BrianBradford

Just moved to Chicago and realized there is a lot more to consider when buying a bike (i.e. snow). Can you guys recommend me a commuter bike for Chicago area? And if there is anything else I should be concerned about living in Chicago with a bike? I read steel bikes are no good in Chicago??

Criteria:

• Handle Snow/Rain
• A Rear rack will be installed
• Men Bike (im 6 ft tall)
• Hold Resale Value
• If possible Vintage looking
• Under $1K preferably
  

I really love the Trek belleville, but I believed it's discontinued. Can't find it anywhere online. Is there any comparable bikes out there?

SkvLTD

I'd look on CL and find a bargain or a deal.

kickstart

The best mixte bike: PUBLIC M7i

Add a dyno hub, lights and rack, and there you have it.

americanlt2

One of the most important items you can buy for the bike is a good high end U-lock. Abus or Kryptonite NYC U Lock. Chicago is horrible for bike thefts and it is very low level offense for the police. Downtown and the North Side are especially theft prone.

CrankyOne

Where did you get the idea that steel is a bad idea?

I'd check out JC Lind. A Workcycles or Gazelle Opa might be a good option.

Welcome | J. C. Lind Bike Co.


Winter depends on where you ride. You may need to swap to studded tires for winter depending on how well the clear the paths you ride on. Shoreview MN keeps their paths clear enough that you can go without studs much of the time but many cities either don't have paths or don't keep them clear so studs are necessary. For more check out:

Let's Go Ride a Bike | Adventures in city cycling

May also be interested in https://chi.streetsblog.org

BrianBradford

Looks nice!! I'll take a closer look into these bikes!



Good info! I seen a bunch of youtube videos of bike locks easily being bypassed. What part of downtown and north side is high theft prone? What about Evanston, Edgewater, and the loop? Prob best never to leave a bike locked outside overnight. Any specific model of Abus or Kryptonite NYC U Lock you recommend?

I read somewhere on forum someone posting about steel frame bikes and cracks/rust. Plus,
I just assumed steel + snow salt + chip paint off frame = rust

Even with all the anti-corrosion coating etc, I thought steel wasn't ideal. Most of Trek's Urban utility bikes are aluminum body.
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...urban_utility/



Thanks for the links! I'll looking into JC lind and see if there is anything i like. I also considered those city bike share such as Divvy, but for $75 a year, I rather just buy a bike. And with annual membership, anytime I use the bike longer than 30 minutes, I get charged more.


And on trek, theres Linear pull/cantilever/mechanical disc/caliper brake options. Is there any benefit of one brake option over the other in consideration of chicago semi bi-polar weather conditions? lol

jade408

I like this bike a lot! There is a very similar version from Linus as well you should cross shop! I had the step-through version. The mixte should work great in Chicago!

GamblerGORD53

An IGH bike is for sure the way to go there, Sturmey Archer hubs are best. Especially their 90mm Front dyno drum brake hub. Mine has 15,000 miles including 4200 miles on tour hauling a 130 lb bike. This is the ONLY brake that goes for years with almost nil service/ cable adjustment and works the same in ANY weather. Nothing can get near the sealed bearings either. Rim brakes are good for nothing in mud/muck and pads last maybe 4000 miles, discs maybe 9 or 10 thousand. Only generator lights make sense also. Good luck finding the rest of the bike.

dickey

If you're not tied to the mixte-style Trek, you should consider a Surly Cross-check or Long Haul Trucker. I've used the former for a year (before it was tragically destroyed in a car-bike crash) with much success. It handles at least 40mm tires, fenders, front and rear rack mounts and has a really nice, stable geometry, kind of an in-between tourer and cross racer, and it works pretty well for both; I've tried. The Long Haul Trucker is more relaxed and you can also get a 26" model if you're more mtb-inclined.

All in all, Surly makes some good commuters. Really handy and carefully designed.

Deontologist

Don't even leave your bike unlocked when in your garage. I know a person who had their bike stolen right out of their garage in Florida. He had the police over to file a report. When he asked what was the chances of the police getting his bike back, the policeman flat out told him "zero." His wife got pissed but what can ya do? It's a bike, no one cares! A motorcycle kind of bike, that's when people start caring. If you poke around on the internet too you'll find plenty of stories of people who've had their bikes swiped from patios, sheds, backyards, etc. Don't be one of them!

