Chicago Bike Blog

If you thought you knew what we do...

Many years ago, perhaps at the very dawn of mountain biking, a friend from college an I were on a hiking trail on Pike's Peak in Colorado. We didn't have very ambitious hiking plans, and we stopped frequently along the way to observe, take photos, and eat snacks. During one such stopover, we were passed by a cyclist struggling up a steep section of trail. We remarked penetratingly that it must be very difficult pedaling up like this. He replied that he would not have undertaken the climb on foot, because he was an amputee. He lifted up his pant leg to demonstrate the prosthesis.

If I knew little about life without a limb then, I do not know any more today. But I know that as a bike repair shop, we are sometimes called upon to modify existing bikes to suit folks living with artificial limbs. One of our earliest customers, who has since passed away, had been a competitive bike racer, but lost his legs to diabetes. We adapted a Raleigh step-through bike for him to ride around the neighborhood. He explained that there are few local and reasonably priced resources for people who have lost a limb, but wish to stay strong, active and independent.

Like Sean Plomann. A couple of  months ago, I asked Ronnie at the shop to come and help me deliver a bike to him. I asked Ronnie to come along, because I knew the bike would need some modifications, and I didn't know if I could handle it myself. As it turned out, I would have been way out of my league. Sean greeted us at the door with a cane and no left leg.

He spent a little time putting on his prosthesis, while Ronnie and I set the bike in the trainer we had brought along. Even with the trainer, Sean had a little trouble balancing the bike when he first got on. He explained that once he started riding, he could learn to make appropriate adjustments to his balance without the weight of his left leg.

The bigger problem was that the thickness of the artificial foot with the shoe on it prevented it from staying securely in the pedal. We had anticipated that Sean' foot might need some retaining device, but the Powerstraps we brought along pushed his foot too close to the crank arm, so that every time he pedaled, the crank arm actually rubbed against his foot.

I was at a loss, but Ronnie seemed confident that the pedal could be modified to do the job properly. We left Sean with the bike and the trainer to practice what he could, while Ronnie set to work at the shop on creating the pedal adaptation.

Sean was 12 when he developed cancer. He went through chemotherapy for a year and a half, but continued to suffer for about 17 years. He walked with a cane, and eventually developed nerve damage which caused him extreme pain. He had the leg amputated 3 years ago, relieved to end the pain he endured. After going through physical therapy for about a year, he is now ready to move forward. And to ride his bike, despite being told it couldn't be done. Speaking for myself, having seen Sean fight for balance that first day on a trainer, it took a leap of faith to believe he could ride on his own.

But Sean knew what he was talking about. With the modified pedal being the only alteration to his otherwise stock Dahon bike, he participated in Bike the Drive last month. Although this year, after a mere couple of months on his new bike, he was only able to complete half of the ride, he doesn't see any reason why he should not be able to do the whole thing next year. He hopes that this undertaking will help encourage other persons with disabilities to pursue physical challenges, by showing that it can be done; and demonstrate to those in the non-disabled community who think otherwise, that persons with disabilities can accomplish such challenges.

Outside of cycling, Sean is Master's student in Disability Studies and Human Development in the field of Applied Health Sciences. He also has a graduate assistantship at UIC working for the Chancellor's Committee on the Status of Persons with Disabilities (CCSPD). He hopes to finish his Master's degree and then go on to earn a PhD so that eventually he can teach. Meanwhile, he's is trying to become more involved with organizations that promote disability rights, such as Access Living and Chicago ADAPT.  He hopes that through activism and advocacy he can contribute to creating a vibrant community of persons with disabilities as well as trying to help build better communication and relations with the non-disabled.

The T-shirt Sean is wearing in these photos was created by his friend, Annie Hopkins, who is now deceased. The back of the T-shirt says "Embrace. Educate. Empower": embrace diversity, educate your community, empower each other.' It's distributed by www.3elove.com.

It's been very gratifying for us at Rapid Transit to work with Sean, and playing a small part in helping him achieve his dream of independent travel.

Too good not to post

If you've ever wondered who is behind the wonderful improvements for cyclists in Chicago over that past many years, read this (helmet tip to Rob Sadowsky):
Straight Dope Chicago: How come I have to pay $40 for Bike the Drive?

Crazy

Yesterday, I waited for the light to turn green in the left turn lane of northbound Damen at the three-way intersection with Irving Park and Lincoln. I was on my bike, in front of a long line of cars. As soon as the light turned green and the road was clear, and I pulled out into the middle of the intersection, a driver of an SUV proceeding straight on Damen thought it fit to roll down his window to shout the words "You're crazy!" as he sped past me.

Crazy?

I have over twenty years of experience using my bike for transportation in Chicago. I am familiar with the laws pertaining to the use of bicycles on urban streets, and (with one important exception) obey those laws. I do not use any devices on my bike that distract me from concentrating on what I'm doing. I don't run red lights. I wear a helmet. I use hand signals. In all my street cycling, I try to act cautiously and predictably so as not to endanger or aggrevate others around me. And the vast majority of cyclists I see around me do all those things too.

Crazy is when you bike against traffic. Crazy is when you cycle on a street with your hands off the handlebars. Crazy is when you are in traffic with heaphones on. Or when you use your cellphone while biking.

Or driving.

And, speaking of driving, crazy is when you commit your entire life to a blind dependence on a car, and don't for a moment consider that there might be a better alternative. And even if this alternative doesn't work for you, it's crazy to make that decision for others around you. And crazy is deliberately startling a cyclist trying to concentrate on her maneuvers in the middle of one of the busiest intersections in Chicago.

Dream of independent travel

You probably often walk into your local bike shop for quite prosaic reasons. Maybe you need a tube, or you need the drivetrain cleaned, or help removing the frozen seatpost, or pedal, or bottom bracket. And we help you out with that, because that's what we are here for. But if our job description read "removing stuck parts from bikes", life wouldn't be very exciting for us, and chances are, you'd receive mediocre service.

Rapid Transit Cycleshop is often described as the "urban" or "commuter" shop. I'm not sure that this does justice to what we actually do. What we did set out to do is to enable cyclists in Chicago to use their bicycles in ways that they envisioned, without judgment or intimidation. We wanted to participate in their vision. We have also always felt that transportation was a viable and appropriate use for the bicycle. And it simply happened that in a dense urban area like Wicker Park, there were quite a few people whose vision of the bicycle included transportation.When we opened the shop in 1994, we felt that much of the bike industry at the time, including bike companies and bike shops, were unresponsive to urban cyclists' needs, so we eagerly stepped in to fill the niche.

Perhaps the urban image that has grown up around us also has to do with our name. We deliberately called ourselves Rapid Transit, because we felt that bicycles were at least as sensible and efficient at public transit. For many years, we also used the tagline "We're Chicago's Transportation Alternative". Although this further played on the idea of comparing ourselves to the urban transit system (playing on the abbreviation of Chicago Transit Authority), what it meant to us, is that we offered folks who wanted to cycle real alternatives.

A bike, of course, is an alternative to a car, or train, or bus, or traveling on foot. However, we also felt that there were very few alternatives for the cycling public among the offerings of local bike shops. We wanted to change that. We were not after defining what a cyclist should be. We wanted to open up the possibilities of what he or she could be.

For example in 1994, with one Vision R40 in stock, we became Chicago's first recumbent bicycle dealer. Every year since then we have expanded or fine-tuned our recumbent offerings, and currently stock several brands and configurations of both recumbent bicycles and adult trikes. These are not traditionally considered "urban" bikes, yet a number of our customers use them extensively on the streets of Chicago.

For several years, we tried unsuccessfully to incorporate folding bikes into the mix. There simply were no US manufacturers or distributors who were set up to sell folders through a dealer network. Fortunately, several years ago that changed, and we now offer a selection of models from several different manufacturers, that give cyclists travel options simply not available with a standard bike.

Over the past fifteen years, we have seen many trends in bikes come and go. No one type of bike can fill the needs of a huge and diverse cycling population: not hybrid, not recumbent, not folding, not fixie, not road, not mountain, not Chinese, not even Dutch. Thus, we offer many different bikes, because there are many different kinds of cyclists.

Recently, we had a chance to revisit our old tagline, and really think about what it means. What does it mean to be Chicago's Transportation Alternative? It's not just who we are and what we offer. In fact, that's only a small part of it. What really matters is what you want, and how we can help that come about. Why do you want to bike? What are your dreams?

We noticed that many people coming in to look for a bike, to repair a bike, to get back on a bike, to find a different, more appropriate type of bike, were looking, in some measure, for freedom, autonomy, intependence. Freedom from traffic, from stress, from the city, from the car, from gas, from illness or injury, from convention, from routine. They expressed a desire to escape, in bigger or smaller ways, from something that was limiting or holding them back.

And our job, the way we see it, is to help them realize their dreams of independent travel.

