Chicago Bike Blog

3 Bikes For Supreme Winter Fun

We interrupt the rigid order of this Holiday Countdown Gift Guide to bring you an installment that seems most relevant to this week's weather conditions: bikes for supreme winter fun. All from Surly. All monstrous. And all guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

Pugsley and Pug Ops. FAT. 3.8" tires. Plow through snow.
Moonlander. FATTER. 4.8" tires. Eat snow for lunch.
Krampus. BIG and TALL. 29-er with really fat tires. Commuting? Offroading? Bushwhacking? Yes!

I went out to shovel the snow this morning, and it occurred to me that I desperately needed to enjoy this snow before it turns soggy and grey, and becomes yet another obstacle for us to overcome this season. I needed to seize this day and enjoy it's spectacular, muffled, gorgeous whiteness.

8 Bike-Related Stocking Stuffers

Eight?!

I can think of a lot more than eight compact, stocking-comaptible gifts availabe at Rapid Transit Cycleshop for anyone on your shopping list who rides a bike. How about best stocking suffers for eight types biking needs?

1. Visibility:
• LED Blinkers
• Refective leg band
• Reflective vest or sash
• Blinking valve covers
• Small headlight
2. Safety
• Handlebar or helmet mirror
• Bell or horn
• Packable emergency rain jacket
3. Security
• Locking wheel skewers
• Compact or folding high-security lock
4. Maintenance
• Bicycle chain oil
• Gear brush and cleaner
• Professional bike tools
• Patch kit or spare tube, tire levers & emergency pump
5. Winter Weather
• Headband or balaclava
• Merino wool socks
• Lobster or other waterproof gloves
• Goggles or foldable safety glasses
• Frozen Chosen Winter Maintenance Package
6. Kids/Family
• Bike basket
• Bell or horn (animal shapes available!)
• Dice or eyeball valve covers
• Streamers of spoke beads
• Where to Bike Chicago Book
7. Style
• Handlebar tape or grips
• Platform pedals
• Cycling caps (especially locally made ones!)
8. For anyone who bikes
• Folding multi-function tool
• Seat bag
• Seatpost-mounted mud guard
• Water bottle with holder

And, of course, a gift card!

9 Reasons Folding Bikes Make Great Gifts

If I could ask for anything this holiday season, I would ask for a folding bike. There are so many reasons I would want one that I'll have a hard time limiting myself to just nine. I think I will sneak a few bullet points under each reason. 

Clearly, it is not a gift you would buy for just anyone. But for someone near and dear, on whom you would not mind splurging a little, someone who seems to have everything, especially if that someone also lives in a big city, for that someone a folding bike is the perfect gift.

1. If ordinary bikes give you freedom to move around the city with ease and sidestep traffic woes, folding bikes crank that freedom up another notch. For the urban dweller, folding bikes offer the ultimate in versatility and flexibility:
• allow you to combine biking with transit, taxi cabs,
• let you bail if you have to work late or the weather turns inclement,
• easy to store at home or at the office and take in and out of buildings,
• they even go with you inside a store or restaurant, and thus... 
• folding bikes never, ever have to be locked outside or be in danger of getting stolen!
  
  
2. Unsurpassed for travel:
• Car-based road trips
• Business trips
• Car or train weekend trips
• International travel
• Ideal for airline personnel or boat and aircraft owners
3. Folders are easy to ride and use.
• The small wheels on most folding bikes give them a low stand-over height, making it easy to get on and off the bike quickly, and maneuver through tight spots and sharp corners.
• Many folding bikes offer a fairly upright, head-up, riding position, which is great for stop-and-go commuting, running errands, and most other urban riding situations.
• The friendly geometry of most folding bikes makes it possible to comfortably ride one in almost any attire, including office garb and skirts. If the weather turns, see point #1, above.
4. They fit a wide range of riders. Most folders accommodate rider from about 4'10" to 6'2" without any modification. When buying one as a gift, in most cases, you won't have to worry about fit. The adjustability also gives you the option of sharing the bike among different household members, making the expense easier to justify.
5. Folding bikes are unique. It is unlikely that you are going to duplicate anyone else's gift-buying effort.
6. Many folding bikes from Tern come equipped with thoughtfully designed, commuter-friendly accessories, scaled-down and customized for the folding bike, such as fenders, racks, kickstands and lights.
7. Brompton folding bikes can be endlessly personalized  with specialty extras, luggage, saddle options and lights, and a huge array of color combinations from conservative to festive.
8. Folding bikes come in a wide range prices to suit most budgets. That makes them comparable with many other popular gift items, such as, say, cameras. Yet, you get personal mobility, affordable transportation, fitness machine, recreational vehicle, and tons of fun rolled into one neat package.
   
   And, oh, BTW, it is a package that...
   
   
9. ...fits under the Christmas tree!

All photos by Jay Madden.

10 Reasons To Get Your Kid A Bike

When you purchase a bicycle as a gift, you get so much more than an item to be shoved under the tree!

