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Detroit City Football Bicycle Parking
Since the Detroit City Football Club's inception in 2012, Wheelhouse Detroit has offered complimentary bicycle parking for anyone attending a Le Rouge home match.
With the club's move to Hamtramck's Keyworth Stadium, we are pleased to continue this offering. We are set up next to the east entrance, which is accessible via the alleyway off of Jacob Street. From Conant Street, you'll turn onto Jacob Street and make an immediate left onto the alley.
We are also excited to team up with LE ROUGE RIDERS! This group will meet at Wheelhouse Detroit 2 hours prior to each home match for a group ride to the Fowling Warehouse to meet up with the March to the Match.
Be sure to "like" Le Rouge Riders on Facebook!
Wheelhouse hits Eastern Market!
Guess who is now offering bicycle rentals in Eastern Market? Wheelhouse!
We are located at 1454 Wilkins between Russell and Riopelle, just west of the new entrance to the Dequindre Cut.
Hours:
- Tuesday 10am-4pm
- Friday 10am-4pm
- Saturday 8am-4pm
- Sunday 10am-4pm
Rates start at $10 for 1 hour; helmets and locks are included at no additional charge.
Get our and ride the Dequindre Cut; check out the Riverwalk; explore your city!
Wheelhouse Detroit Bicycle Rentals in Eastern Market are presented in partnership with the Eastern Market Corporation.
Inside a Wheelhouse Detroit Tour
Wheelhouse tours are a great way to gain road confidence and explore the city. All of our tours are led by an experienced guide, many of whom are experts in their field.
Kido, who leads the Urban Agriculture tour, is the education coordinator for Keep Growing Detroit, the city's leading advocate for urban farming.
Reg, who leads several of our tours, is a lifelong Detroiter with enthusiasm for the city's history and culture.
Henry, who also leads several of our tours, is a Slow Roll squad member, lead assembler for Detroit Bikes and ride leader for People for Palmer Park's weekly rides.
Marc, who leads our Public Art tour, is an artist and an archivist for the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Francisco is our new Architecture tour guide. He works for the College for Creative Studies and is a self-taught Detroit history junkie.
Mike, who leads our Auto Heritage tour, is a civil engineer whose firm is heavily involved in improving Detroit's non-motorized infrastructure.
Kelli, Wheelhouse's owner and a tour guide for several of our tours, has a background in community development and journalism and has been writing about and researching Detroit history since the mid-1990's.
Wheelhouse tours follow the Rules of the Road, so safety is of the utmost importance. Tours are also staffed by a sweeper, who helps keep the group together and safe and can assist with any mechanical issues.
Our tours are capped at 15 people so expect a personal experience.
Some tours include food others do have a refreshment stop; the descriptions will let you know what to expect.
Wheelhouse tours are experiential, honest, informative and FUN!
Find out more and make a reservation HERE.
And if you have a wedding, work outing, family reunion or just a group of friends that want a fun day out, we highly recommend a group tour. Find out more about options and booking HERE.
Help Wanted: Eastern Market Rental Operator
Job Title: Eastern Market Rental Operator
Pay Rate: $9/hour to start w/ $1/hr raise in 30 days w/adequate performance
Hours: Tuesday 9am-3pm; Friday 10am-6pm; Saturday 8am-6pm; Sunday 10am-4pm There is some flexibility with these days/hours, but a regular set schedule is a must.
Duties: Wheelhouse Detroit will be operating bicycle rentals at Eastern Market this year and we're looking for someone who loves bikes, people and Detroit to rent bikes for us! The Operator will be responsible to collect payment and signed waivers as well as adjust seat heights for customers to ensure they are comfortable. Helmets and locks will be provided as well.
Skills: Scared to talk to strangers? Need not apply. This job will require cash management, so some retail experience is preferred. Minor mechanical skills, including the ability to change a flat tire is preferred. Must have weekend and holiday availability.
The ideal candidate will be comfortable with diverse clientele and the ability to provide basic recommendations on cycling in Detroit. The ideal candidate will be willing to commit to working 4 days a week from April 28 through October. (Planned vacations/days off not-withstanding, of course!)
