Rapid Transit Cycleshop

I went in about a week ago looking for towels to clean my bike and because I just like to go to bike shops. They didn’t have the towels, but told me I should just use old shirts anyway. After that I told them I had been having some trouble with the resistance on my bike and asked them if it could just be the winter. Chris and Adam were working and told me I should just bring it in for a free assessment. Then they worked their magic. When I rode my bike home that day it was like I had gone from dial up Internet to DSL. (In terms of bikes, please note they are not an Internet company, although I would prefer them to Comcast.) I guess it was worse than I thought. I no longer dread riding my bike no matter how cold it is. Thanks Chris and Adam! I will definitely be back for my other bike needs.

Local Chicago shop, offers friendly service, doesn’t fire janitors, has never been accused of federal charges, should run for mayor.
Pros:
Incredible service
Great advice
Genuinely friendly
No one talks to you in high pitched, TV sitcom, Gap/​Old Navy voices
Cons:
unable to offer the discounts of a big box retailer
Come here when you have a question, need repairs, or are just bi curious. See what I did there?
I first encountered Rapid Transit in Wicker Park while test riding bicycles. I wasn’t able to purchase from the north side store but had such a great potential customer experience that I decided to peek my head into the University Village store. Same great, friendly staff. They answer your questions, try to be genuine with you, help out with minor adjustments, and are cool, relaxed people to talk to. I feel very comfortable visiting this store because they’ve always seem open to addressing your concerns.
Feels good giving them my business because it’s a local Chicago store that doesn’t give you bike jargon overload. There are also not that many workers so you’ll have to exercise patience if they’re busy. Most customer experiences turn into conversations.
Thanks Rapid Transit!

After about 8 years of riding a terrible back-​peddle brake bike I bought for $ 10 at a garage sale, I finally decided I should move on up in the world and get a grown up bike. As evident from the description of my old bike, I knew NOTHING about what makes a bike good or even what I was looking for.
When I came in to Rapid Transit, the staff was SUPER helpful. The guy who was showing me around explained stuff to me without talking over my head or down to me. He showed me a few options and let me take them for a spin in the parking lot. I decided to sleep on it and came back the next day, and when the original dude wasn’t there I got worried my experience might not be as great. NOPE! The next guy to help me out was just as helpful! I bought the bike and dude told me how to register with the city and even gave me a good bike locking tutorial (I’d never had a bike worth stealing before, I needed to learn!).
Two months later and I couldn’t be happier with the bike I bought. It is exactly perfect for my needs. I stopped by a few days ago to get a free check-​up and even though it was a different person from my first two visits, the new staff member was also INCREDIBLY HELPFUL AND AWESOME! She looked over my bike, tightened my seat which had been wobbling, put air in the tires, and generally made sure it was in its best working condition.
Excellent bike shop. Will definitely recommend to friends.

Called about putting air in my tire only to find out that they provide FREE AIR. Took the bike in and the person at the front desk helped me pump it up, because the valve was different than any I’ve ever experienced. I was in and out in no time, NO CHARGE.

Very helpful and knowledgable staff. They are patient and willing to talk through options. Service is quick and easy where they can install new accessories (seats, pedals right away). I purchased a Brooks saddle and was able to make a well informed decision based on what they told me.

Incredibly knowledgeable staff, great customer service. A bracket holding the derailer wire snapped off my Cannondale. I went to a different bike shop in Gold Coast first where I was told the bike was essentially totaled. Went to Rapid Transit Cycleshop and had it fixed in 20 minutes. Won’t go anywhere else again.

People buy fast cars for their midlife crisis. I bought a used $ 50 bike on craigslist
for my quarter life crisis.
I took my bike in to get my breaks fixed because I lost a bolt-​like component and thought I broke the cable (I actually didn’t.) while trying to fix something else. I ended up buying brand new breaks even though I could probably just go look really hard to find that one bolt. Chris was very helpful at helping me figure out what I wanted to get fixed. He was not a pushy salesman which I really appreciated. There’s a 15% student discount here too which somewhat offsets their higher-​than-​big-​box-​store price. Amazing staff with great service: would highly recommend!

These folks are great. Personable, willing to chat about whatever and good at their jobs. I had them tune up my commuter/​touring bike and they did a hell of a job. I’m planning on taking it for a ride across the country and I feel secure in knowing that I’ll have few hiccups along the way.
The only reason they didn’t get five stars is that they stock a bunch of stuff that I can’t imagine most people by while not stocking stuff I think is important. Then again, they are right next to UIC so maybe students want way different things than I do.
The point is, Chicago is lucky to have so many great bike shops. This is one of them.

I was on my way to Bridgeport from the west loop when some I heard something click and realized a bolt fell off my bike! The piece that holds the basket had come disconnected on one side, and know nothing about bikes I freaked out thinking I’d have to pay a ton of money to get something fixed. I was around Taylor and Halsted, so Unilocal told me Rapid Transit was the closest bike shop.
I headed there and, upon entering, was immediately greeted by a friendly staff member asking what the problem was. I explained the situation and he took my bike into the back for a few minutes. While waiting in the shop, someone came in from outside asking to borrow the bike pump — the guy working the counter said that was fine, and I was happy to see how accommodating these dudes were.
Less than ten minutes after entering the shop, the guy I gave my bike to came out from the back. He explained that he put in a new bolt and tightened the brakes, and that everything should be in working ordered. When I asked how much it would be, I was told that it wasn’t very much work and so it would be on the house. I was amazed — I can’t remember the last time I went into a bike shop and ended up spending less than $ 30 on repairs.
I’m really glad I know about Rapid Transit Cycles — thanks for the awesome service. I’ll definitely be back.