Anything with the word "Granit" in it by Abus is a good lock. Abus locks are basically the BMWs of locks. Kryptonite locks are the Toyotas of locks. Both are good, but Abus tends to be a bit fancier with upscale steel that matches or beats the strength of lower grade steels while being slightly lighter. Also the NYC series of Kryptonite locks are good. Really, either choice works. Or you could get one of each (there's a youtube video of a guy with an Abus Granit Extreme and a Kryptonite NYC FU - that's over 6 pounds of locks).

BrianBradford

LOL, I have to google everything you said. Whatever bike I get, I can decide later I can upgrade to Sturmey Archer hubs correct? For regular bikes, how often do I need to take it in for maintenance?

Wow, the Long Haul Trucker has lots of really good reviews. And it fits all my criteria I'm looking for in a bike. And its a beautiful bike! But dang $1300!! Even used ones on craigslist are $1500+! Surly Long Haul Trucker-58cm

Thanks for the tip! The frequency of bike thefts makes has made me hesitant on purchasing an expensive new bike. Theft happens so often and people easily flip stolen bikes on craigslist.

I've heard of Kryptonite locks but never heard of Abus. My sister bike was stolen straight off her SUV in a mall parking lot. She had the bike locked to a tow hitch carrier. They straight up cut the Kryptonite lock and took the bike. :/

Abus has a lot of interesting different styles of lock, never seen the folding lock before.
ABUS bike locks - Bike safety and security / Mobile Security

CrankyOne

A big advantage to Bikeshare (Divvy) is that you don't have to worry about theft (or maintenance). You ride from A to B, dock it, forget it. For journey's longer than 30 minutes you pull in to a dock along your route and take out another. I use bikeshare a fair bit in London and NYC and it works well.

The disadvantage is that bikeshare bikes may not be as comfortable and smooth as a good Dutch bike, can't carry as heavy a load, may not be quite as fast, and obviously don't work if you need to go somewhere with no docks nearby.

Bikeshare is a good option that you should consider if they have docks near your various destinations. Many people will use bikeshare even when they own a bike simply because it's easier from a theft standpoint and works well for single-ended trips.

On locks. No lock is foolproof. Your goal is to make your bike less attractive than the next one. I've known a few people who paint fake rust on the joints of their brand new bike for this reason.

CrankyOne

Aluminum is a harsher ride than steel and geometry cannot overcome it. Aluminum is also more brittle and more likely to develop cracks or other faults in the frame so a steel bike will last longer. That said, aluminum is also lighter. Steel will rust but it won't rust through or loose its strength because of rust. If you buy a steel bike then chances are you'll get a nick or scratch deep enough to get to bare steel at some point. There are a lot of unrusted 30-year-old steel bikes in Europe so it may take you a while. A nick like that will rust but won't spread (assuming a good paint job). In the seventies it was fashionable in northern Europe to build a bike from an unpainted frame. These are still going strong.

We have a collection of steel Workcycles, Batavus, and Gazelle in MN with MNDOT's love of salt and they're still going strong and I don't expect any problems in my lifetime.


All of those except disk are a bad idea in a snowy/rainy environment. Well, at least if you want to be able to slow or stop.

A key feature you'll see on about 95% of bikes outside of the U.S. is that the gears and brakes are internal. For brakes this means coaster, roller, or drum. For gears IGH. This protects them from the elements and increases their reliability as well as protects your clothes from them. For reliability coaster is the ticket since it eliminates any problems with cables breaking or stretching. My preference is rear coaster and front roller. Very rarely use the roller brake though.

Disk brakes work well and will actually stop you faster but don't have the proven reliability of coaster or roller. A bent or broken disk puts you out of commission. They can last a long time but if you take 100 coaster and 100 disk then you'll likely find a lot more of the coaster still working after 30 years of no maintenance (99 or 100?) than disk.

For Internal Geared Hubs either Sturmey or Shimano are good. My preference is Shimano Nexus but it's a pretty slight preference and we have bikes with both and both work fine for decades of use.