No uniform is required, although we will provide you with a couple of t-shirts. Open-toed shoes and fancy clothes are not recommended.
There will also be opportunities to pick up Bike Parking shifts, which also pays $9/hour and sometimes comes with free event tickets (ie, Movement Festival, Detroit City FC matches). It’s probably the most fun you can have working.
This job is at-will, part-time and seasonal. There is potential for this job to be combined with a Shop Help position if the applicant is interested in more hours.
Send note of introduction that includes any relevant experience and a job history as well as three (non-relative) references to info@wheelhousedetroit.com. All received resumes will be saved through the course of the 2016 season so, even if you do not hear back from us immediately, it is likely that you will at some point. No calls, please.
Help Wanted! Seasonal Shop Help
Job Title: Shop Helper
Pay Rate: $9/hour
Hours: Flexible, although some regularity is appreciated. Range of 10-40 hours weekly possible. Weekend and holiday shifts required.
Duties: A shop helper at Wheelhouse Detroit is an integral part of a busy, multi-faceted bike shop that services a diverse clientele with a strong focus on customer service. S/he will assist with renting bikes; general inquiries; minor mechanical issues such as changing a flat tire; restocking inventory; cleaning…and whatever else needs to get done!
Skills: The most important thing necessary for this job is the willingness to jump in and get your hands dirty! Scared to talk to strangers? Need not apply. This job can be high-energy and it can be fun. It can be stressful and it can be quiet. A successful candidate will be quick on their feet and nimble of mind. Must have weekend and holiday availability.
This job is the starting position at the Wheelhouse and, depending on your skill-set, can lead to another position at a higher wage fairly quickly (ie, Tour Sweeper, Mechanic &/or Retailer). Most shifts are 5-6 hours a stretch. No uniform is required, although we will provide you with a couple of t-shirts. No open-toed shoes and fancy clothes are not recommended.
There are also be opportunities to pick up Bike Parking shifts, which also pays $9/hour and sometimes comes with free event tickets (ie, Movement Festival, Detroit City FC matches). It’s probably the most fun you can have working.
This job is at-will, part-time and seasonal. Season is May-September. Hiring and training begins in April.
Send note of introduction that includes any relevant experience and a job history as well as three (non-relative) references to info@wheelhousedetroit.com. All received resumes will be saved through the course of the 2016 season so, even if you do not hear back from us immediately, it is likely that you will at some point. No calls, please.
Coming Soon: Wheelhouse Detroit: Hamtramck!
We are so excited to announce that Wheelhouse Detroit will be opening a second location in Hamtramck this spring, with a target Grand Opening date of mid-May.
Owner Kelli Kavanaugh is personally excited to join the community of Hamtramck. "I lived there in the late 90's, and have always really felt at home there," she says. "I value the diversity of both the residential and business community, and it's fantastic to see all the investment currently happening -- like Detroit City Football Club, Bumbo's, Bon Bon Bon, Better Life Bags and Bank Suey -- and be near all the great longtime businesses, like Strodek's and Polish Village Cafe."
More quotes from some media coverage:
From Model D:
"We see the two Wheelhouse locations complementing one another," [owner Kelli] Kavanaugh says. "The Riverfront spot will continue to be the anchor for Greater Downtown residents and workers and will serve as the primary spot for tours and rentals. Our Hamtramck location offers more retail space to increase our inventory of bicycles, accessories, gear, clothing and a large service department, while serving Hamtramck and surrounding Detroit neighborhoods."
From Curbed Detroit:
Wheelhouse is working with numerous local businesses on the expansion, including Christian-Hurttienne Architects; building owner John Grossi of Amicci’s Pizza; neon designer Signifier Signs; apparel-maker William+Bonnie; and web designer The Work Department. The growth is made possible with the assistance of Invest Detroit’s Urban Retail Loan Fund and Technical Assistance Grant.
Wheelhouse will be Hamtramck’s only bike shop, and is located on the Inner Circle Greenway. The 26-mile pathway will encircle the city of Detroit while passing through Hamtramck, Highland Park, and a little bit of Dearborn.