Biking for wimps

My morning began with a slap in the face.
In my previous post, I had imprudently revealed myself as eagerly awaiting the arrival of spring, and being tired of the trudge of winter. A reader took advantage of this weak moment, and accused me of having a "delicate constitution".
Humph.
I jumped up from the computer and took a few indignant paces across the living room. I must defend myself. I must protest and set the record straight. After all, not only do I have years of all weather commuting under my belt, I also have a proven track record of turning other people into...
But then the coffee kicked in and my brain started working again.
Where is it written that cycling is something that can only be practiced by people with strong constitutions?
Like it or not, the majority of people in this country still view cycling as a fair-weather activity whose purpose is primarily recreation, rather than transportation. There are many reasons for this, chief among them perhaps the long tradition of cheap, accessible and abundant fossil fuels, resulting in extravagant urban sprawl. Because of deeply ingrained habits and social conditioning, changing people's views to accept the bicycle as a viable form of transportation has been a bit of an uphill battle.
This battle has been fought on several different fronts, through advocacy, street happenings such as Critical Mass, even fashion. It has also been fought day in and day out in forward thinking urban bike shops, such as my own Rapid Transit in Chicago.
For the past fifteen years, we have been engaged in the battle for the hearts and minds of cyclists young and old, would-be and practicing, new and experienced, timid and die-hard, fair-weather and all-weather. And we have come to the conclusion that you can't win that battle with shock and awe. Chances are you will not entice a new cyclist by painting visions of snot icicles, foggy goggles, blue fingertips and admonitions about the importance of layers. You will not smooth the way for him by describing the joys of your 40-mile daily commute. I do not mean to deny that there is a contingent of folks who do find this appealing and fun. But if the point is to create more cyclists, than this is not a winning strategy.
The truth is that few people are warriors, and even fewer are warriors every day.
Most of us (including myself, my earlier indignation notwithstanding) are wimps. Different things is our lives make us wimps: habits, children, distance, weather, aches and pains, fear, sometimes age, sometimes youth, winter colds, whims, moods, barometric pressure, stress. And frankly, while the heroic feats of others may sometimes inspire us, they probably won't motivate us on a daily basis. If the bar is set too high, we won't even make an attempt to reach it.
So I make allowances. Bike a little. Bike when the weather is nice. Bike when you feel like it. I would rather have a million wimps rejoicing in biking one mile, than feeling guilty about not biking at all.

Related posts:
Biking goals
Some of us are wimps. Others - ninja warriors.
Bike if you want to
How to get more people on bikes
50 ways to leave your car
Riding motivation

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Art credit:

Thrift and the urban biker

Yes, I did. I rode down to the local thrift shop the other day to take advantage of their 50% off sale. Half off on second hand stuff that's already so cheap , it doesn't need to be on sale. But, hey, I love a bargain as much as the next person.

My bike, packed to the gills with thrift store finds.

So there I was, rummaging through the overstuffed racks, when it occurred to me that over the years, I've used a lot of stuff from thrift shops as my cycling gear. 
I don't mean the specialty gear stuff. Those things never get donated. It's so pricey, that, if it doesn't work, you return it to the place of purchase right away, so you can get your money back. And if it does work, boy, you hold on to it, cherish it, and get every last red cent of use out of it, and when it starts to fall apart, you see if you can get one more season out of it, and then build it a funeral pyre.
I certainly have some stuff that will be going on the funeral pyre at some, hopefully very distant, point in the future:

• Thin tights, made, oh, probably ten years ago by Hind. They are synthetic, but feel a little like wool. They are fantastic by themselves on mild days, but also work great as an underlayer when it's really cold.
• Any pair of Smartwool socks I have ever owned.
• Smartwool winter gloves. Amazing.
• Smartwool next-to-skin women's v-neck. Ditto.
• Powerstretch windfront tights made by Traverse Bay back in the days when they sold to bike shops (now they deal with the likes of Cabela and LLBean). The best tights for winter cycling. I'm pretty sure there is nothing like it on the market.
• Thin nylon over pants made by DeSoto, a triathalon company. They go over tights or ordinary pants to keep away the cold.
• Microfleece headband (fits under helmet).
• Swrve Milwaukee Hoodie. I just got it, but I think it will be on my funeral pile list for many years to come.
• Ecco Gore-Tex boots. Forget cycling shoes. I loosen the toe straps all the way, push my panniers back on the rack as far as they will go, and I wear those boots.

