Wheel Sports: Two Super Bikers

Wheel Sports Bicycle Shop, located at 402 S. Church Street, has everything a bicycling enthusiast or skateboarder could wish for, but the shop's best assets are its owner Steve Padilla, a former BMX pro and mountain bike racer who also designed and tested bike products for many years, and his son Nathan, 9, who has inherited his father's love for BMX racing.

Their enthusiasm for the sport is apparent the minute you walk through the door. Padilla hopes someday to build a bike track behind the shop and hold a racing series right in downtown Wentzville.

Wheel Sports offers full-service tune up and repair as well as custom bike fitting of many different styles of bikes for all agess and skill levels, and they offer lifetime free tuneups with a bike purchase.

The shop also carries skateboards and related skateboard accessories like helmets, clothing and shoes.

Padilla told Patch that a family with a youngster wishing to get started in BMX racing could expect to pay about $200 for a quality starter bike. Mountain bikers—and Padilla mentioned Quail Ridge and Indian Camp Creek Park as great local places to practice—could get started for around $260.

Padilla takes donations of old bikes and bikes needing repair, and he fixes them up at his own expense. The bikes are then given away to kids whose families can't afford to purchase one. Padilla gives away about 25 bikes each year, and he estimates he puts about $100 per month into repairs. Contact Padilla at 332-BIKE if you wish to donate a bike or make a cash donation toward repairs.

Check out the rest of our 12 Days of Christmas in Downtown Wentzville series: