Favorite Chicago Bike Shops?

[skuberneter]

What are people's favorite Chicago bike shops? I used to favor Cycle Smithy but since their closure, I'm not sure where to go. I'd prefer to avoid going to the big brands like Specialized or Trek stores, and also would prefer to not travel very far north of the city for service.

Would love to find another smaller local shop, especially with a bit charm

[chicagorider]

I'd like to get to know Blue City Cycles more. Maybe someone has experience? I've only gone there to pick up some parts/tools...

https://www.bluecitycycles.com

There's also

https://smallshopchicago.com

Though I'm not sure if I they do high-end bikes... The owner is super nice though and heard he trains local youths how to work on bikes.

[skuberneter]

cool! blue city even does powder coating! I'll have to check them out

[soupless]

Comrade Cycles probably has the most charm within city limits.

[samwell187]

Very, very positive experiences with Green Machine up on Montrose! And as a bonus, you're near Spacca Napoli afterwards. Highly recommend -- quite able, knowledgeable, and well-stocked (at least, last time I was in, a few months ago now).

Positive, though less enthusiastic about: Comrade, West Town Bikes, and Boulevard Bikes.

Very, very negative experiences with Johnny Sprockets.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by soupless

the most charm within city limits.

I always thought that was Bill Lickton.

[samkl]

Originally Posted by samwell187

Very, very positive experiences with Green Machine up on Montrose! And as a bonus, you're near Spacca Napoli afterwards. Highly recommend -- quite able, knowledgeable, and well-stocked (at least, last time I was in, a few months ago now).

Positive, though less enthusiastic about: Comrade, West Town Bikes, and Boulevard Bikes.

Very, very negative experiences with Johnny Sprockets.

Huh, I’ve had good experiences with Johnny Sprockets in Andersonville. Green Machine too—plus they give a bunch of stuff to the co-op I used to volunteer at, The Recyclery.

Comrade and Blue City probably have the best reputations among shops in the city. I hear good things about Turin too.

[samwell187]

Johnny Sprockets in Andersonville charged me an arm and a leg for some basic maintenance, partly because cables and housing weren't included in the price of the (already expensive) tuneup, but were instead (rather costly) add ons, which seemed pretty questionable to me. But the real issue is that the bike was unsafe to ride when I got it back: I nearly crashed after I left because the brakes were so loose (I had to do a foot stop). I took it back immediately of course, but once I did they gave me some attitude and they still didn't seem to have any idea how to tighten the brake back up. I was shocked.

I suppose I should correct my post to say "very, very negative experience" singular rather than plural, and I acknowledge I may have caught them on a bad day (or been subjected to the work of a new or rogue employee), but if you're on the north side my advice is that Green Machine is close enough and so much better

[samkl]

Oof, yeah that’s bad.

[soupless]

Velosmith would be my first choice if I lived there and could make it work logistically.

[eephotog]

I've had good experiences with blue city. Planning to take them up on a frame modification project soon.

[gavingould]

I’ll echo most of the posters - I was a Chicagoan for nearly 20 years.
Got homeys at Comrade and Tailwind, so those were where I went the last couple years in residence.
Velosmith is a destination. Boulevard Bikes, Blue City, Roscoe Village Bikes, The Bike Lane all have their fine points.

[eephotog]

There's also mack's bike and goods up in Evanston.
They're having some kind of event tomorrow if anyone wants to check them out.
https://www.macksbikeandgoods.com/events/caabs2023

[fignon's barber]

Originally Posted by Louis

I always thought that was Bill Lickton.

Ha! Back in the mid-1990's I lived near South Bend. I drove over to Lickton's and bought a violet colored Vitus 992, just like Sean Kelly had. Three or four years later, the stays started coming unglued, so I called Lickton and asked about servicing. He said "don't know what you're talking about, never heard of Vitus." Click. Hung up! It was the weirdest thing.
I ended up hearing about a Vitus guru in Philly, who told me how to concoct a glue mixture that was similar to what Vitus used. I glued the stays back together and raced on it for two more years.

[cvbm]

Seconding for Blue City - I took a project there (my Surly 1x1) and they not only powder coated it, but also did a little brazing and frame clean-up to add hydro routing + a third bottle cage and were super good to work with

I've had mixed experiences with Comrade (probably because they can get really busy certain times of the year when I stopped by). I've also been to Peregrine, and they did pretty good but maybe pricey work on a frame but kinda meh fitting