I hope you will forgive the digression. I realize the point of this post was to talk about all the great things for cycling you can find at a thrift store, not to brag about all the fantastic stuff I have. I just wanted to emphasize that some great stuff is worth the money, and you're wasting your time trying to find it used.
So, back to the racks. Can I find equivalents, or at least adequate substitutes for any of the items above? Let's give it a try:

• No luck on the thin tights. The only ones I found were cotton. Stay away from those.
• I'm funny about socks at thrift stores. But there were a bunch of Wigwam wool blend socks (50 cents on half-off day!) They were actually in decent shape, so I guess I would just wash them and give it a go.
• Gloves? Nothing here that even remotely compares to mine. But, there were a couple of pairs of very warm looking ski mittens (for two bucks, they are certainly worth the risk), and in the past, I have found a terrific pair of fully winterized leather motorcycle gloves. But you gotta look.
• Surprisingly, thrift stores have oodles of fine-gauge merino wool crewnecks and turtlenecks, both in the women's and men's department. They are great, low bulk, warm cycling layers. Check the label. The best ones are pure merino wool, but sometimes a blend is OK. Go for the thin ones. And for layering, head over to the vest department, and see if you can find a boiled wool or another tightly knit wool vest to layer over your torso. Keeping your torso warm helps to warm the extremities.
• Nothing like the windfront tights here. Any tights they have are pretty worn and gross. But there are some good, stretchy fleece pants. Go for them, if they're not too bulky, and you can turn them into a windfront garment by pairing them with the next item.
• A veritable treasure trove of thin nylon over pants. Take your pick. None seem to be more than $3, although there are some pretty arresting colors. That might be a good thing when you're on a bike. For the best emergency garment, choose ones that are super-light-weight and unlined.
• Headbands. Eh... Not too great. Most of them are too bulky for helmets. Buy one at the bike shop. They're not too expensive, anyway.
• Technical jackets? Forget it. You may find a light-weight windproof top similar to the pants for under five bucks. But if you want a warm, water resistant layer, go for the real thing.
• Yes, you can get decent boots here. It's just a matter of finding ones in your size. And you may need to shop before real cold weather hits.

And one other thing that I found: a backpack to schlep some of my stuff home in. I spent less than $40, and completely overstuffed my two grocery panniers, so I needed extra capacity. You can get a very decent urban backpack here. I got one with a mesh section and two temperature-controlled compartments for like a buck fifty. It will be perfect for my grocery hikes.
Anyway, that's what I found on my recent thrift shopping expedition. I'm curious if anyone has found anything in second hand stores that works really great for winter cycling. Let us know.
That's it for my bargain tips. Tomorrow, I may tell you how to spend money at Rapid Transit.

Staff Bikes: Al Schorsch

If any of our staff have really fancy, expensive bikes, as bike shop employees are presumed to do, I don't know about it. What I generally see them riding to work are utilitarian frames, often diverted from the waste stream, upgraded with functional components and home-made adaptations for urban travel.

Like Al's bike:

Al rides an old Fuji Candenza, a very early mountain bike model, dating from the days before the distinct mountain bike geometry evolved. It's almost as if they took a road bike frame, and stuck 26" wheels on it. That adaptation may have been factory-made. The rest was done by the current owner.

The most eye-catching feature, no doubt, it the steering configuration, enhanced by the copper-hued stem that really matches nothing else on the bike.

Those stylish handlebars are nothing more than ordinary 3-speed bars turned upside down. You can see them in their intended orientation on my bike:

But the really interesting thing is that Al took his old XT thumb shifters (just like the ones I use too), and mounted them on the underside of his handlebar.

This actually makes a lot of sense, because this arrangement allows him to push the gears with the natural downward motion of his thumb (rather than reaching the thumb up and over the top of the hand as I have to do on my bike). But there is one problem. To be mounted this way, the left and right shifters had to be switched. I was curious: did that mean he shifted his rear derailleur with his left hand and the front with the right? That would be very confusing, especially when switching from one bike to another, with the traditional shifting arrangement.

But Al was a step ahead of me. These thumb shifters allow him to turn off the indexing (click-shifting) and shift using the friction mode. Indexing automates, to some extent, the placement of the chain on each cog as you shift. In friction shifting, the rider manipulates the shifter until he has aligned the chain with the desired gear to his satisfaction. In the friction mode, the left and right shifter become interchangeable. Pretty cool, I thought.

Al says he uses this bike to haul stuff around the city. He is ready for sloppy weather, with fenders and custom mudflaps fashioned out of a Tide detergent bottle.

And he can certainly haul stuff atop a premium quality wire closet drawer, found in the alley, mounted on top of a stocky rear rack. Milk crate, large capacity messenger bag, and Bob-Nutz for attaching a trailer to the rear axle, attest to the fact that this is a hard-working cargo bike.