For more:

City Bikes | LocalMile

oddjob2

Each below are in your size.

Nicely maintained, great quality, fair price. I have 3 Miyatas, 912, Team, and Terra Runner, among my rather large group.

58cm Miyata 512 Road Bike

Comfy, cheap GT Arette. Just sold one for $175, wanted to keep, but I have too many utility bikes.

GT *Arette* Hybrid / Like New Condition

Excellent value, nice riding Schwinn Voyager.

SCHWINN Voyageur 11.8 racing road bike - rare find!

no motor?

Home | Bike Winter Can give you some ideas about riding during the Chicago winters. I rarely have to go into Chicago and haven't brought my bike with when I do, but theft and being hit by uninsured drivers would by my biggest concerns about bicycling in Chicago.

Cyclosaurus

I would second the recommendation to go to JC Lind. Jon Lind is a great guy and has a lot of bikes you can try. Personally I like the Linus or Vanmoof.

Commuting in Chicago winters has some challenges, but if you are prepared it's not that bad. You'll want to dress warmly but be prepared to sweat and need to vent. If there's snow, ice, slush, choose your route carefully and leave enough time to go relatively slowly. Have good lights as visibility will be poor in snowstorms and you often are coming and going in the dark. Get full fenders with mudgards. Figure out if you are going rack+panniers or backpack/messenger bag. Get a high-end lock (I have a Abus Granit X u-lock + cable lock) and lock it using the Sheldon Brown method.

In the winter I usually take my folder with public transit. Also alleviates any security issues as I take the bike with me wherever I go.

snow_echo_NY

i would get a bike that has clearance for studded tires. buy gatorskins all weather and studded tires and change them out for the snow.

also fenders for rain/snow/wet ground that kicks up.

find indoor storage at work and at home. plus buy 1 or 2 good locks (u-locks, mini u-locks or heavy duty chain) and carry them with you at all times. do parking garages accept bikes? find out about that. try not to leave your bike outside unless you must, and if you do, secure it each time with said lock(s).

lights. really bright ones.

you could virtually get any bike and it would do, what kind of mileage are you looking to do daily? what's your style of riding? what's the elevation gain you'll be looking at? do you prefer bags or racks? these are all questions that need to be answered before making a rec.

best of look newb! we were all there once

Deontologist

Ignoring the stuff about materials and ride quality (which is incorrect) ... what do you mean by steel won't "loose" its strength because of rust?!

BrianBradford

The closest station to my place is 2-3 blocks away and only has 5 bikes. What if there is no bikes available and I have to go to work? Dunno how Divvy system works for that.




Good article. If you were me, what bike would you get? With consideration of everything you mentioned above?

I didn't know there was so many brake systems. I've been only aware of just the mountain bike brake lines and you squeeze handle bar to brake. Or the pedal backwards kind to brake.


Is there any advantages in buying a small local brand of bike vs big brand name bikes (i.e. Trek/Schwinn)? Some of the smaller local brands I notice get their parts from China/Taiwan and assembly them locally.

I'm not saying everything from Asia is crappy quality... but a good majority of them are, like Target/Walmart bikes.

How is schwinn brand anyways? I saw a schwinn bike is #1 on Amazon.



Schwinn Men's Network 3.0 700C Hybrid Bicycle, White, 18-Inch | Amazon.com: Outdoor Recreation






Wow, I didn't even consider about sweating when I wear thick layers during cold weather. It does make sense I'd prob sweat.

And you bring up a good point I forgot about. How do I bring a bike onto Chicago bus/metroline? In CA, the busses have racks in the front you put the bike on. Dunno how it works in Chicago. I probably don't need to take bus in chicago, but I prob would take metroline if I ever want to venture to suburbs. Can I roll my bike onto the metroline in Chicago? lol or do I have to get a folding bike? I don't have a clue how it works because this is first time I'm living in a dense dense city.

I seen folding bikes and they seem convenient. It would eliminate the fear of my bike being stolen too. Are they durable? Any recommendations on which folding bikes are good and which I should avoid?

