Bike Show
 

Anyone know if there is a bike show in the Chicago area this winter or early spring 2008?

Hello:
yes, there will be a show but at a new location,Donald E. Stephens convention center in Rosemount sometime in March 2008'

Lowbike, can you describe the show? New products, local shops, swap meet, vintage, non-lightweights, what kind of show is it?

Road Fan

Hello:
this will be a show for the public, retailers,clubs and some of everything that has to deal with bicycling will be there and there will also be a closeut center where dealers and others will be selling all types of bicycle related items at great prices.
for more details contace Chicago Athlete mag.

Hey, this is kind of related, I heard about a swap in Chicago sometime in December...anyone else hear this too?

Hello:
i donot know,so far, of a swap meet yet in the Chicago area if you or anyone hear something please let us all know asap.

Here is a link to a local bike swap.

http://www.chicagowinterbikeswap.com/

This is the one lowbike must be referring to: http://chicagobikeshow.com/. In 2007 it was at Navy Pier. I believe it was in early april. We went there and I was somewhat dissapointed. It was rather small and seemingly aimed at roadies with loads of cash to spend. Their discount section was not very special (although I picked up a Bontrager saddle for $10)

Some of the highlights:
- A number of major brands (Trek, Lemond, Specialized, Bianchi) had a booth with a good selection of bikes to look at (most would not let you testride). Bianchi only had their high end bikes on display.
- I got to ride a bike with DirectDrive. An unexpectedly smooth ride.
- Numerous tourist offices from counties in WI and MI had a booth. If you are looking to take a long weekend, they can provide a lot of information.
- It was a good excuse to ride downtown on one of the first nice Sunday afternoons of the year

Duppie

There's a good bike swap in Madison, about 100 miles from Elgin/NW 'burbs area. I think a few BFNICers may have made the drive last year. Someone I talked to got a new Madone for half price so there are some great deals to be had.

Make a side trip to Capital Brewery (about 10 miles away) and make a day of it.

http://www.brazendropouts.org/swap08.shtml

I made it there last year. Somewhere in this forum there is a thread about it. There wasn't much worth going for. It was more just something fun to do to get out of the house with a young child.

Probably a good enough reason to go again.

Depends where your interests lie. If you like to hang out at the classic and vintage forum, or don't have much money to spare you will probably find it more useful than if you are more interested in the latest stuff.

I was a bit dissapointed last year too . I bought some wool socks there which have served me well.It was a good excuse to get out of the house too.

I cannot find it!
 

I checked the Rosemont convention center website they List a cat show on those dates.Is the bicycle show in with the cat show?Maybe a rocker convention is thrown in too. This could be dangerous for happy ground dwelling cats!:pOn the other hand Wheel and sprocket is having a four day bike expo march 19-22 at wisconson state fair park.how do I know?They sent me a notice.I have yet to see show discount coupons in the mail for the Chicago show.

You can print the discount coupons right online for Chicago.

I plan on going to the Chicago Bike Show at Rosemont when it comes around. I've never been to a bike show before. I got a few things in the mail about it (as well as checked the website) and they keep advertising this "closeout center" stuff. Is that anything worth getting excited for? Should I make sure to hit the ATM first?

I went two years ago and was a bit disappointed. However, I will be going this year. It's all a matter of expectations. There is definitely nothing that Classic and Vintage people would find interesting.

There were a number of high end road bikes on closeout, and a lot of accessories (clothing, helmets, pumps, locks, etc.). I plan on picking up some inexpensive clothing items and maybe a helmet.

As noted above, there are a number of local tourist bureaus there, providing maps of regional bike trails/roads, so that's nice.

It's not amazing but it is a good reason to get out of the house and get excited for some Spring riding. Good enough for me, but I'm only about a 30 minute drive away. If it were still at Navy Pier, I'd ride, but I doubt that there's any nice way to ride to Rosemont.