Hi my name is John and i currently live in a small town south of St Louis. I dont bike much as of the last 2 years since i have been more focused on running(trained and finished a couple marathons). I am in the middle of negotiating a transfer to chicago sometime this fall i hope and i know once there i will want to have a bike.

Where i currently live biking is more of an exercise thing and not so much a transportation thing(other than the college campus). I do have a bike that is a few years old. It is a suspension mountain bike. If my transfer goes through i will probably sell this bike to my LBS so i dont have to worry about it in the move.

My plans once i get to chicago is to get a nice urban/commuter bike. I am digging around the forums here to help learn styles and terminology and just trying to get as informed as possible. As of now the bike wont be for work commutes but just getting around the city and picking up groceries and such. After a trip to Amsterdam my gf and I are really into the dutch style bike where you sit upright and such. I already have some general "feature" ideas i want for my bike but they may be bad/not feasible/beyond my budget.

Either way i just wanted to introduce myself and apologize in advance for any annoying post i may make lol.

Hi John,

Welcome to Bike Forums.

https://bikefancy.blogspot.com/

Welcome aboard and enjoy your stay! I'm sure you'll be able to find out tons of info here.

Welcome to BF. As an ex-Chicagoan, I can say I'm sure you'll love Chicago. But beware, it's not as bike friendly as Mayor Daley would have you believe.