Hi all,

This is my first post on 'the chainlink,' so hopefully I've found the right place. (If not, please be patient with me!)

I currently own a cruiser bike which is lovely for summer biking; however, I'm getting anxious to start riding, especially on the unseasonably warm winter days. Do any of you have recommendations on where I can find a fix-me-up bike that could handle the wintery Chicago streets (and, in that vein, Chicago streets in general?) Eventually I would love to learn how to tune and upgrade my own lil' rider.

Thanks!
Katie

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shoot Kevin T. a message on the chainlink. He might have some for sale.
Katie, I'm sure you will be steered toward Working Bikes on Western Ave. (I'll let someone else fill in details there cause they are likely to know more than I do), But let me suggest good old fashioned garage sales, They will start up soon enough and they are a great source of nice old bikes that can still be of great service. I'm a fan of 70's and 80' road bikes from Japan. Panasonic, Fuji, and others. If you do find a nice bike and you only spend $25 to $50 on it, well you won't mind investing a bit to fix it up. If that doesn't work out check back with me. I have a number of bikes that I think are pretty nice and might be willing to thin the herd a bit. Good luck on your search.
Maybe I have something for you. I live in Evergreen park. What makes your cruiser not winter worthey? Alan.
What bike is right for winter riding? That is a question that every rider has to answer for themselves... I personally like fat street tires on a multi-geared mountain bike with full fenders. I like to be able to ride at lower inflation if the streets are really crap. I also like having a wide array of gears, especially low gears so I can ride across the park cross country and plow through snow accumulation.

If I were going for a beater - I like old schwinns made in Chicago. They can be in rather bad condition and still ride where other bikes would fail. But if tuned up with new cables/housing, brake pads, etc... can be made to run nicely. They tend to take abuse better due to their robust build design. They do weigh a ton though... models include the Breeze, Collegiate, Suburban and Varsity amongst others.
nice post Nick - don't forget the good old "Super Sport" (we were poor and I never even had
a Collegiate...I had a Varsity and am still ashamed of it...)
Wow - thanks for the great advice everyone. My cruiser isn't easy to dismantle, which makes me think the salty streets will gunk up and ruin the bike before I can take care of it.
You cannot ruin a bike, you can only beat it into the ground ....

Katie Paffhouse said:
Wow - thanks for the great advice everyone. My cruiser isn't easy to dismantle, which makes me think the salty streets will gunk up and ruin the bike before I can take care of it.
Dereck Woodward said:
... Have seen lots of single speeders around that look to fit the bill here, cheap being a good start point. So, chainlinkers - what's the view on such a cheap-O single speeder? Where to go buy, maybe to assemble from parts - I've been fixing and building bikes for a while now. My initial thought is that it's cheaper to buy a bike than dig around for bits and build one up,...

Welcome to Chicago! as was mentioned earlier in the thread, Working Bikes is a great place to find used bikes (although they are not as cheap as buying from a private seller on Craigslist or if you are very lucky and patient, from a thrift store).

Your idea about not getting emotionally attached to your bike(s) is a great one.
Ciclo Urbano has some great rebuilt bikes at great prices. http://www.ciclourbanochicago.com/bikes.html If you're looking to fix it up yourself they have an 8-week build-a-bike class for $200. Though I'm pretty sure you can get a nice bike there for that same price. They're a great organization worth supporting too.
This is awesome! Have you built a bike with them?!

Tim Quirk said:
Ciclo Urbano has some great rebuilt bikes at great prices. http://www.ciclourbanochicago.com/bikes.html If you're looking to fix it up yourself they have an 8-week build-a-bike class for $200. Though I'm pretty sure you can get a nice bike there for that same price. They're a great organization worth supporting too.
I have yet to take any classes, but its nearing the top of the to-do list. I've been over to their shop a few times though, and the bikes look really nice.

Katie Paffhouse said:
This is awesome! Have you built a bike with them?!

Tim Quirk said:
Ciclo Urbano has some great rebuilt bikes at great prices. http://www.ciclourbanochicago.com/bikes.html If you're looking to fix it up yourself they have an 8-week build-a-bike class for $200. Though I'm pretty sure you can get a nice bike there for that same price. They're a great organization worth supporting too.

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