On The Route Bicycles

Great local bike shop! Fixed the busted tire on my burley jogging stroller in a flash…

I stopped in their Lincoln Square location to take a look at some bikes, and was able to test ride a few and the technician suggested I take a trip to this location for a larger selection.
Sure enough, I spotted a couple of bikes with the help of the salesmen/​tech Cam. He let me test ride a couple of cyclocross bikes and I found the one that worked best.
I came back later that week to take delivery on the bike, and both guys working that day (Dana I believe, and a new employee) were really busy but took the time to talk shop with me, and run through the bike with me. I used their other shop in the city (on Lincoln Ave) for my bike purchases, but this place has a nice neighborhood feel, the staff is friendly, AND you can TEST DRIVE!
I will use this location for service on my rides when needed and I’ll update my review accordingly. Thanks to On the Route, I have a new slick ride to commute through the city!

I’ve been riding an old Schwinn cruiser for a while but I decided it was finally time to invest in a good city bike. But I had no idea what I wanted or even really what to look for. Dana to the rescue! He asked lots of questions about how I use my current bike, what I like/don’t like about it, how I planned to use my new bike, etc. He walked me through all my options, explaining the differences of all the kinds of bikes in terms I, a bike novice, could understand, and then helped me as I test rode about a dozen or so. Yeah, I was in there for probably more than an hour but this was a big investment for me and I wanted to make sure I was doing my due diligence. Dana was incredibly patient, knowledgeable and helpful. And when I finally decided on a bike (a gorgeous Bianchi Volpe!) he was able to locate it (miraculously, at the other On the Route location on Lawrence) and I went to pick it up the next day. I love my bike and couldn’t be happier. Thanks so much, Dana and On the Route!

The guys at OTR spent a generous amount of time across two days getting my fiancée and I set up on test rides and, finally, fitted into our new bikes when we found the perfect ones. They showed a genuine interest in getting us paired up with the right bikes, and exceeded my expectations in how helpful and enthusiastic they were.

I’m so tired of getting the white dude bike knowitall treatment at bike shops. I came in with a flat and no tools to change it myself, and was so put off by how the white dude knowitall treated me off the bat. A lot of condescending «Here… just give it to me.» /​«Um yeah. This tire looks like the crater of the moon. It’s full of glass.» To this dude (you are very much a dude) with the backward sunglasses on your hat, I know it’s a lot to ask to consider what it might be like to be a woman dealing with men being rude know it alls about bikes (and everything else) all the time, but try. And consider a few things, such as being nicer, acknowledging someone else’s intelligence and capacity to understand bicycles, or even hiring some women!!! Some POC women, even, if you wanna get reeeeal wild??? Until then, one star for being just like every other bike shop that’s been making women feel like they don’t know a thing since the invention of the bike shop. YAWN. I’m bummed I had to give you my $$.

Such good customer service. I’ve never been here before and they are super nice and knowledgeable. Definitely going to be back for regular repairs. I had to cancel a work order and felt bad about it, but they were very good about understanding. Thanks guys and see you soon!

I’ve taken my bike here twice to be repaired.
The first time, the arm of my pedal fell off. They fixed it, but the guy tried to tell me it would fall off again in a month if I didn’t spend more to have something on it replaced. Skeptical, I passed and almost a year later it is still on.
The second time I took it because my chain was falling off my bike and it was not shifting correctly. I told them that I knew that one of the reasons is because the thing the chain sets on wasn’t straight, so to test it after it is straightened and look for other issues. They did straighten it and fix half the problem, but I was still having shifting issues as I warned against. I took it somewhere else and they fixed the issue in literally 2 minutes.

I purchased a kryptonite u-​lock today from this store. As I was making my choice the sales person told me that kryptonite returns the bike cost if the bike is stollen and he personally helped people to go through the process. All they needed to do was to register on the website. I mentioned that my bike was refurbished and I didn’t have a receipt. The sales person said receipt is not necessary and all I need to do is register my lock. Well I am trying to register it now and it requires me to provide bike receipt information. I hardly think the sales guy didn’t know that if he helped people get their money back. This is bad service and I do not recommend this store!!!

