Freewheeler

Location

703 2nd Street

(intersection of 2nd & F Street)

Hours

Mon-Fri 9am-6pm

Sat 9am-5pm

Sun noon-4pm

Phone

(530)758-5460

Website

freewheelerbikecenter.com

Freewheeler is a local family owned bike shop that sells bicycles and cycling equipment and performs repair work. They sell Giant, Gary Fisher and Trek bikes.

You can also get a bike license here.

If you decide to return something then you can only get store credit back.

What's been your experience with Freewheeler?

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My experience is that the staff is often very aloof. Not a good quality for a store IMO. One time I went in to buy a seat and got zero help. Another time I was looking at $1000 bicycles and the staffer still remained quite detached. - JackHaskel

2005-05-23 12:36:20   I have found their repair shop to be excellent and quick, but the sales staff hasn't been very helpful. They don't carry a large variety of accessories, either. —MattCzarnowski

2005-07-08 00:21:30   I have no idea if their bikes are good or if the service is grand; however, they do house a very friend very old kitty that always wanders out of the store and keeps me company at the Starbucks next door. Even though I have already had 3 bikes stolen from me, I would still consider taking a peek at this store just to pet the cat and maybe buy a bike. —MichaelGiardina

2005-07-08 02:34:44   That cat has got to be on its seventh or eighth life by now... it was around when I bought a bike from these guys over 10 years ago. —KenNeville

2005-09-29 15:06:46   I had a great experience today. The staff answered all of the questions I had about the bike I ws looking into purchasing, found the right fit bike for me, helped me out with figuring out what I was looking for in a bike, and added on all of the accessories I bought quickly and efficiently. I am very happy. The price wasn't too bad, either. —RachelPeters

2006-03-15 19:08:28   The Freewheeler kitty disappeared a few weeks ago, so said the bike shop people. It was an old kitty, but added a nice feline touch to downtown davis. —KaiTing

2006-05-29 21:25:15   I just bought a mountain bike here and the service is variable. The first guy I got refused to give me a discount on the bike + accessories but another worker gave me a 10% off everything and even made adjustments to the sale when I changed my mind about a few items. The guy who installed the accessories onto the bike dropped the taillight, however, and cracked a corner of it but it still works well and I don't really have a problem with that. Prices aren't too bad but they're even better if you haggle with them. One thing I don't like is their lack of lifetime tune-ups for bikes. They even argued that their 90 day policy is the industry standard. It's not, however, for any bike shop back in Cupertino or Martinez back in the Bay. Good experience, however. Just one question for y'all... who has the best tune-up/maintenance policy here in Davis? —LiRic

• Tune-ups for life doesn't make sense to me. Over time, the value of the tune-ups would easily exceed the value of the bike, especially if you bike a lot. At Wheelworks, you get a year of free tune-ups. Maybe this would be a good thing to add to the bike shop comparison chart ... —KaiTing
  

• I remember being given a year of service with my bike when I bought it here some three years ago. Maybe they've changed their policy since? — TravisGrathwell
  

• Yes, The policy was changed about a year and a half ago from 1 year to 3 months. In reality, this makes little difference, as after the bike has broken in, it should run fine for the first year. Also, they do offer a half-priced tune up within the first two years.
  

• I agree that a lifetime of free tune-ups would make less sense in Davis than it would back in Cupertino or Martinez where the concentration of bikers is much lower. But, a lifetime policy makes it more likely that the customer will shop with your store again. It simply adds to the peace of mind of buying a brand new bike and more than likely, the store won't have to do much work anyway because the less profitable, more casual riders will forget about the tune-up policy pretty quickly. —LiRic
  

2006-08-02 00:04:27   I just purchased a bike from them yesterday. I was in the market for a new mountian bike and went to Freewheeler first to check out their models. I received very knowledgeable advice and zero pressure to purchase from a nice young man, he knew that I wasn't ready to purchase but was none the less very free with his time and advice. I then went to B&L and Wheelworks and had less enjoyable experiences so I returned to FreeWheeler to purchase a Trek from Sherry. She was very helpful and friendly. I thought their prices were fair and that the value I received for the the money I paid was in perfect balance. I would definately recommend Freewheeler. —GregPass

2006-08-06 14:35:10   On Friday, Freewheeler replaced my bike innertube. When I got home, I noticed that both tires were badly cracked while 1 was terribly warped! I was very disappointed because the Freewheeler repair guys didn't catch the above problems. I had to bring my bike back on Sunday and buy 2 new tires. I couldn't use my bike for 2 days because of the repair(s) and it took time to go back and forth to correct their ineptitude. I told the store owner, Jeff, that I was amazed that his repair guys would let me walk out the door with my bike in this unriddeablely poor condition. He said that he would not charge me for the labor when they put on the new tires because they would have been installed on Friday if his guys caught the problem the first time. The owner said that he stands behind his work, and what do you know!?,..he actually does! —JoeCustomer

