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Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on September 19, 2011 at 9:49am

Andersonville to the Loop is a little bit but you're close to the bike trail 1/2 mile East

 

Clark is decent though heavily traveled not real wide either. #22 and the Red lines run all night so if you have bike trouble it's $2 for a ride home.

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Permalink Reply by Liz on September 19, 2011 at 10:03am

I would recommend you buy a bike that has fenders or you can easily install fenders on.  

 

I don't know anything about the 2 bikes you mentioned, but I would suggest an older "cruiser" with fenders and a rack and/or basket as a good "starter" bike for someone on a budget.   

 

It may take a while to find a route that you are comfortable with in the loop, one option is to take the path south to downtown and then walk your bike on the sidewalk if you are not yet comfortable riding in the loop. 

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Permalink Reply by ChristopherMCA on September 19, 2011 at 11:30am

Did you bike a lot before you moved to the city the communte from the andersonville to the loop is a long one. I would recommend taking it slow and start with shorter distances if you havent ridden in a while. maybe something like 2 - 3miles vs the maybe 9 mile communte one way. biking in the loop can be a bit harsh if your not use to biking with cars everywhere. It gets a lot easier the more you do it. maybe when you first start biking in the loop start in the evening hours its more tame less traffic.

I'm not to familiar with the bikes your talking about so I dont wanna put an opinion or sway you towards one or the other. 

 

Also remember its safer to bike in the street then on the bike lake shore drive bike path unless your biking when its colder out. if you wanna get familiar with traffic bike down clark until you hit the loop thats a pretty good transition from heavier traffic like the loop to low traffic like in Andersonville.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on September 19, 2011 at 11:56am

Try riding in the loop on a Sunday, you can get the feel of the roads at least.

 

The loop traffic Sunday vs Monday-Friday is like a mall parking lot, Tuesday at 8pm in July vs. the day after Thanksgiving.

 

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Permalink Reply by Duppie on September 19, 2011 at 2:29pm

Welcome to the neighborhood!

I've been riding Andersonville to downtown daily for over 4 years now. Here is my experience:

1. Try your route on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Get up and do your morning routine, then leave on the normal time. Get an idea on how long it takes and what route works for you. If you don't feel comfortable after the first time do it again next weekend.

2. Then start riding to work once or twice a week. It took me a number of months to get my routine down and my stamina up enough to ride daily

3. As for the route, I prefer Clark to Southport to Lincoln to Wells. At 8.5 miles it's the shortest route possible and I avoid Clark in Lincoln Park. Or you can take the lakefront. It's quieter this time of year, but it ends up being 10.5 miles. It took me a few years to settle on my favorite route and you may find that other routes work better for you.

4. I leave at 6:30-ish in the morning and I find traffic in the afternoon is always a lot worse than in the morning.

 

If this is too daunting, you can start off in the surrounding neighborhoods: To the northeast there is Rogers Park, with Loyola University and various other commercial areas. To the northwest there is Devon Ave, home of the Indian community in Chicago. To the southwest there is Lincoln Square, a neighborhood with Germanic influence (and Gene's sausage shop, the best European grocery in town!). Finally to the southeast , there is Uptown a diverse community and home to the best bikeshop on the northside: Uptown Bikes.

And as others have mentioned, you can put your bike on the bus anytime and on L on non-rush hours, so you don't have to worry about getting to far away from home.

 

Did somebody mention locks yet? Use a brand name U lock, anything less is just asking for your bike to be stolen.

 

Enjoy riding in Chicago!

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Permalink Reply by Joel on September 19, 2011 at 2:57pm

Really?  Geared bikes are the norm outside of serious hipster circles.  It isn't just racers and old cruisers.  You may not need extra gears, but they make life easier at times.  

John W. said:

2) Chicago roads aren't really steep enough to really need gears.  15+mph winds are tough though.  I, along with MANY others, ride singlespeed/fixed gears.  The geared bikes I see on the lakefront path are either ridden by crazy racers or people just out for a cruise.  I wanna stop and fix something everytime I hear the *clicking* of the chain in-between gears.

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Permalink Reply by S on September 19, 2011 at 3:28pm

Maintenance, maybe.  Although it's fairly marginal in terms of added maintenance. On the other hand, a fixed gear bike makes changing tubes more difficult since you can't use a quick-release for your wheels.

 

The weight difference between a single speed and geared bike is pretty much insignificant.  It's probably on the order of a pound or so and it's not noticeable on a typical commuter bike.  But being able to shift over to easier gears certainly helps when the wind kicks up or if you end using the bike in hilly terrain.

 

The advantage that a fixed gear gives you is that you get a better feel for your bike tire's traction which comes in handy if the ground has snow, ice, sand, or something similar on it.

John W. said:

I'm not in a hipster circle.  I just used to have a 10 speed that I never shifted.  I agree it makes life easier at times, but it is also more maintenance, weight, etc.

Joel said:

Really?  Geared bikes are the norm outside of serious hipster circles.  It isn't just racers and old cruisers.  You may not need extra gears, but they make life easier at times.  

John W. said:

2) Chicago roads aren't really steep enough to really need gears.  15+mph winds are tough though.  I, along with MANY others, ride singlespeed/fixed gears.  The geared bikes I see on the lakefront path are either ridden by crazy racers or people just out for a cruise.  I wanna stop and fix something everytime I hear the *clicking* of the chain in-between gears.

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Permalink Reply by Robert Akers on September 20, 2011 at 6:20am

I would say that a novice can ride anywhere in the city, because about an hour or two under your belt and you aren't a novice anymore. Plenty of us ride to and from the loop everyday, no big deal just be carefull. I deffinately recament a road bike because you will never be off pavement in the city. Good luck! If you ever need someone to show you arouond, post on here, there are plenty of people who will ride.

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Permalink Reply by Davo on September 20, 2011 at 6:52am

Take those bikes on test rides and see what you like best. Then hop on and start riding. Thats pretty much what I had to do when my car caught fire 8yrs ago.

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