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Permalink Reply by David 4.0 on March 12, 2013 at 4:51pm

Yes, I attended.  I was there about 5-6 hours with my 6 year old daughter.  I managed to sell 2 bikes, sit in on several presentations, and watched bike polo several times.

It was a good family friendly event.  Good vendors and just a good all-around-bike-friendly environment.

I wish you would do this event twice per year.  Bravo...I thought it was a really good event.

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Permalink Reply by David 4.0 on March 12, 2013 at 4:52pm

Very good idea.  Food trucks would have done well at the event.

Davo said:

you should get the food trucks there

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on March 13, 2013 at 12:14am

My first swap so I have no basis for comparison, but I thought it was great.  Yes, more vendors would be nice.  We might help Active Trans by making mention of it whenever we go into a bike shop or any bike related shop:  "I don't remember seeing you at the Bike Swap.  Were you there?"  If they hear that often enough maybe they will sign up.  Seems like a pretty low cost way to have the attention of 1700 people who are clearly in one's target market.

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Permalink Reply by Aisha on March 13, 2013 at 12:38am

I believe you are right, H. There seemed to be more of a club presence at the Chicago Swap which I loved. I just believe that more vendors should come out and support the Chicago Swap. I know a few that I didn't see, and I plan to give them a hard time about it in a friendly way.

Cheers,
Aisha

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on March 13, 2013 at 3:11am

I took the train.   I figured I might be hauling more crap back that I could easily fit in my panniers and didn't want the hassle of trying to park my trailer.   I got there at about 9:45AM and there already was no place left in the corral big enough to have parked that. 

The train was an easy fast haul from the LS Blue Line station to the UIC/Halstead station.  The walk through campus was a bit wet and dreary (they have some rotten drainage on their sidewalks) and I took a wrong turn and ended up getting pushed all the way East to Halstead as I attempted to cut a path more straight south,  but still was able to find my way to the gym building without too much hassle.  Even with the 10-minute stroll through the campus the entire trip was only about 35-40 minutes from my front door to event.   The trip back with a loaded shopping bag was actually easier as I didn't get detoured and was able to dead-recon my way back to the L without any detours. 

The only negatives, other than the price of admission, was the lack of food and waiting in line for 15 minutes.     I'm glad I didn't get there any later as the line was growing by the minute.  Taking money from folks before 10AM might be a good idea and putting the paid folks into a holding area until the load-in guys were finished might have helped things a bit there.   Then when 10AM rolled around it wouldn't be such a madhouse trying to get everyone through the line. I'm sure it would be less stressful for the volunteers as well. 

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Permalink Reply by Melissa on March 21, 2013 at 6:47am

I enjoyed the cargo bikes, polo, all the hand-made goods, and familiar faces.  I heard from many people that they were disappointed to have to pay a fee for admission, even to volunteer.  You could probably remedy that by showcasing how much you raised to support two good causes: Active Trans and the event beneficiary Bike Winter.  

It was nice to see a range of clubs and orgs at the event.  Next time, station them by the entrance or en route to the gear.  Each contributed over $100 to participate, but some didn't see much foot traffic due to location.  

Good luck with the next one. 

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Permalink Reply by We all have an inner Beast... on March 27, 2013 at 5:41am

I had a donut and a root beer with my son !!!

Was there with my Little Ranger (son). He had a blast meeting a lot of the people that I "talk" to on here. He LOVED the Racketteers (I think that was their name, the all female bike troupe) and the bike polo. He loved the cargo bikes as well. He can't wait to start riding his bike again this Spring !!! He has a bunch of lights and reflective stuff on his 20" and on his helmet (like his dad). He will be repairing his rear wheel this weekend and putting in a new spoke or 2 on the "new" wheel from Working Bikes. Wish us luck.

I had fun sitting in on some of the "classes" at the far end of the venue. Learned a few new things. Bought a few things.

As a first-timer, I think things went well. However, I would have liked to see more vendors and more stuff. I liked the bike corral for the people selling bikes. Wanted a few.

Maybe a few classes, like Notorious DUG does, would have fit the bill and could've used up some more of that space??? Just a suggestion.

Other than that, I think it was great !

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