I don’t write a lot of Unilocal reviews, I don’t get too flustered with service one way or another. But this week Casey went way way above and beyond and I want to make sure he, his manager and everyone else knows how great he was.
I came in looking to upgrade to a road bike. I gave him my budget and he proceeded to put me on no less than 5 bikes to try. I came in on my current bike with cleats so he swapped the pedals out to be mine on every bike so I would be more comfortable! Every time!
One of the bikes has a seat post that didn’t go low enough my short self… so he sawed it off!!! He offered to have to other bikes assembled so I could judge the fit on those. I know LBS employees are renowned for being courteous and accommodating, but this was a level I have never experienced.
Casey — thank you so much for helping me make a decision on my upgrade. People like you confirm that local IS BETTER!

I just moved to Lakeview from Uptown and being that I’ve lived in Chicago for just under 2 years I’ve decided its time to get involved in the biked scene. The horror I imagine, especially in Chicago, is walking into a shop and being treated like I know nothing, even know honestly… that is accurate!
I was just walking around the neighborhood today and stopped in to see if I could get someone to walk me through the basics of buying a bike and what genres I need to be aware of.
Cam was friendly, knowledgeable and even though clearly I want to buy a bike, he was not pushy at all and even took the time to explain my noobie self what kind of options there are out there and what I should be looking for based on the type of rider I plan to be!
Thanks Guys,
Dan

Joanne–
True but by day 4 my mind had been made up. I thought my frustration and disappointment would have been clear when I called for an update and got unpleasant news. True had you guys provided an accurate time estimate I’d likely have gone elsewhere I’d at least not be disappointed.

BEST PLACE EVER! Jake saved my life!
I left the gym today and as I was leaving I nearly died because my breaks stopped working. I wheeled my bike into On The Route just as Jake was getting ready to leave. I didnt have much money on me cuz I had just gone to the gym. It was a broken axel. FML… As a million thoughts ran through my brain, he was quick and able to fix my wheel just long enough to get me home safe. His knowledge of what I need to repair and bring my bike up to par is whats bringing me back in as soon as I have the cash!
Jake I will see ya on Payday! THANKS SO MUCH! You deserve a raise!
~Ryan

I dropped by here one evening when I was having some issues with my bike. I explained the issues to the guy working there and he was extremely helpful in helping resolve the issue quickly and was very nice about it.
Great people, great service. Those are two things I will gladly pay for.

They def. take pride in their work. I was in a bike accident and when I brought it in Josh welcomed me. He was honest about the maintenance work, timeline, and price. In a week I got my bike back, they not only fixed it but cleaned and detailed it. I had a few loose lights that they tightened up. I was more than thrilled, my bike looked close to new especially after riding it through the worse winter we’ve had in a while. Thanks guys! Five stars and two thumbs up

Have been here a couple times now, and have to admit it’s pretty nice to have a shop closer to my place than Kozy’s (nothing against Kozy’s, btw). I stopped in initially for a new front light, and the associate pointed out a great one that was rechargeable (USB) but wasn’t gonna break the bank. Been extremely happy with that purchase, especially since it’s so easy to transfer the light from bike to bike (and not worry about batteries). Most recently, I was in on a Groupon for a tune-​up – boy did I need one. It ended up being quite a bit more than the tune-​up all said and done, but I have been satisfied with the work, and the tech was happy to answer all my questions about bottom brackets and the perils of buying «internet bikes», as he called them.
The only thing keeping it from being 5 stars in my mind is their website. Instead of showing an inventory of what they have at the actual store, it links you around to the manufacturer’s websites. Makes it a little difficult to shop when you don’t know the prices of the things that are actually hanging on the shelves at the physical store. This is a little nit picky, but I like to pick out what I want ahead of time.

