Madison Freewheel Bicycle Co

In October of 2003, an excited group of Madison-based bicycle enthusiasts set out to open a community workshop. Freewheel’s first members came from different backgrounds, but they shared a common desire to establish a space where people could share tools, parts, and knowledge while strengthening community bonds. By sharing expenses as a collective, we made our shop affordable to everyone. To gain inspiration for Freewheel, we spent years traveling and visiting community centers, DIY warehouses, youth programs, free stores, and bike coops. While Freewheel has evolved to meet the needs of our changing community, we continue to offer used bicycles and parts, mechanical classes, and shop space to all humans, regardless of their race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, social class, language, housing status, or ability to pay.

Our key work is teaching people to build, repair, and maintain their own bicycles. We get bicycles into people’s lives — and we help people fall in love with bicycles — via our mechanical classes, available for a sliding scale fee.