Also read more at Crain's Detroit Business.
Rolling into Spring
As Spring approaches, there are numerous ride announcements. Curbed Detroit published an article about Wheelhouse tours, Tour de Troit events & Slow Roll.
Wheelhouse Detroit also announced their 2016 season tours. Tours range from $25-$45 and are for riders of all levels. Bikes can be rented from Wheelhouse for an additional $10. Tours can cover neighborhoods (like Corktown, Hamtramck, Southwest, and Eastern Market), interests (architecture, music, sports), and history (Underground Railroad, haunted Detroit, and automobiles). Tours are on weekends and run from April to October (check the tour your interested in for specific dates and times).
Read the whole thing HERE.
Another upcoming ride is Detroit Bikes' annual Spring Training ride.
When: Saturday, April 2, 2016, 10:00 AM start
Where: Preservation Detroit's MacKenzie House, 4735 Cass, Detroit 48201
The Ninth Annual Detroit Bikes! Spring Training Ride (STR for short) is a sports-themed event in which the riders will cruise past current and past Detroit sports venues, including Comerica Park, Ford Field, Tiger Stadium (RIP), Olympia Stadium (RIP), Cobo Arena (RIP), Joe Louis Arena (soon to be RIP), Recreation Park, Keyworth Stadium, Veteran's Memorial Park, and others. Wear something that represents your favorite Detroit City team (professional, minor league, college, futbol, high school, CYO, etc.), such as a T-shirt or bandanna and help us welcome the warm weather! The ride will be at a relaxed, non-competitive pace, suitable for all experience levels.
Desperately Seeking A Cycling Architect
After 7 amazing years, our architecture tour guide is moving on. We are looking for a gregarious, knowledgeable student or practitioner of architecture to take up the mantle and help to showcase Detroit's spectacular built environment.
We offer our architecture tour monthly from April through October, and occasionally get requests for private tours that we set up if and when it works with the guide's schedule. The tour itself is 3 hours and approximately 12 miles, with the actual shift running 4 hours in order to accommodate tour take-off and return procedures. The tours are capped at 15 riders, and a sweeper rides along to ensure group safety protocols are practiced as well as to handle any mechanical issues that might arise.
The tour guide should be a confident cyclist familiar with the rules of the road, although training is available. The outgoing guide is willing to work with the incoming guide to help him or her get acclimated to their new position. While an existing tour is established in terms of stops and routing, Wheelhouse is willing to be flexible to the interests and knowledge of a new guide.
Guiding a tour, especially one about which topic you are passionate, can be both fun and rewarding. It is also a great way to establish oneself as a local expert on a topic and to gain personal insights and confidence.
Tour guides receive a stipend of $50 per tour.
Interested? Please reach out to info@wheelhousedetroit.com. Include a paragraph or two of introduction and we can go from there!
Outspokin’ on Wheelhouse: ‘Riding a Renaissance’
We are so honored and thrilled that the industry magazine “Outspokin’” recently wrote a wonderful article on Wheelhouse, entitled “Riding a Renaissance.”
Writer Peter Koch eloquently captures what Wheelhouse is about: bikes for everyone, and everyone on bikes in Detroit. We thought we would share a few excerpts from the article here.
On beating the odds:
“We all know the relatively long odds of succeeding in this industry—how 70 percent of new retail shops close within three years and roughly 1,000 shut their doors every single year. But when Wheelhouse Detroit first opened its doors back in June of 2008, the odds seemed stacked even higher. After all, here was a seasonal business setting up shop in an unheated, uninsulated 500-square-foot shed in an Upper Midwest city that also happened to be the poorest in America. To make matters worse, the Detroit economy was in free fall, weighed down by sweeping layoffs in the local auto industry, doubledigit unemployment and one of the nation’s highest home foreclosure rates. But none of that stopped Kelli Kavanaugh and then-business partner Karen Gage (who sold her half of the business to Kavanaugh last winter)—both industry outsiders working in community development—from seeing opportunity. As passionate lifelong cyclists who were intimately familiar with community needs, they were confident of one thing: cycling was on the rise in Detroit, and downtown was in desperate need of a shop.”