I like to pretend I know a lot about bikes. But all I know really is how to fix a flat. Enough to not leave me stranded.
Coming to on the route, I get lots of helpful knowledge from the bike guys, and they don’t even sound pretentious or condescending.
Super hot maintenance and sales staff, without the usual hipster attitude that comes with it.
They changed out my brakes and fixed a spoke in 30 minutes flat. I’ll be back on the regular.

On The Route Bicycles est magasin de vélos et de location de vélos que j’ai pris tout d’abord en raison de sa proche localisation de mon endroit de vie à Chicago.
Derrière la petite devanture du magasin se cache un grand local tout en profondeur avec des vélos suspendus au mur. On y trouve aussi beaucoup d’accessoires pour les cyclistes ainsi qu’une station de gonflage qui si on le demande peut être utilisé pour regonfler son vélo même si il né vient pas du magasin.
Le gérant à un contact assez froid au premier abord mais s’avère plutôt sympathique au final surtout pour ce qui est de né pas compter une demi heure en plus pour la location de vélo à l’heure. Le service peut donc paraître un peu rude mais il suffit de briser la glacé et les types s’avèrent sympa et parlent même avec vous de choses et d’autres.
Sachez qu’avec la location d’un vélo pour une heure, six ou bien encore la journée complète vous pouvez demander à avoir un casque et un cadenas également.
Pour conclure je dirais que c’est un loueur de vélos efficace qui hésite pas a vous faire de petites ristournes mais avec un premier contact relativement froid.

Went in a novice and got tons of great information from Andrea. Ended up with two bikes at a great price.
Will update this review after a few weeks of riding around!

Yeah, no shit my bike is messed up, that’s why I brought it in here. No, I’m not interested in turning it into a fixed gear (what is it with these dudes and wanting to turn people’s bikes into a fixed gear?). No I don’t want to buy a pair of ugly «biking» sunglasses when the ones on my face work just fine. Quit trying to sell me crap I don’t want for one second, damn.
These guys talk down to you and make you feel like an idiot for even entering the store, the moment you set foot inside. I bought a helmet because I needed one that day and would rather deal with them than have my head broken up on Western, but take heed: go somewhere else unless you are rolling up in there on your beloved ~fixie~ with clip-​in pedals, with your chain-​side pant-​leg rolled up and a penchant for dealing with grown-​ass men sporting shit attitudes.

Nice bike shop with expansive selection, knowledgeable staff, and so-​so prices.
The issue is the staff’s attitude. They seem pushy to make a sale and not very friendly to bike novices. I think bike shops have to resist the trap of bike snobbery. Yes, customers (myself included) are often amateur idiots, but treat us with respect and they’ll be happy to patronage your store.
Chicago has a very competitive bike shop market so customer service can make all the difference. I think this is a fine store but gotta take my business elsewhere.

These people absolutely suck. I was building a fixed gear conversion and needed some parts. The staff was completely rude, and told me what I was planning to do was «impossible» and that I shouldn’t waste my money building my own bike and that I should simply «buy a new bike.» The gal sat there at the computer and told me that I should make it a single speed instead, while giving me a nasty look. I played it off and asked for specific parts. I literally had my wallet out, knowing what parts I needed, when the «Bicycle College Valedictorian» told me to figure out what I was going to do first, before I wasted my money on parts. Lost the sale «Brah.»
As I’m walking out with my rolling chassis, the guy even has the nuts to tell me the bike is too small for me. «Funny,» I said, «It’s the exact same size as my OTHER BIKE, which I was professionally sized for.» Dude backpedaled (no pun intended) like you wouldn’t believe.
Of course I immediately went to another store to buy the parts that I needed, and THE NEXT DAY was riding my «oh so impossible» fixed gear conversion.
I will never visit this store again based on the attitude alone, and I live in the building next door. But I will use their free air to fill up the tires on my super duper, never gonna happen, miracle bike.