understand why. Also, we do not have the resources to pick up bicycles from individuals, so please make arrangements to bring them in to our shop. We appreciate all of you who give us bicycles.

The shop schedule for the rest of August and for September is as follows:

Sundays: August 25, September 1, 8, 22, and 29: Shop Open Noon to 4 PM (closed September 15)

Tuesdays: August 27, September 3, 17, and 24: Shop Open 5 PM to 8 PM (closed September 10)

Thursdays: August 29: September 3, 19, and 26: Shop Open 5 PM to 8 PM (closed September 12)

There are several special events coming up. Here is the list:

August 23: All day at the ReUse MN booth at the Minnesota State Fair Eco Building. We also put on a show on the Sustainability Stage in the Eco Building at 2 PM on August 23 where you can win fabulous prizes.

September 7: University of MN ReUse Center Bicycle Sale. The sale runs from 10 AM to Noon, but plan on arriving no later than 8 AM for best selection. This sale is popular and bicycles sell out.

September 8: St. Paul Classic Bike Tour. Come visit us at our information table at University of St. Thomas.

September 14 and 15: All British Cycling Event. On September 15 we will have a special sale on vintage bike parts in the parking lot of Barley John’s Brew Pub in New Brighton around 9 AM. Come cheer on Mr. Michael as he competes in the Gravity Race and Pastry Joust.

September 16: The wait list for gift bicycles reopens at 9 AM.

September 21: City of Inver Grove Heights annual recycling event. Volunteer to help the MMRB crew gather and process donated bicycles. Send email to [email protected] if you want to sign up to help.

September 28: City of Burnsville recycling event. Volunteer to help the MMRB crew gather and process donated bicycles. Send email to [email protected] if you want to sign up to help.

Looking ahead, Cranksgiving 2019 is scheduled for Saturday, November 23 at Zion Lutheran Church, 1697 Lafond Avenue in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood. Registration begins at noon, riders are released at 1 PM to the sound of the church bell. This event is free, but riders should bring money to purchase food items to donate to the food program at the church.

As always, we can use volunteers to help out at the shop. Tasks include bicycle repair, dismantling bicycles, sorting parts, and cleaning the shop. If you want to volunteer, stop by any time that we are open and tell us what you can do. We will find you a way to help out. Hope to see you soon at the shop.

Please note that we have again closed our wait list for gift bicycles. It will reopen on Monday, September 16 at 9 AM. At that time you may call to get your name placed on our wait list. The reason that we close the list is that we have reached our limit of 60 requests. Because we are a mom and pop, all volunteer operation, we are unable to manage a list that is longer than that. We do our best to keep up with requests, but there is a limit to how many bicycles we are able to repair. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

The shop hours for the rest of May and for June are as follows:

Sundays – May 12, May 19, June 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30 – Shop Open Noon to 4 PM (closed May 26)

Tuesdays – May 7, 14, 21, 28, June 4, 11, 18, and 25 – Shop Open 5 PM to 8 PM

Thursdays – May 9, 23, 30, June 6, 13, 20, and 27 – Shop Open 5 PM to 8 PM (closed May 16)

The shop has been very busy with paid repairs, give away bicycles, and sales of used bicycles. We have lots of customers visiting the shop. Sometimes we get so busy that some customers have to wait for several minutes before we can serve them. For those who have given up and left, we are truly sorry for any inconvenience. We hope you will come back and give us a chance to help you with your bicycle needs.

The U of M spring bicycle sale is coming up at the end of the month – May 25 to be exact. The sale is held at the University of Minnesota ReUse Program Warehouse and begins promptly at 10 AM. If you are wanting to purchase a bicycle at this sale, get there early – like around 8 AM to queue up.

The shop will be closed during the first week in April. Here is the full April schedule:

Sundays – April 14 and 28 – Shop Open Noon to 4 PM (closed April 7, and also April 21 for Easter)

Tuesdays – April 16, 23, and 30 – Shop Open 5 PM to 8 PM

Thursdays – April 11, 18, and 25 – Shop Open 5 PM to 8 PM

We will celebrate English Day on Sunday, April 28 during regular hours. For this special event, we bring out all our English bicycles, along with our selection of used parts and accessories. New this year, we are also offering you the opportunity to peruse and purchase vintage, new-old-stock English parts from Raleigh, Sturmey-Archer, and Phillips! This is a great chance to pick up all those bits and bobs you need to get your 3-Speed ready for the Lake Pepin Tour. As is our custom, we will serve tea and biscuits to our guests, and the shop crew will head to Merlin’s Rest after shop hours for a little English fare and a pint of good drink. You won’t want to miss this special event.

