gringo_gus

Hi all once again find myself heading from Blighty to the USA, this time central Chicago for a conference.

Anyone know of any folding oriented stores worth a visit ?

And, any suggestions of what is a bargain buy while I am there, from a brits pov ? Last time I got a DT mini.... but thinking components as well/instead this time. Maybe a thudbuster post for my Speed TR ? Also am interested in panniers and bike baskets (so a store worth visiting would be good...)

PGSteamner

As far as I know, the shop with the best folding bike selection is Rapid Transit Cycleshop on Wolcott & North (nearest tube is the blue line Damen stop). Alternatively, Kozy's Cyclery on Wells & Erie (just north of the loop) has a limited selection of Dahons.

The best bargains for someone who lives in the UK would most likely be on US components/bikes. How about being fancy and getting some Phil Wood hubs to go on a new Bike Friday?

feijai

0. Bring a 31" Samsonite Flite suitcase, (LuggagePoint is well regarded and ships in one or two days. Plus they have lime green! Impossible to miss on the luggage belt) and ask Bike Friday to send a crush protector to the store below pronto.

1. Go here.

2. Buy a Tikit! :-)

3. Put in the suitcase.

4. Take home.

5. Be different from the Brompton set.

HGR3inOK

I was in the Village Cycle Sports store on Rand Road in Arlington Heights on July 3rd. They had about 10 different Dahon models. See:
https://villagecyclesport.com/

Consider taking two days, renting a car and driving to ThorUSA in Olney, IL, to test almost every available Dahon.

gringo_gus

thx for all these. The tikit is tempting, but now will have to read the tikit v brompton thread..... More suggestions welcome. Would love to visit ThorUSA, time won't permit. Any more ideas welcome..

alhedges

I'll second rapid transit - it is a very interesting shop in its own right, focusing exclusively (I think) on utility cycling.

Lalato

Yes, your best bet for a folder is Rapid Transit. Every once in a while Boulevard Bikes will have a used folder for sale (Birdy or Bike Friday, but it's not common). Honestly, you're not going to find anything unique or different in Chicago with regard to folding bikes or bikes in general.

Instead of buying a bike, you could get a great Chicago WIG messenger bag.

https://www.chicagowig.com/

ChiapasFixed

+1 on the Tikit
+1 on reading the Tikit v Brompton thread (where I distributively prove the superiority of the Tikit)
+1 on lime green Flite case!

bhkyte

Jealous !
would love to go to Usa from UK and bring back a bike. I vote also vote for the tikit, but consider anything from bike friday range,swift if you like it,Downtube,or maybe a Birdie if exchange rate favourable. Pacific reach possible. Or a Dahon speed TT which is not imported to UK anymore in Bulk. Any other suggestions as I have a relative in Canada who could ship a bike to me also.How ecomonically feasable is it ?

gringo_gus

bhkyte there are three basic issues (no, four) in terms of feasibility: shipping cost, exchange rates, and customs duty. On the last, it is hard to escape these if something is shipped to you by a regular shipper, who often will also charge an administration fee. So it is only worth doing if exchange rates are in your favour. Which at the moment they're not as great as they have been.

The fourth issue is how much the bike you want sells for on either side of the Altantic. There's no point buying a brompton from N America. I was thinking of bringing a curve home in my case, but when I compared how much they were in dollars to how much I could get one for in £ sterling I found they were prettey much the same - 2009 curves are going for around £330 on ebay new (which seems a real bargain to me). Last year I bought a DT mini, and brought it home, which was fun, but its not that great a bike imho.

The other thing that might work is getting something preowned from the other side of thepond

bhkyte

Thanks for that. It would be a Tikit I would consider myself. A used Birdie can be got from UK from Ebay for around £500, I got a curve for £289 on Ebay new.And a new Mezzo D9 for £389 their are some good buys on EBAY. But no Tikits.

timmmahhhh

I can't speak highly enough about Rapid Transit Cycle Shop. They have just about every type of folder you can imagine - Bike Friday, Brompton, Dahon, Strida, and I believe at least two others.

Two others that are good for folders are the Kozy chain which has 3-4 stores, and Dan's Cycle Shop in Berwyn which has Dahons and a very helpful and knowledgeable service department.

Bike Friday is a good option too but you can physically try one out at RTCS. The last time I was there they even had a Bike Friday folding tandem hanging overhead.

Also if your heavier (like Americans typically, guilty as charged) Bike Friday can tailor the frame to your weight specifications. Most folders have a limit of 220 pounds though Strida goes up to 250. Granted I can't envision Strida for anything more than commuting and short trips, ingenoius as the bike is.

Personally I have a Dahon Jack because I use it for everything, commuting, trains, recreation. It keeps in the trunk (boot) of my car and is not difficult to get on a train, and folds very rapidly.

Dynocoaster 

Check out Craigslist Chicago and see what comes up while you are here.

PDR

Is there anything here that interests you.... and could be shipped to your hotel?
https://community.bikefriday.com/PreOwned

Azreal911

without changing the seat of my strida I couldn't go anymore than 2km max without it giving me an enema. Once you get a good spring loaded seat I can easily ride 20km+. I think any strida owner MUST change their seat as a rite of passage.

brakemeister

its only 250 miles or 5 hours south of the big city ... :-)
Thor

gringo_gus

cheers all for all of this. The exchange rate is swinging in my favour, good news for me if not the UK economy. As a brit I laughed at Thor's "only" 250 miles... s'long way where I come from.

BTW, Thor, just did a great 1 week mini-tour in France on a Speed TR, which was perfection and a joy to ride..... I know you have posted on being sensible about TRs elsewhere.

Dynocoaster 

Dahon MU on CL
https://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/bik/1303476188.html

Dynocoaster 

These would be fun to take back for fun:
https://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/bik/1305707483.html