A quality, professionally assembled bicycle from your neighborhood bicycle store is a piece of finely tuned mechanical artistry, a vehicle that is powerful, reliable, durable and safe. For most kids, it is simply the best gift you can give. A bicycle, especially the first bicycle, is different from any other gift. It represents a coming of age, a new independence, a right of passage.

1. Owning a bicycle creates new transportation options. It is more than a toy: it is the first vehicle many children ever ride on their own. Let your child discover the responsibility associated with controlling a vehicle, but also the exhilaration and freedom that come with it.
2. A bicycle will help your child gain a sense of autonomy. It offers a way to get from point A to point B without relying on the automobile, transit or other people. Children from a very early age can appreciate the difference, and older children can actually use the bike to chauffeur themselves around.
3. A bicycle is a great teaching tool! You can help your child learn the rules of the road using your bikes on quiet streets around the neighborhood. Or, you can sign up for a bike repair class with an older child to learn practical skills, and further boost the sense of responsibility and autonomy in your kid.
4. It's really a gift for your whole family. Now you can enjoy cycling outings together. Or you can walk or jog, while your child cycles along. But it's winter! SO? Your child will actually WANT to go outside in the cold. Trust me, I've been there.
5. A bicycle purchased from a professional shop is a terrific value. It is a fancy gift that's truly worth it's price. Think of a price of a popular doll with a couple outfits, a fancy box of Legos , or a video game system, and you will see that the price of a quality, professionally assembled, properly working child's bicycle is actually quite reasonable (with a year of free service, to boot!). In fact, this gift will keep on giving. It will not be discarded or forgotten. Your child will use it enjoy it for a long time to come, and the cost of a bicycle and its maintenance, spread over the number of years the owner will enjoy it, adds up to a very affordable annual expense.
6. A Bike will help your child build awareness. Unlike a car, which isolates us from our surroundings and fellow humans, the bicycle puts us in touch with the environment & people around us. It's hard to space out on a bike. You have to pay attention. And when you are not looking out at the world through a smoked glass window, you notice things like prowling cats, sparring squirrels, dragonflies, homeless people under a bridge, the weather, nasty smells exuded by cars, and other interesting things you might otherwise miss. A bicycle is also a vehicle for social change. You can discuss how bikes are used around the world to alleviate poverty and and offer mobility solutions in developing countries (for example World Bicycle Relief or Working Bikes).
7. It is the most fun your kid will have without being plugged in. A bicycle can teach your child the value of unstructured exploration, and how to unwind and relax.
8. It doesn't need batteries. Just your kid's own power, and a little air and oil once in a while. That's all.
9. It won't scatter small parts all over your house.
10. It makes very effective presentation. Imagine this giant package under the tree!... Or rolling it with great fanfare from the garage... wow! (We will store the bike for you until December 24, so you can keep it a surprise.)

Wishing and Giving Thanks

Sometimes at the end of November, there seems little to be thankful for in a bike shop. Particularly when November has been cold. The fair weather riders have stopped riding. The dedicated commuters, hardy though they are, can barely provide sustenance through the cold weeks, especially with the proliferation of small bicycle shops throughout Chicago. And in a tight economy. We're pinched, and so is everyone else.

And yet... even on a slow day in the bike shop, the amount of goodwill we experience is nothing short of breathtaking. Folks come in and share stories of personal triumphs, small victories, wishes on their way to fulfillment. Like this one, from a couple who saved transit money for a year while riding department store bikes, so they could purchase a couple of Surly's:

"Everyone was happy to help and excited to get our bikes tweaked out into perfection. With the full year free labor that Rapid Transit offers, we were able to take our new bikes through every season with an awesome shop to back us up as we got flats, snapped axels, broke chains and basically tried to break our bikes. We ride our bikes every single day. We ride them to work, on vacation, to Bears games and to neighborhood festivals. Our bikes are not our primary source of transportation- they are our only source of transportation and we ride them hard and as fast as we can. We are able to do this because Jay, Adam and the rest of the Rapid Transit team are right behind us every step of the way, helping to make our adventure safe, informed and freaking awesome."

Foreget chestnuts roasting on an open fire! It doesn't get any better than this. This is what we live for, and, as my husband said upon reading this customer's letter, it's better than money.

Anything, my friends, is better than money. And it is a darned shame that our best holidays have been turned into a race to get more for less. "Small Business Saturday", which I believe was conceived to balance out the black Friday bonanza and give the small guy a fighting chance, has been turned into a boxing ring where the small players duke it out over who can slash their prices lower in an effort to shake out some loose change before the holidays.

Folks, we can't afford it! We can't afford the discounts. But, more importantly, we can't afford to foresake our livelihoods, the work that we love, our communities and our fundamental values in a race for the cheapest stuff.

Will we be offering discounts throughout the holidays? Yes, normal, reasonable discounts, the same way all retailers should and do to entice and encourage your patronage and to reward your loyalty. And, if you can, you should come in and take advantage of those discounts.

But what is equally meaningful to us is that you visit us, this weekend, or whenever you are back in town, and if we have contributed to your biking experience, let us know. If you are around this Friday, come and share some hot cider and freshly baked Polish pączki, and enjoy the company of others who defy the cold and keep on bikin'.

Happy Thanksgiving, people!