Putting to use a worn-out chainring and some discarded pedal reflectors, Al has put together and ornament that is both decorative, and visibility-enhancing.

If you're crious about the bikes of other current and former Rapid Transit employees, here are the links:
Ronnie's bike
Alex's bike
Justyna's bike
Our family bike

Is this man a cyclist?

It's a cold morning. The plants in front of my house, and the cars on the block are covered with frost.

I run a quick errand to a local Target (by car, if I may add). As I stand in line to pay for my purchases, the man in front of me is having a conversation with the clerk:

"It's cold, biking on a day like this." he says.

"Oh, sure is. But it's good exercise. But I don't ride, not even in the summer, even though I have a bike." she replies.

"I ride all the time. All winter, too. Every day." he says, pulling on his gloves, and collecting his bags.

"It sure is good exercise!"

The man walks out, and I pray she rings up my stuff fast, so I can get a glimpse of him riding away on his bike. I do. There he is, just as I saw him. Basic bike, bulky hooded parka, thick gloves, leather oxfords. No helmet, no gear, the Target bags just dangle from the handlebars.

Is he a cyclist? Or what?

Rapid Transit Winter Biking Guide

"Will people still ride their bikes this winter?" I wondered.

I was driving back from Florida, and was filling up my rental car somewhere around Mt. Vernon, Illinois, where the marquee advertised gas at $1.99 per gallon. While it is unlikely that we will see gas prices like these in Chicago, it is undeniable, that, at least for the moment, they are going down. Before I returned my rental, I filled it up at $2.67, and later that afternoon, the same gas station posted a price of $2.58.
In case you haven't figured it out, high gas prices are great for the urban bicycle shop, like Rapid Transit. When they start falling, especially at the same time as mercury does, we worry.
A little.
Bicycle retailing is an emotional business. Two months ago, a line at our counter was several layers thick. Today, hours may go by before anyone enters the store. Is it the weather, or the price of gas?
More rationally speaking, we know from experience, that many people will continue to use their bikes without regard for the price of gas, and despite the weather.
Unlike fluctuating gas prices, winter weather cannot be disregarded by the winter cyclist in these latitudes. For you, brave souls, I have compiled what I hope is some useful winter cycling advice in one convenient spot: right here.

• Why ride in winter in the first place? 10 great reasons, courtesy of RocBike.
• Think it's cold here? Here's a kick you in the butt for you.
• Some winter riding essentials.
• What would your mother say? Advice on keeping warm. And some more.
• A story about winter riding hazards, and some other things (like tires).
• Tips on how to keep your bike in good shape this winter.
• If you're gonna ride your bike in Chicago this winter, you'll need service. This is it.

(Photo from Dingbat)

Rapid Transit Winter Tune-Up is Back

Remember this? Remember the havoc it wreaks on your bike?

That's why Rapid Transit Cycleshop offers it's annual Winter Tune-Up special to Chicago's winter cyclists.

This winter special is more than just a tune-up. It is a season-long maintenance package. It includes all of the goodies that are part of our regular Deluxe Tune-Up, namely:

• Full adjustment of braking system, including pads, levers, cable & housing replacement & lubrication.
• Full adjustment of shifting system, including derailleurs, levers, cable & housing replacement & lubrication.
• External adjustment of both hubs.
• Spot-truing of both wheels as needed to ensure good braking.
• External adjustment of headset.
• External adjustment of bottom bracket.
• Full check of parts and accessories to ensure safety.
• Chain lubrication.
• Tires inflated to correct pressure.
• Free installation on additional accessories purchased from us.
• Complete wheel dishing  & truing. (We will also include inner tube replacement, if needed.)
• Complete drivetrain cleaning or replacement (as needed). There is a lot of variation here, depending on the needs of each individual bike & rider, so please call for details, or better yet, bring you bike in and discuss the repair with the mechanic. Labor assessments and estimates are always free.

But what makes the Winter Tune-Up worthy of its name is the ongoing maintenance we include in this service for the entire cold riding season, specifically until March 31, 2009. After you have purchased your Winter Tune-Up you are entitled to:

• Full bike wash and lube, as often as you wish (normally, $35 each time!)
• Adjustments and tuning whenever needed
• Free labor on fixing flats
• Free installation of parts and accessories purchased at Rapid Transit.

All our offerings also include a thorough evaluation, professional expertise of a mechanic who is also a rider, a burning desire to make your bike work well for you, a test ride to make sure what has been promised is delivered.

You can purchase the Winter Tune-Up for $155 for your multi-speed bike. Please call for pricing on single-speed and fixed-gear bikes