On the mission:
But this wouldn’t be a high-end boutique peddling carbon frames and Tour de France dreams. From the start, Wheelhouse Detroit was organized around the singular goal of getting more city people on bikes through sales of reliable workhorse bikes, rentals and—an unusual offering—guided bike tours, then keeping them rolling with top-notch service.
On our future:
Today the shop’s future looks much brighter. Not only is it open year-round and thriving relative to those bleak early days, but a second, larger location is in the works. And out on the streets of Detroit, the number of cyclists is exploding, ushering in a sort of two-wheeled revolution in Motor City.
On the Riverwalk:
This is where locals get their fresh air, and where tourists come to see signs of the city’s burgeoning renaissance. And Wheelhouse is ready to facilitate, with its well-maintained rental fleet and, improbably for a bike shop, guided tours.
On the Wheelhouse mission and philosophy:
“I think there’s a little bit of attitude around cycling—‘I’m cool because I cycle, I’m really fit because I cycle, I’m smarter than you because I cycle’—that permeates the industry and cyclists,” she says. She tries to combat that image with the tours, where virtually anybody can get on a bike, ride a dozen miles, learn about Detroit and have fun. “You don’t have to wear spandex, you don’t have to ride a fancy bike. And I think that serves as a gateway drug to becoming a regular cyclist.” In other words, the tours are a great way for newbies to gain confidence and learn the rules of the road in a small group.
“We’re emphatically not about performance here. We’re about making people comfortable, and hopefully turning them from very occasional riders to very regular riders.”
On the city’s growing bike culture:
“It’s funny to see the change that’s happened in Detroit in eight years,” Kavanaugh says. “It’s gone from people saying, ‘You’re insane to ride a bike in Detroit’ to people being really interested in it.” Three bike shops opened in the first half of 2015, and at least a couple more are slated to. “Detroit is this super desirable place to do business right now. It’s super hip.”
On the future of Wheelhouse:
Now that growth appears to be snowballing. This summer, Kavanaugh opened a tiny Wheelhouse rental outpost downtown in a converted shipping container. She’s hoping to open another in the autumn near Eastern Market. … By the end of the year, Kavanaugh plans to open a second full-size retail location of Wheelhouse Detroit. “It will focus more on retail and service, and I’ll keep the rentals and tours at our current location.” There will be a small amount of overlap in either direction, though, so customers can rent a bike from the new shop, or get their ride repaired at the old one.
On biking Detroit:
“Whether they’re buying their first bike, upgrading from a beater—inherited or from Wal-Mart—renting or going out on one of our tours, we get people on bikes,” says Kavanaugh. “We’re a portal into cycling in Detroit.”
Thanks again to Peter and “Outspokin’”! You can read the entire article here.
Movement + Wheelhouse 2015 = Bike Parking & Rental Discount
One of our favorite weekends of the year is the Movement Electronic Music Festival held over Memorial Day weekend. We love to get as many visitors onto a bike as possible, as we truly believe it is the best way to see the city.
For the first time ever, we are thrilled to be offering complimentary bike valet at the festival this year. So you can enjoy the festival knowing that your bike is secure and safe!
We will be located at 170 E. Jefferson, just east of the festival entrance in front of Mariner's Church -- #7 on the Movement festival map.
Hours of operation are 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. each day.
We are offering rental discounts to anyone wearing a Movement festival wristband all weekend long. So whether you are looking for a quick ride to Eastern Market for lunch, a trip to Belle Isle for a swim, or want a bike for transportation the entire weekend, we’ve gotcha covered!
MOVEMENT FESTIVAL-GOER RENTAL RATES (CRUISERS) $10/2 hours (reg. $15) $18/half-day/4 hours (reg. $25) $25/full day (reg. $35) $40/2 days (reg. $50) $60/3 days (reg. $75) $75/full week (reg. $99)
You can call 313-656-2453 to reserve a bike at these rates. We've even developed a self-guided tour you can ride on your own! Check it out on the Movement Blog HERE.
Looking forward to seeing you at the Wheelhouse -- and the festival -- over Memorial Day weekend!