Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with bicycle and chicago

FREE TIRE AIR CHICAGO?

defmute — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:41:31 -0800

Chicagofilter: Where do (or would) you go to fill up your bike tires for free? i recently bought a really shitty bike that deflates faster than any other bike i've had before. today i decided to stop at a BP to fill my tires only to find that they wanted 75 cents for goddamn AIR! as a result i want to start a directory of FREE air locations in chicago (where i live). i've lived on all coasts and non coasts in this country and i know i've been to gas stations with free air machines before and i know chicago HAS to have some. so...

where's the free air at?

Bike parking in Hyde Park

puffin — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 11:34:14 -0800

Bicycle advice in Hyde Park (Chicago) I am going to be moving to Hyde Park in about a month. I'll be living near 54th and Lake Park, so I'm pretty close to a Metra stop and the Jackson Park Express bus route. But I'm about 1.8 miles from both the Garfield and 51st Green line stops.

Is locking up a bike at either of these stops during the day a dumb idea? What about around Hyde Park in general? If it makes a difference, I have a newish but cheap (downtube shifters) road bike. My seat and wheels aren't quick release, but they can be unscrewed with an Allen wrench.

Is a folding bicycle right for a train commute in Chicago?

crios — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 16:46:50 -0800

This is actually a two part question. First, can anybody recommend a folding bicycle? I'm going to need to travel from a train to my work and it's about 2 miles. Would you recommend one of these bicycles for this kind of commute? How do they hold up in the rain and when it gets cold? Is there anything I can do about water flying up from the front and rear wheels? 2nd, does anybody know if you can buy a monthly Metra pass that will allow you to transfer between two Metra lines? Here is my situation. I recently took a job in the western suburbs of Chicago and I live in the northern tip of Chicago. I would need to take the Union Pacific Northern line downtown, switch to Union Station and then take the BNSF route out to the western suburbs. Then from there I would still have to trek 2 miles to my work from the station. My original idea was to buy an old clunker bicycle and leave it at the station to ride back and forth. It would sit there through rain and snow and meteor storms and all that. Now I'm wondering if I should invest in a folding bicycle. I know basically nothing about these bicyles. Does anybody have any recommendations? How easy are they to fold and unfold? How compact are they? Would people hate me on the Metra trains if I got on with one? How does it handle the wet (as well as some snow, I might be willing to ride it through light snow)? How is maintenance? Is there anything I can do about water flying up from the front and rear wheels so that I can keep my nice work clothes from getting all spattered?

As a second part to my question... does anybody know if you can buy monthly passes that will allow you to transfer from one line to another? I'm going to have to transfer from the Union Pacific North to the BNSF line. I can't find anything about this on the Metra site and if I try to buy a monthly pass online I can ONLY buy for one line. Will I have to buy two monthly passes each month?

Is there any reason this Amtrak trip won't work?

Quidam — Tue, 20 May 2008 10:03:55 -0800

This summer I'd like to take the Amtrak from Cincinnati, OH to Holland, MI, by way of Chicago, and I'd like to take my bike. Help me figure this out. Probably some time in July, I'd like to visit from friends in Holland, MI. Partially because of the price of gas, partially because I'm familiar with Holland and I know it's bikeable, and partly because, uh, I think it'd be kind of fun to take a train, I'd like to take the Amtrak, and bring my bike.

A search for train schedules on the Amtrak website shows that the train would probably leave Cincinnati about 1:10am, get into Chicago at 10:35am, leave Chicago again at 5:45pm (bonus! 7 hours of free time in Chicago!), and get into Holland at 5:45pm. Essentially reverse and repeat on the way back, with the train leaving Holland at 8:20am and getting into Cincinnati at 3:17am.

I guess I'm sort of trying to figure out if this is feasible/if there's any reason this would be a really bad idea, assuming: a) while I've been on a train before, I'm not an experienced train traveler, and b) I'm a 5'2" 21 year old female.

But I mean, I can take care of myself. I guess my concerns more specifically are:

1) How difficult will it be for me to get the bike on and off the train (yes, I've seen this on the Amtrak site.)

2) Surely there's somewhere at Union Station in Chicago I can check a bike for 7 hours, right? Will that be complicated/expensive?

3) Ought I be concerned at all about boarding/leaving the Amtrak at 1:00am or 3:00am? I guess I'm asking about the general sketchiness of Amtrak stations, especially really late at night.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks Askmefites!

Suggestions for wrapping a bicycle frame with tape?

wfrgms — Fri, 25 May 2007 22:27:51 -0800

I need to wrap a bicycle frame with a specifically colored tape. Back story: I work on bikes as a hobby and a friend has requested that I do a frame up restoration on his road bike. As part of the work he would love for some type of reasonably matching tape to cover the logos on the frame. (He commutes on the bike, and the tape will make it both anonymous and semi-resistant to scuffs at the bike rack.)

The bike is orange. Maybe a light orange. Think actual real (as in the fruit you find at the super market) orange peel.

What I'm looking for is a non permanent adhesive tape, perhaps something with the consistency of black electrical tape, but if its tougher (like duct tape) that would be good as well.

I've searched ACE and Home Depot to no avail. I haven't checked the art supply stores, but I'm not sure this is something they would have (based on past visits.)

I'm not opposed to order online, but something in the Chicago area would be great.

Other options for wrapping and protecting this bicycle frame are welcome as long as the color is consistent. I'm not locked into the tape idea. Thanks for any advice or thoughts.

An Overdose of My Kind of Town

elr — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 16:06:26 -0800

[ADVENTUREFILTER] This summer, I'm riding my bike from one end of Chicago to another. I haven't picked which end I'm starting at or ending at, yet. I plan on exploring a fair amount but I was wondering about some interesting points I might want to stop at along the way. This will probably happen more than once this summer, more likely on weekdays than weekends. I plan on spending serious amounts of time of the South and Northwest side, but cool finds at any location are helpful. Here are some random things I like:

cemetaries
those metal statues of animals that one guy does
occult bookstores
playgrounds built before 1975
petting zoos
murals
factory tours
abandoned buildings/churches
comic books
record stores
little known parks, beaches, and lagoons
german beer
tanks (like the ones at Grand and Campbell or 100th and J)
novelty shops
country/rockabilly/reggae/hookah bars
Hasiddim

Also: Where would you say the best place to watch the sun rise/set is?

Google maps links are well appreciated.