WCCO Viewers' Choice For Best Bike Tune-Up In Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - For a state crisscrossed with hundreds of miles of trails of all kinds, keeping your bicycle in tip-top shape is just a Minnesotan thing to do.
And according to WCCO viewers, the best place to do that is Jonny Rock Bikes in Hopkins.
Jonathan Minks' shop sells used and new bikes and can tune-up whatever you bring in the door. But pedal back five years, and this place didn't exist.
"I was a corporate suit-and-tie guy selling office technology products," Minks said. "I lost my job and started picking up bicycles in the trash."
Laid off and unable to find a job, Minks turned what looked to be a rough patch in his life into a new opportunity.
"When I lost my job, I kind of wanted to do something totally different, something I loved to do as a kid," Minks said.
He started pedaling bikes.
"We spent all of our time on bikes," Minks said. "We didn't have video games, so we would start in the morning and ride our bikes all day long."
Now, just like in childhood, Jonny Rock is talking, tweaking and selling bikes.
"Basically with your bicycle tune-up, we clean your bike, we lube your bike and everything that can be adjusted on your bike is adjusted," Minks said. "Consider your bicycle a form of transportation, like your car. We get tires, we get brakes. We do all that stuff so we can ride and enjoy our vehicles. Your bike is the same way."
Though he's met success now, the path that lead to this had some bumps and pitfalls.
"This adventure for him started six months after we started dating, and I was a little nervous," said his wife, Kat Minks.
"We started dating, and I lost my job," said Minks. "Six months and how do you tell someone, 'Hey, everything is going to be fine!'"
Yet five years later, it's been two outgrown business spaces, a marriage and many miles logged. Part of his success came in the form of Cash. Their son Cash, that is.
"It's a lot of work, but it's very rewarding," Minks said. "I love working with our customers. My name goes out on everything here, all the tune ups, all the new bikes, all the used bikes -- it's my name. So we want to be sure it's done right."
Bike adjustments at Jonny Rock Bikes start at $10 and go up depending on what you need done. A standard tune-up is just under $69 with discounts available to military members. Some of your other favorite places for a tune-up were Free Wheel Bike, One on One Bicycle Studio and Angry Catfish Bicycle + Coffee Bar.