I just went in there for a brake cable and housing and they were very helpful and friendly. They even opened 5mins early because they saw me standing outside. Close to UIC if you’re in need of a quick part/​repair between classes. More helpful than Kozy’s near Taylor and Desplaines. I wonly wrote 4 stars because it was such a short interaction. I def plan to go back to give them an opportunity for 5!

My favorite bike shop in the city. They always know how to help a fellow bike bro out.
Plus, they have the most handsome guys working here. (chris and jeord, consider this a missed connection. i would love to get a beer with you guys sometime.)

I hit a hole on Halsted — didn’t even notice it. Luckily it happened just a block from Rapid Transit so there’s a silver lining.
Not sure the mechanics name but that makes it all the more mysterious and magical. He replaced the tube in my back wheel while I waited but he must have done something when I wasn’t looking to make my bike go faster. I don’t even know if that’s possible so I will chalk it up to bike sorcery. Maybe he just tightened something so it’s easier to ride… I don’t know but I am so happy. A+
All I know is, when I left Rapid Transit, my bike ride is like butter.

I’ve been to this Rapid Transit location many times to wash my bike and purchase parts and service. Today I walked in and asked to use the bike wash, and was told I could not, and given rude attitude by the staff mechanic. He told me it was a chargeable service, which I’m well aware. I told him I’d been in many times before and was always allowed to use the bike wash without hesitation, but he wouldn’t let me use it.
I realize they can charge for the service, but I would’ve been about 10 minutes and used ten cents worth of soap. I’ve spent hundreds on parts and service there. Thanks.

I signed up for the Frozen Chosen winter bike package, which has been fantastic so far. Very, very worth the money if you have the desire to ride through winter.
If you have a chance, see if you can show up when Ben is around. I really appreciated the time he took to look over my bike, and he found some things to fix that other RT staff had missed a couple of weeks ago. I’m going to try to come back when he’s in the shop, because I left feeling very secure about the condition of my bike.

The simple service and a small selection of products at this bike shop made picking out bike accessories super easy. After being unable to find what I needed at Target, I went here. They had a small selection of helmets that fit perfectly and you could try on without those silly cardboard hanging things on them and lots of brands to choose from. The sales guy didn’t hover and was also super helpful in talking about bike locks. They even had the long U-​Locks that will fit the post, wheel, and bike frame, in addition to lots of bikes, people fixing them, and other accessories like lights.
Worth a visit. If you go on the weekends, you can park in the parking garage around the corner and it’s only $ 2 for 2.5 hours.

I haven’t bought a bike here but the sales person Jerod was really awesome. All the stores I have visited in Chicago have been very helpful… trying to find a bike big enough for me… a tall drink of water. Jerod said «it would be his personal mission» to fix me up with a bike! That is a vote of confidence I ever heard one.
Who knows what bike I will end up with but I would trust this shop 100%.

Full disclosure: I have never actually bought anything here. But I will share my one experience I have had with them, because it was excellent.
I was riding one day and one of my cranks came loose — by the time I got to work it had completely fallen off. On the way home I stopped in to see if I could borrow an allen wrench, and they took by bike, pulled off both cranks, inspected them, checked my bottom bracket, and put the cranks back on for free. Spent about 15 minutes for no charge. Regardless of the prices in there (or most local bike shops for that matter) you would never get that kind of service at Performance Bikes or a place like that.
I put $ 5 in their tip jar marked «beer money» and went on my way. Legit.

These guys are great. This used to be my shop before I moved up north, and are solely responsible for getting me into commuting year round. Reasonable prices and also got me into Jamis bikes, for which I am eternally grateful.
I used to be in this shop every week when I was a newbie rider, and they never told me to piss off either, which would have probably curtailed my riding career right away.
Great staff and service and great prices.

This location of Rapid Transit is definitely a great resource for the neighborhood. The layout is clean and spacious and the staff is extremely knowledgeable. The store is also involved in teh community and has sponsored rights in the neighborhood and helps with city-​wide biking events.
They carry good quality bikes and accessories. Buying a new bike might cost more, but when buying new you get a lot more with the money… service is included for a year after the purchase, plus you’ll know you got the right size bike.
Definitely a winner!

My bike had only one brake-​set, but I was still riding it around the campus (University of Illinois at Chicago). While on my way to Joy Yee’s to get a tapioca freeze with my uni-​brake bike from west campus, I thought I’d stop by to check if this store may have cheap brakes that can spare me. So I went in and asked for the missing part for my front cantilever brake, the staff immediately searched for it. Few seconds later, the staff returned and handed me a whole brake set. I asked how much; the staff pointed me to the tip jar and told me, «five bucks». I gave them ten because I don’t have five. Give me one reason to not give them 5 stars!
Actually, I gave them twenty and asked for a ten dollar bill. =D Next time, my bike breaks, I’m definitely coming back here. Thank you Rapid Transit Cycleshop!