I'm thinking about buying/building my first fixed gear. Anyone know of good shops in chicago that can provide affordable parts and advice?

Urban Bikes in the north part of Chicago. They have used bike parts, the guys there know a lot about bikes, and they are cheap. You can take the red line all the way to their shop- to Wilson, then when you come down the stairs, you just cross the street. It's right there. If you're riding, the address is 4653 N. Broadway.

Koffee

or you could wait until marcus returns (next week?) and go to Yojimbo's. Also, there is Boulevard Bikes in Logan's Square and Upgrade on Chicago and Milwaukee.

All those other stores are good alternatives, BUT they tend to be pricey... the smaller the store, the more you end up paying.

Now if you just want cheap cheap new, then go to Performance on Halsted and Diversey (off the Diversey stop on the brown line if you take the train). Otherwise... if you don't mind spending the extra money, then try the stores 165 recommended. I'll add in Mission Bay Multisport out on West Randolph (like 742 W. Randolph or something like that). I really like the people that work there. Rapid Transit Cycle up at Damen/North/Milwaukee is also a very good store too. I really enjoy going there.

Koffee

P.S. Marcus is back in business on Oct. 7th (returns from vacation, that is...).

Koffee

Sweet. Thanks for the recs. I don't mind paying a little more at a small shop if they can provide more help building my bike. I'll check out Urban tomorrow since I usually ride in that neighborhood.

I've gotten a lot done at Boulevard and Kevin is always helpful. He definitely is sympathetic to straight chainline obsession.

I think they may be able to help with building the bike at Urban Bikes. They are very laid back over there, and the guys seemed very helpful. They are definitely knowledgeable! They are a small bike shop, but they are also very good because they carry second hand stuff and like new stuff, so it ends up saving you a little bit of money. Definitely recommended.

Koffee

only two people I trust to build me anything in Chicago for track bikes. see yojimbos. please. for the love of god!

I've been quite pleased with Yojimbo's, Performance, and Johnny Sprocket's. All have their plusses and minuses. In the end, Performance gets most of my business.

Where is yojimbo's located?

It is at 1310 N Clybourn.

[B]I never understoon YoJimbo's. Marcus isn't very helpful and/or informative about parts or service. I mean really, I must of asked him varied questions and each one was answered with a dull, stoned look. Remember the Vietnam footage of the soliders smoking pot out of a shotgun barrel? I wouldn't be suprised to see him sucking smoke out of a seat tube. I'd rather go somehwere I can converse with the mechanic in order to better suit me. His skills are great, it's just that it's like pulling teeth in order to get what I want.

[B]And I feel like every used bike at Urban Bike is hot. Hot! Yep, stolen! I dunno why I feel this way, I just have a suspicion. Plus their prices for cheap fixed gear conversions around $400. That place is more of a scam then those chumps selling fake "track" bikes & tacking on nutty charges on top of the winning bid + shipping.

ditto

Dear RideChicago
how about a recommendation then? I am curious to hear which shops are 'safe/friendly' in your opinion.

RideChicago -
do you know how hard it is to sell a used bike to a shop in Chicago?
Daley just past new laws handling used merch sales. I have to show 2 forms of ID at RecklessRecords! Urban does not sell hot bikes, hell I tried to give them bikes.

If your looking for pre-built check Cycle Smithy & Higher Gear

and Yojimbo's rules and if Marcus doesn't like you check your head. (j/k, kinda!)


jeff

Cycle Smithy is ok... small shop, but sometimes, those mechanics can be... well... wrong about some things. I've gone in there a few times with problems that couldn't be resolved by them. The last time, I found out on bikeforums what the real problem was with my bike, and when I brought it back and told them, the mechanic practically threw a hissy fit. Strange... I'd never seen a man do that before. Another mechanic fixed my problem, AND they never refunded me for the work they did on an obviously non-existant problem either. I stopped going there.

I'm now finding that Mission Bay Multisport is a good bike shop- no waiting around, and if I ask them to do something, it gets done quickly. And they [i]invited[\i] me to step into the repair area so I could watch my bike getting repaired. That was a rare experience fersheezy. Only them and Rapid Transit ever did that.

Koffee

wow koffee that does totally suck. I've never had them do any work for me (and I won't be starting soon!) 'cause I have a friend who is an amazing mechanic at Higher Gear. Can I ask: what was the disagreement? and was it the guy with the white beard? A non-little-kid having a hissy fit is something i've got to see. And yes Mission Bay has the Cervelo I want.

jeff

I've seen said Cervelo hanging in the shop. Methinks I might buy it just to get you P O'd.

Just kidding. But they do have some awesome bikes in there. I love that they deal with foreign bikes, so that's why I bring my DeRosa there for any repair work. There isn't anyone that can deal with my bike to my satisfaction yet except them.

The disagreement was that my rear wheel was acting funky, and they said the hub needed to be rebuilt, so they did that, and it still had the SAME problems... and it turns out that I simply didn't change the inner tube correctly, and the seat bead needed to be set correctly onto the tire. The other mechanic set my tire correctly onto the rim. The dude with the white beard was the uncool dude. I thought he was gonna kill me, honestly.

I've never been to Higher Gear. I've been to Highland Park- it's one of my regular rides now, but I've not been over to the shop. I know there's a cool dude named Jason who works there my friend recommended I talk to once, and I never was able to get in touch with him. He was too busy for my needs, so I ended up at Yojimbo's. Maybe I'll head over there this Saturday, but I also have a guest in town... I should actually be around for that too.

Koffee

Never heard of it. Is it a Chicago shop?

Randolph & Halsted. I think. They specialize in Triathlete stuff. Wetsuits and crap.

jeff

I definitely recommend Uptown Bike Shop, formerly Urban Bike Shop. They were extremely nice to me and to the other customers who were in the shop at the time.

There was a guy in there who sounded like he had about the same knowledge of bikes as me, meaning above average at best, and the mechanic was totally cool with him. He was helping the guy find a good crank set from the used parts and didn't sound condescending or superior at all. Lots of bike shop people act that way, but not these guys.

They even have a warehouse you can go to on Saturday and Sunday full of used crap and you can scrounge through and buy the parts you need. Plus, they let me look in their basement for used parts.

On top of all this, they had a track bike (FUJI) for sale that was my size (52cm). How many shops in town carry track bikes, period?! Not many. For single-speed/track bikes, these guys were, at least this time, top notch.

I rate them a 9 out of 10 for a first time visit.

Jason works at the higher gear on fullerton, head mechanic. all around good guy and amazing mechanic. he's built every one of my bikes - also does wheels with the best of em, including a superstiff custom 3-cross.

kevin from boulevard bikes has 85dollar builtup suzue/ma3's if i recall correnctly (in cali now) as for service there, just make sure kevin womac himself does the work, not tall andy or the others. kevins great.

woody and marucs are the best mechs, woody just gets to your **** right away.