The Chainlink

Smallest Shop

A customer and I were chatting the other day at work, and she insisted that mine is the smallest bike shop in Chicago, which I really find hard to believe. I find it hard to believe, because (a) it's nearly twice as big as the old location and it really feels quite roomy to me and (b) there seem to be so many cute new little shops popping up on the north side. When challenged, she couldn't definitively name one, but we made a bet on it anyway. Maybe one of the new Dutch style or track boutiques? I checked with Copenhagen, but they in fact have a lovely basement for storage and builds.

So counting storage and basements, please tell me that there is an itsy bitsy (conventional retail storefront - not mail order, etc) bike shop in Chicagoland that is smaller than 400sf. Otherwise, I am out a cup of coffee.

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Permalink Reply by ishnock aka the blue baron on December 29, 2009 at 5:59pm
Btw,what is the name of your bike shop?
Permalink Reply by spacemodular on December 29, 2009 at 6:13pm
Hi J,

Why don't you place an ad in Marketplace to identify your shop? I just did for the shop I work at... (Rapid Transit Cycleshop).

I would like to stop by and see what you have going on... and how small your shop really is! ;)

Best Regards,

Nick
Permalink Reply by S on December 29, 2009 at 6:32pm
ishnock aka the blue baron said:
Btw,what is the name of your bike shop?

J runs tati

Permalink Reply by Arrak Thumrs on December 29, 2009 at 6:55pm
I'm guessing you're gonna lose this, my friend. 400sq. ft. is gettin' pretty small for Chicago...
Permalink Reply by J on December 29, 2009 at 7:11pm
I really thought Copenhagen had it. It looks like they have about 350, but there is the basement down below. I had not seen that shop until last week. It's so cool!

Arrak Thumrs said:
I'm guessing you're gonna lose this, my friend. 400sq. ft. is gettin' pretty small for Chicago...
Permalink Reply by Vondo on December 29, 2009 at 9:34pm
J, are you on hiatus? Your calendar thingie says you're closed from now until April?
Permalink Reply by J on December 29, 2009 at 9:40pm
Mostly by appointment over the winter, as usual. Generally I wait until the U of C returns from vacation to have open hours. December was surprisingly busy with wheel and bike builds so the shop was only open 2 days this month. So probably 2-3 days in Jan and 4-5 days in Feb. If March is warm, I plan to go nuts and open two days per week and basically stick to that through winter 2010.

Vando said:
J, are you on hiatus? Your calendar thingie says you're closed from now until April?
Permalink Reply by Dr. Doom on December 29, 2009 at 10:30pm
Quick Release on Ashland just off North is pretty small. I think it's a little bit bigger than Tati but that might be an optical illusion.
Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on December 30, 2009 at 10:02am
Dr. Doom said:
Quick Release on Ashland just off North is pretty small. I think it's a little bit bigger than Tati but that might be an optical illusion.

Tati looks pretty great!y. I'm always encouraged to hear about more shops existing on the south side - even if it is Hyde Park. I look forward to checking it out someday!

Quick Release... if I had to guess I'd guess it was a bit larger than 400 SF - but not much. It is so jammed full of bikes and stuff that it feels tiny. The only thing I regret about moving to the south side is being so far away from Quick Release. The proprietor, Joe is just awesome. He kept me rolling for decades! Used parts! I should mention that my localest of LBSs, Blue City, has also saved me a ton of cash by stocking and selling me used parts.
Permalink Reply by J on December 30, 2009 at 10:14am
Yeah, we thought of Quick Release, but I think it's probably more like 500-600. It was one of the very first shops I visited after moving to Chicago. I still have the extremely cool French style mini front rack I bought that day. NOS, only $25. It was such a find that I knew I'd like this city.

I don't really know the newer shops: Lugs, 312, De Fietsfabriek, Smart... aren't these small? Of course, I suppose if you count Bobby's Bike Hike, that would take it.
Permalink Reply by Sean W. on December 30, 2009 at 10:45am
Iron Cycles on Montrose is small storefront-wise, but I don't know if they have other space in back or below. When I went in last fall they were talking about moving to a larger location; don't know if that happened. Given that they're already below street level, I somehow doubt they have a basement...
Permalink Reply by J on December 30, 2009 at 11:01am
Maybe you're thinking of their old space. Counting their double storefront + basement, I'd say it's at lest 2,500. But it's an awesome 2,500.

Sean W. said:
Iron Cycles on Montrose is small storefront-wise...

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