Why I Love Irv's Bike Shop

Mural from the facade of the Casa Juan Diego building.
Caption at the bottom: Aqui estamos y aqui nos quedamos.
Translation: Here we are and here we stay.

Lately, I've been noticing that the Jolly Green Giant (my mountain bike) has been feeling under the weather. At first, it was simply a matter of gears not shifting smoothly or at all. That's ok, Chicago is flat! Then, as winter progressed, all kinds of squeaking and crunching noises started to chime in. Oh well, nothing a little extra lube can't fix, right? Finally, two days ago I noticed that my rear brake cable was slack. As in, there was a significant delay between the time I pressed down on the brakes and when the bike actually began slowing. That's when I decided it might be dangerous to continue ignoring the compounding ailments. I hauled ass to Irv's.

Irv's Bike Shop is my all-time favorite FLBS and the only true neighborhood bike shop in Chicago. Period. When you walk in, there will a bird on the counter, children ogling BMX bikes, hipsters carrying neon blue wheels, and an occasional dog underfoot gnawing on a bone. There may not be shining floor displays and it is often closer to go to Kozy's, but I will go out of my way to get to Irv's. Come to think of it, I have yet to meet anyone named Irv here, but I am on good terms with Henry. By that, I mean he invariably chews me out every time I walk in.

Me: So, my front derailleur isn't shifting any more...
Henry: When's the last time you greased it?
Me: Uhh, one month ago? Two months ago?
Henry: Ok, repeat after me: I will grease my chain once a week. I want you to say that 100 times before you leave! [Henry proceeds to clean, grease and fix my bike for me free of charge, and then shoos me out the door.]

This time, Henry began scrutinizing my bike and asked, "Have you ever given this an overhaul? You're going to need new brake pads, a new chain, cranks, chainrings, rear casette...We'll take out the cables and replace them with stainless steel ones so this doesn't happen again. Man, you have done a number on this bike! " I gave him a sheepish look and asked, "Ok, how much is all this going to cost?" He replied, "Oh, let's see, the cogs will be about $60, another $12 for brake pads, plus $1000 for labor...does that sound cool?" I grinned and said, "Totally fine."

For an additional bonus, Irv's is in Pilsen, a heavily Mexican neighborhood filled with tacquerias, cantinas and Mexican bakeries. All the chicharrónes (pork rinds) and chocoflan (combination flan and chocolate cake) that you could want! This meant that while I waited for my bike to be repaired, I hopped over to La Casa del Pueblo and picked up a dozen tamales for $10. (There are multiple varieties but I can't read the menu, so I've resorted to pointing at the sticker-adorned foil wrapped package that I want; yellow and green have been pretty good so far.) In recent months, there has been much debate over the continuing gentrification of Pilsen, and whether the influx of art galleries, coffee shops and hipsters will drive working-class residents out of the barrio (along with the gang warfare problems). On the side of a building, I was amused to see that someone had painted a yellow zoning sign labeled "Danger: Gentrification Zone."

Back at Irv's, the total damage came to $177.97. This is actually $70 more than I spent buying the bike to begin with, but I figure that I like this bike a lot and don't want to expend the effort of finding a new one. Besides, considering I've put next to no maintenance into this bike and a monthly CTA pass runs a little over $80, I'm still coming out ahead overall. The Jolly Green Giant is now running smooth like butter and faster than ever. Bring on the spring weather!