Bicycles are flying out the door, so if you want to buy one, get to the shop sooner rather than later so you can get the best selection.

Volunteer mechanics are always needed, so if you want to help us repair bicycles, show up during shop hours and we will find you a bicycle to fix. Please note that we do not train mechanics, so our volunteers need to already know the basics of bicycle repair. If you aren’t sure, show up and ask to process tear-downs. We usually have some bicycles that need to be dismantled and that is a great way to learn.

Spring has finally sprung! We hope to see you soon at the shop.

The shop will be open in March as follows:

Sundays – March 3, 10. 17, 24, and 31 – Shop Open Noon to 4 PM

Tuesdays – March 5, 12, 19, and 24 – Shop Open 5 PM to 8 PM

Thursdays – March 7, 21, and 28 – Shop Open 5 PM to 8 PM (Closed March 14)

Saturday, March 16 – Shop open Noon to 4 PM for Sneak Peek Pop-Up

While business has been slow at the shop, we have been super busy. We traveled to three swaps to sell stuff and all three were a success. January we did Madison, February was Blaine, and early March was LaCrosse. We enjoy swap season as we get a little time on the road and get to see friends both old and new. Now we are looking ahead to the warmer weather, which we hope gets here someday.

We are expanding!! We leased a retail space two doors down from our current shop and we will be opening it up for a special pop-up sale on Saturday, March 16. The ready-to-ride bicycles will be sold from the new space, along with a large selection of vintage, new old stock items, and some nice accessories. Right now we have our largest ever selection of ready-to-ride bicycles, so if you are planning on buying a bicycle, you will want to shop early for best selection and to beat the rush. Some of the bicycles are brand new! These are some of our best ever deals, so check out these deals.

As always, we welcome volunteers to come and help us repair bicycles. We still are interested in training someone in how to run the front desk, so if you are interested, please come by and we can get you started. This job is a longer term commitment of at least one year and requires you to be there at least one day each week.

Hopefully the snow will melt soon. Don’t let the weather keep you away. We hope to see you soon at the shop.

The shop is closed for a couple of weeks to allow us some time for much needed rest. The schedule for the rest of September is as follows:

Tuesday, September 25 – 5 PM to 8 PM

Thursday, September 27 – 5 PM to 8 PM

Sunday, September 30 – Noon to 4 PM

The Saturday, September 8 Minneapolis Star-Tribune did a wonderful article about our shop. We appreciate the warm responses from the article. Please understand that the easiest part of the business is getting bicycles. Our storage space is limited, so we are asking that people please hold off on donations unless they are mountain or hybrid style bicycles to fit riders 5’10” and taller. We never get enough of those to satisfy demand. We also request that you take any kid size bicycles to one of the Allina drop off locations for Free Bikes 4 Kidz on Saturday, October 6. We have way more kid size bicycles than we can currently use. The best ways to help us are to volunteer your time to repair bicycles (mechanic experience is required), buy our bikes and/or parts, and pay us to repair your bicycles. We appreciate your support.

The shop schedule for the rest of August is as follows:

Sundays – August 5, 12, and 26, noon to 4 PM (closed August 19)

Tuesdays – August 7, 14, 21, and 28, 5 PM to 8 PM

Thursdays – August 9, 16, 23, and 30, 5 PM to 8 PM

Coming at the end of the month are two huge events. On August 31 we will be at the Minnesota State Fair staffing the ReUse Minnesota booth located in the Eco Building. Stop by to see us between 9 AM and 9 PM. We will also do a show on the Sustainability Stage at 5 PM on August 31, so stop by and see the show and you may even win a fabulous prize.

On September 1, we will again be at the University of Minnesota ReUse Center for the fall bicycle sale. This event runs from 10 AM to Noon, but people start lining up at least two hours before the sale opens. At least 150 bicycles will be available for sale with prices starting at just $50. Here is your chance to score a great deal on an affordable bicycle, so you won’t want to miss this sale.

Please note that we will be closed for a couple of weeks in mid-September. Otherwise, we are here most of the time at our regular hours so stop by the shop and see us soon.