The Chainlink

Presentations and demos at Saturday's Chicago Bike Swap! [88/100]

Hey folks,

The presentation schedule and demo info for Saturday's swap is posted-- check it out!

http://chicagobikeswap.org/presentations-demos/

Many thanks to all who've helped put things together, from participants to organizers/facilitators (you know who you are :-)  )

This year we have a lot more space, and will be able to leverage it into lots more fun.

Indoor Bike Polo- how cool is that?

Also, while I've got you....  although we expect 2000+ visitors, it's almost become kind of a superstition thingy for me to see us break 100 on the chainlink RSVPs for the swap.... help me sleep easily Friday night by checking in as "attending" here if you haven't already:

http://www.thechainlink.org/events/chicago-bike-swap-2013

(I'm going to add the current number of positive RSVPs to the subject line and update frequently)

See you there!

-h'

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I missed last year's Bike Swap, so I am looking forward to attending this year! I am going to try very hard (and likely fail) to not to buy too much stuff. XD

I've made some great purchases at some of the swaps....  I usually don't realize what a deal I've gotten until I decide I really like the item and try to find another.

I came up with a rule a few years ago-- "don't buy anything you don't need -now- just because it's cheap"-- but where bike stuff is concerned, there are exceptions, e.g. tires-- you're guaranteed to end up using them, barring any life-changing events.

Chicago Bike Polo info is up! Thanks to Howard, Kevin and all the Chicago Bike Winter people who recruited volunteers and developed/coordinated the presentations!

Thanks,

Ethan Spotts, Active Trans

I've got a list of parts/stuff I'm looking for (with sizes and models and such) that I have on Google Docs.  Last year a got a bit crazy with the Bontrager tire and seat guy.  I only used about half of that stuff up so far.  This year I'm sticking to the list better unless I see something that I just MUST have.   It's a long list though. 

This year I'm going to make sure and bring my calipers and measuring tape along with a few other things so I can be sure to get the right things and not buy any more French drop bars by mistake.  

Also I'm bringing a few reusable shopping bags to help haul my loot around while shopping the swap.  I'm so excited!  This is like 10x better than planning a trip down to Working Bikes to rummage through the bins.

What is usually offered for sale at the Swap, this is my first year going, so I am not sure what to expect. What is the price range of most items?

Trib article:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-bike-swap-20130307,...

"(In) some places you could lock up your bike outside a gas station, go in, grab a Gatorade, come out and your bike is still there," he said. "That's not Chicago."

I've never not been misquoted, and my record is intact :-)  Should have been "lean your bike up outside a gas station..." I actually was kind of making sense for a change.

I don't know if I can cover this adequately so any help appreciated...

There will be a mix of shops and private sellers, with a few other kinds of businesses (e.g. there's a guy who sells stuff primarily on the web who always has a booth filled with new accessories.) .  Shops often use swap meets as a way to clear out overstock from the previous year, but not always-- some just bring a sampling of their wares and sell at a slight discount over store prices.  Private sellers will be sitting or standing behind a table covered with whatever they happen to have to sell; some of it will be used, some will be new/old stuff they've been sitting on and never used. Generally, but not always, you'll find the better value at a private seller's table.    There will also be a "bike corral" where shops and private sellers will "enter" their bikes.

I believe the phone number of the seller will be on a tag if you are interested in the bike and want to talk to the owner, but it's also possible a volunteer may be able to point you to the owner if they happen to be on hand.            

As to prices..... it's all negotiable... I'd say, a rough guess at an average for my own swap purchases over the last few years would be something like 1/3 to 1/2 retail. But I'm also a thrifty SOB so that may not be representative of the overall value. There's kind of a bell curve in terms of getting the best value at a swap; there's typically a morning rush, then things start to quiet down a bit going into afternoon, and then towards the last couple of hours you may be likely to find vary good deals as the seller is faced with the prospect of dragging their wares back home-- the downside being that things you wanted might be gone by that time.  The bulk of the early visitors will be very focused on moving through the merchandise with a bit of intensity to see what they can score; as things relax people will spend more time perusing the demonstrations and presentations and working their way through the clubs, organizations, and advocacy efforts represented at various booths and tables.

I'm told that over 90 booths/tables were purchased (yeah!)-- here's a sample of some of the organizations and businesses signed up (note that it does not include private sellers):

http://chicagobikeswap.org/vendor-list/

This is turning into a novella so I'll stop there... did any of that help?



Vitaliy said:

What is usually offered for sale at the Swap, this is my first year going, so I am not sure what to expect. What is the price range of most items?

Weird.... not sure how the links got deleted from the initial post....

Yeah, I have tons of vintage pedals, racks, bells and whatnot but I can only fit about 4 crates in the car along with the three bikes I am bringing. I am unusually worried about what kind of a cluster ---- unloading is going to be, I feel like bagging the whole thing and taking a loss.

Howard, thanks a lot. I am a volunteer, so I might be one of those last onlookers. I'll bring some money anyways.

Based on past years' load-ins, I'd be surprised if there aren't more volunteers helping with load-in than people needing help.  It'll be fine...

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