2007-01-22 18:28:40   I've been in there a couple times and have been disappointed each time. They have a really poor selection for everything, their bikes are totally standard out of the box and are not very high end... They don't have anything exotic, you can't even walk into their shop and see anything really cool, just normal new expensive mountain and road bikes. The girl at the counter was nice and helpful, but didn't know what she was talking about at all, and told my friend at least 4 things that were blatantly WRONG, then rudely told me that I was incorrect. Their bikes have no character, they are almost all the same. Lack of character extends to the staff as well. "bicycle culture" is nowhere to be found at Freewheeler. You can order the same road and mountain bikes and parts that this place has directly off of Amazon.com, probably for a lot cheaper. It feels like they only want you to ride their way. LAME. Won't go there ever again. —GarrettGallegos

• I am baffled by this comment. Freewheeler is probably my favorite shop in Davis. Their selection is huge - you can order any bike by the Trek umbrella or Giant (which is more models than you can imagine). Nothing high end? Most people consider $4,000 bikes high end (and they can special order bikes up to $10,000), but I could be wrong. Their bikes are all the same? Last I checked, Trek's Carbon Madone had very little in common with Phat cruisers, but I could be wrong again. Buy the stuff on amazon? None of their bikes are sold online - Anywhere! It's part of the dealer contract - Trek and Giant only sell through Brick and Morter Retailers. I guess I don't know what it means for a bike to have "character". Oh well. - MatthewSessions
  

• Other bike shops in town can help you out if you're into exotic thoroughbred european bicycles. However, it's good to have a blend of bike shops in town since not everyone cares about exotic bikes and bike culture. A lot of students just need to get around time, and a somewhat vanilla bike shop is fine for that. I don't understand how you can say that the girl was nice and helpful, and then immediately accuse her of being rude. I also don't understand what you mean by "they only want you to ride their way." What way do you ride? I typically move my feet in circular motions, although when I'm tired, I pedal in squares. —Kai
  

2007-01-22 18:28:40   I bought a Giant two years ago from these guys and have been nothing but happy with both the bike and the service ever since. Based on the other bikes I've owned, I've decided that Giant is a great brand if you want to buy a bike that isn't too expensive, but isn't junk either. —Tom Hinds

2007-02-19 12:32:01   When I specifically asked them to replace the rear wheel of my bike with one of the same color, I came back only to see a caricature of a bike with one silver and one black rim. On top of this, after their tune-up, the chain would derail when going from 6th to 7th. Their service is just a dream come true. —AntonUzun

• In their defense, they did fix both problems the next day within an hour with no additional cost.
  

2007-03-30 16:01:14   I got my bike here. The owner is super friendly and very helpful. They used to have a really awesome cat, too. —GreenThing

2007-04-05 22:19:43   I've had great experiences a this bike shop. My freshman year, they set me up right with fenders, a solid cable lock and a front basket. Very friendly and helped me find exactly what I need. The service they provided was excellent. And just recently I purchased a new bicycle from them- so far, I love it. More importantly, my experience in the shop was a great one. They provided me with lots of information, helped me try out a variety of bikes and sent me out for a little test ride to check out my selection before purchase- all that good stuff. Also of note: when you purchase a bicycle from Freewheeler you get 90-days of free tune-up services. —StacieTownsend

2007-04-12 10:49:44   This was by far the best bike shop I have ever been too. I went to 4 other shops in Davis and the service and bikes shown to me were appalling. At Freewheeler all the bike that I tried were well tuned and the daughter helped me find a bike that works with my body. The sales was low pressure but they took the time to get the right bike for me. I love my 7.5 FX WSD! I want to ride it all the time. I am commuting on it from Woodland, 12 miles each way and that baby is smooth and fast. I will definitely buy my future bikes from them! —claire

2007-05-13 17:43:11   I bought a road bike in a closeout sale here (about $1700, down from $2099 I believe). The owner (?) and Sheri were very friendly and had no problem with me test riding the same bike (and others) on three occasions. They also fit me in (not with the fancy special rulers like the folks at Wheelworks, but they took care). You get 3 months free tune-ups on a new bike, and it sounded like they'd swap the seat if I realized a week later that didn't like it. Some of the other staff seemed not as knowledgeable about fancier bikes, but they immediately got me somebody who was. Also, after the sale, they detailed the bike first instead of just sending me off with it. So far I'm happy with their service and prices. The selection could be bigger, but that's understandable for a shop of this size. —JoFeuerstein

2007-05-18 08:52:20   I've taken my bike to Freewheeler for repairs for years. They always do a great job. When my tires got punctured, they replaced them with much thicker and stronger tires which lasted a long time. One of them finally got punctured yesterday and I'll be going back to Freewheeler tomorrow for a replacement. —Dana

2007-07-24 18:24:53   I took my folder here for a tune-up a little over a week ago, and after they gave it back to me everything was perfect except one of the wheel bearings had started creaking. After a little investigation, I found that one of the bearings was not snug in the hub—something I had no idea how to take care of. I went back there today with the wheel, and they were willing to take care of it right away (despite how busy they were). I was told it would be no more than an hour, and sure enough when I came back it was good as new. I asked what I owed them, and they said nothing! Thanks a million, guys; I'll be back for all my bike servicing! —MichaelKeteltas