Great Lakes - Milwukee Bike Shops

My wife and I are taking a trip to Milwaukee this weekend. Does anyone have any bike shops they suggest I visit? Two I know about are Crank Daddy's and Ben's Cycle. Any other suggestions of shops I should visit or not bother visiting? Obviously there are a ton of them in town, but I'd like to visit the big or unique shops while I'm in town. I'm not looking for anything in particular or intend to buy anything, but like a kid in a candy store, there is a possibility I may leave with stuff.

-Eric

Check out Wheel and Sprocket. Here's their web address: http://wheelandsprocket.com/index.cfm

They have six stores in Wisconsin, two near Milwaukee.

I recently had a great experience dealing with Cory the Bike Fixer.

Check: http://www.corythebikefixer.com

I would suggest Bens. Depending upon what part of town you'll be in you might try Rainbow Jersey on the NE side, Patio on the SW side, or Emery's on the NW side. Each, just like Bens, have been around forever and have left their mark on the city's cycling scene. At Patio, ask to go upstairs to look at their frames ... the whole second floor is FILLED with bare frames on display. If you're into sewups, you might ask to go in the basement to look through the PILES of sewups in storage. You'd go 'whoa ... dude!' There is a new shop in Cudahy on Layton and Packard that has a neat display of old bikes, one of the owners collects them and has perhaps 30 WWII era and later vintage bikes on display. It's in the old Cudahy News and Hobby store on the east side of the street, on Packard, two blocks south of Layton. Now that I think of it, I should head over there soon with my camera. :)

Edit: I like your style. When I was last in Chicago with some friends, I had to stop at Turin in Evanston or when I'm down there for Downer's Grove, I've got to hit Performance. Likewise for Yellow Jersey in Madison.

:D

and when you get back, tell us where you went and what you saw (and bought!).

additional votes for ben's and cory. i've purchased bikes from each.

no offense to the individual that suggested wheel and sprocket....they do a great job, don't get me wrong...but you won't likely see anything other than trek and fisher.

have fun!

Check out Emery's.

I'd also agree with Ben's. I'd forgotten about Patio -- haven't been there in years, but remember it being cool (sounds like a trip is in order for me as a reminder).

+1 on Wheel and Sprocket -- nice, but nothing special (although since the OP is from Appleton, I suspect he's been to the store there and already knows this).

If you're in the western suburbs, check out the Bike Dr out in Dousman (Trek, Cervelo, Scott, Orbea & Felt -- fairly large tri-bike selection) or Transition Cycle in Pewaukee (primarily Specialized, but some Colnago and Serotta, plus some Spiuk gear).

And, of course there's Hip's shop of choice: Rainbow Jersey in Shorewood.

Sounds also like I'll be heading to Cudahy -- thanks for the tip John!

Hey Guys,
OMG, it's faster to get around that town on Bike now than motor vehicle. How can they close both 94 and 43! Crazy! Anyway, thanks for all your suggestions guys. I hit Bens, Crank Daddy's, Johnsons, Rainbow, Cory's, and one other that I can't remember the name of. didn't have time to hit Patio or the shop with the old bikes, Would have liked to, but ran out of time. I was in some shops for over a half an hour talking with the guys or poking around and lost some time in traffic too because of the construction and my driving plan went to heck with all the construction. I ended getting only a jersey and some new gloves, but had a great time looking around and checking out the new bikes too.

-Eric

Bet you bought the jersey @ crank daddys?

Dynodan

Actually I didn't, got it at rainbow.

I've never had a bad experience with Bikesmiths on Locust. I'd say they are more known for their mountain bikes though. Personally, I'm not a fan of wheel and sprocket, I have never received good service there, or really any service at all actually. But I can't speak for all of them, just the HWY 100 and janesville rd one, I don't even want to attempt the others.

Actually I didn't, got it at rainbow.

Excellent shop.
Did you meet the owner, Jerry?
That's my coach!