Since we were already there after MADE 2025 concluded, we figured we might as well go on a US tour, so we departed Portland the day after the show ended.
Our destination was Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Tangled Up in Blue
Minnesota is the birthplace of Bob Dylan. One of his—and rock music’s—greatest masterpieces, "Highway 61 Revisited," is named after the highway that runs through this very state.
Also, the famous screenwriters and directors, the Coen Brothers, are from the Minneapolis suburbs. The setting for their bizarre masterpiece, "Fargo," is also in Minnesota.
And Minneapolis is home to my personal favorite American indie band, The Replacements.
The reason I chose to go to Minneapolis based on these personal interests was to meet this man.
Jeffrey G. Frane (also known as Jeff).
Otherwise known as Bike Jerks.
And he is the owner of the WILDE BIKES brand.
He previously managed the brand All-City at the bicycle distributor QBP. (The Log Lady is my personal favorite bike—a geeky name that those in the know will appreciate.)
To be honest, I had already met Jeff at the MADE venue. But I had my reasons for wanting to go and meet him specifically.
I just really wanted to experience that Minneapolis bike culture. The air they breathe, the environment they’re in—where do those ideas come from? I simply wanted to get a glimpse into the source of their inspiration (if that even counts as a reason!).
What’s WILDE BIKES？
To give a brief explanation of WILDE BIKES here: it’s an emerging brand that debuted in 2021. It originally started with handmade bikes in Minneapolis before they began releasing production models from Taiwan. At Circles, we carried the Earth Ship, which was their first launch and handmade in the USA.
The bikes lean heavily toward the rugged side—they focus on gravel, dirt tourers, and hardtail MTBs. However, if you look at the geometry, many of their models are designed to be both comfortable for long rides and responsive, featuring a blend of retro details, classic frame colors, and modern performance. Honestly, if you want to have fun on a bike right now, I think WILDE BIKES offers the best balance of cost and value. If you want to have fun, go with WILDE.
(The handmade line in Minneapolis is still running, and when I visited, there were many bikes being welded. I was also surprised to see so many models I’d never seen before, as they do quite a lot of custom work. By the way, you can also order them through Circles.)
Man from the North Country
When I touched down in Minneapolis, Jeff was there to pick me up. We drove to their base in South Minneapolis.
The air in the "North Country" is cool. Since Japan and the MADE event were incredibly hot, Minneapolis felt like heaven to us.
During the drive, he said something to me:
"There was a mass shooting in this city yesterday. America feels like it’s sick right now."
As we talked about that, the conversation shifted to George Floyd.
"My neighborhood is where George Floyd was killed. You know Black Lives Matter, right? This is where it started. Many Black and Mexican people live here, and most of them are really nice people."
He said this as we drove through the area. Right, this is America. There are injustices here that we, as outsiders, could never fully understand. I felt the shadow of that just a little bit.
"Still, overall, it’s a good city. You hungry? Let’s go get some lunch."
He took us to a local café called "Modern Times." That’s another Dylan title.
We had some local specialties there. (By the way, what I ate was a menu item named "Jonathan Richman," haha.) After filling our stomachs, we headed to his house.
The Basement Tapes from Big Pink
Yes, this is Jeff’s house—the house of Bike Jerks.
In this basement, what does this world-class bike geek think about? What’s on his mind?
His basement often appears on Instagram, and I intended to interview him with this space as our base. But when I actually arrived, I was stunned.
Forget the basement—his entire house is about half-filled with bikes, haha.
The garage, the second-floor loft, and the basement. If you look only at the living space, it might not be much different in size from a Japanese apartment.
This experience alone was enough to convince me without asking a single question that WILDE BIKES is the real deal. I realized that his greatest strength is that he’s genuinely, earnestly "crazy" while maintaining a gentle demeanor. It’s a truly insane house.
And the garage, which is (probably) more spacious than his living area.
It was the most organized space in a house packed to the rafters with bikes. He told us, "I cleaned the place up because you guys were coming. Thanks for the motivation."
You can really tell the huge influence of BRIDGESTONE USA.
There are bikes in the bathroom, too, as a matter of course.
It seems like his mind is occupied entirely by bikes and his family.
In the best possible way, he’s not doing this just for the business.
But to sustain what he wants to do and to keep the community going, business is a necessity.
His love for bikes and the culture surrounding them is incredible.
He explained every single thing in the room to us. Shige-chan also did a thorough job of covering the bike checks and such, so we’ll upload that footage later. His passion was amazing.
And what was impressive was seeing him screen printing at home.
He printed T-shirts for us as a gift, and moments like this reminded me once again: "Yeah, bike culture really is about DIY."
Try to do everything yourself.
Yes, this is the kind of scene I wanted to come see.
WILDE BIKES is planned by a guy like this. It was good to learn that WILDE is a lump of pure, unadulterated bicycle love.
By the way, we’ll be even more surprised when we go to ANGRY CATFISH later, but that’s for next time.