But I also think... if I'm considering a folding bike, I might as well get a Goped



Not just reflectors, but lights? For the rear and front? So fenders are okay? Snow won't get trapped underneath the fender and tire?


I've commuted by car throughout my life Texas/Arizona/CA and thus why I'm a bike newb. Now living in Chicago, biking makes more sense (parking is PITA!). I wish I could bring my motorcycle to Chicago (Yamaha R6) but prob not a good idea. My daily commute is 3-4 miles along the coast of the lake in chicago. So the terrain is all flat in the city.


Is there bike maintenance I should be aware of?? Riding BMX/Mountain Bikes as a kid, for years I never maintained it at all. lol but reading forum comments about servicing bikes and yelping bikes shops who take in their bike for yearly service has me scratching my head.


I will probably ride with a backpack, but it be nice to be able to install a rear basket or something if I ever buy take-out at some food joint. Or go groceries shopping.


Should I be considering riding positions? I mean I prefer a more relaxed position vs hunch down racing position. I'm not speeding to work.


Thanks for all the info everyone.. never knew there was SOOO many variables and options in a bike purchase. When I was kid, I'd just buy whatever bike was cheap at Target, so this is all new to me.

dynaryder

I've twice almost been hit by cars because the Roller brake on a bikeshare bike failed to stop. Never had that happen with any of my bikes,regardless of the brakes.

I've got a fleet of disc bikes and have done thousands of miles of commuting. The only times I've ever had a rotor bent was from being shipped through the mail,or during bike polo. Not even when locked up to a busy rack have my discs been damaged. You'd pretty much need to be MTBing to bend a rotor bad enough to stop the wheel,and truing rotors,even in the field,is very easy. Broken rotor? What? I've never even heard of that happening. Have a pic or a link?

There is no such thing as a maintenance free mechanical component. I get quite a few people into my clinic who need to replace things and say,"but I've never had to do anything with it". Coasters do occasionally need their grease changed,and Rollers def need it done on a regular basis anywhere that's not completely flat where people ride at a walking pace.

Also note,discs don't have to be disconnected to remove a wheel,and you don't have to worry about remembering to reconnect them when installing the wheel. You also don't need tools,which you need for most coasters,and no parts to keep track of.

BrianBradford

Any comments on "BREEZER DOWNTOWN EX 2015"? Never heard of breezer before.

Breezer Downtown Ex 2015 ? Pedal The Planet

Gresp15C

Just some random comments:

1. Depending on how well the streets are cleared along your route, studded tires might prove beneficial during the winter. They don't come particularly narrow, so I suggest looking up the available sizes of Nokian and other brands of studded tires and making sure your new bike has clearance for a reasonable studded tire.

2. You can upgrade to Sturmey Archer later, but some conditions have to be met. The spacing on your rear dropouts has to be close enough to fit an available Sturmey hub. And you would be much better off with horizontal dropouts than vertical, to avoid needing a chain tensioner.

That Breezer looks like it's got everything you'd need. It looks like it has vertical dropouts (becoming more common these days). I'd like to know how long white tires last when exposed to sunlight.

CrankyOne

There's a vast difference in bikeshare bikes that have hundreds of different people who don't own them riding them each week and a personal bike. I use bikeshare in NYC, London, and elsewhere regularly and have never had a problem but I know that problems do occur.

My info on disk brakes comes from mechanics and bike builders in The Netherlands, Denmark, and Motivate (NYC Bikeshare). They've all said that they'd like to use disk but all consistently say that they're not as reliable as roller or coaster and they don't want the problems.

CrankyOne

I don't think you'd want rim brakes in a snowy climate. Stick with coaster, roller, disc, or drum.

Breezer is generally OK for the money but this is not a high end bike of any sort. Ride this bike and then go over to JCLind and ride a Workcycles or Gazelle and you'll notice the difference in ride quality and geometry. This also has external gears and drivetrain. Seat and Tires are listed as 'breezer' so likely low quality. It doesn't have any lights.

CrankyOne

Most steel bike frames will get surface rust quickly but it usually takes decades for it to penetrate enough to cause any weakening. I've seen unpainted frames from the 70's that have been through 4 decades of Dutch summers and winters that are still going strong.