I am going to be in downtown Chicago in a couple of weeks and was wondering if there was a good skate shop in the area? Also, if the weather isn't total crap, I may bring a board to ride, but I am not sure if I'll have time because I have got a lot packed in the 3 days I'll be there. Just thought I'd get some info. from the locals on here in case I had time to shop and session.
Thanks for any and all tips,
CC
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"I want to live like a hungry man eats." —Wendell Berry
I wish I had some to recommend.
Mine sits on my desk all day. (MHS)
Last weekend I stopped at the Shred Shop in Niles or Skokie and all they had for longboards were Gravity, S9 and 2 Loaded Hammerheads. I wasn't too impressed.
I'm in Massachusetts. I'm a cabinet maker and am headed out for an industry show. I checked out the town on Google Earth and it looks like there's a pretty extensive path along the shore. I imagine Chicago is fairly flat but I figure it would be worth bringing something to cruise along the lake with.
I'm 30-40 miles out of the city.
I believe there are a bunch of paths along the lake shore. It is really flat, so don't plan on a lot of DH. I wish I could be more help, but I am a pretty new boarder and don't get downtown much.
The lake front is beautiful and in the summer, people are jogging/biking everywhere.
Hey man, I live downtown so I could give you some tips. The only real shop in the city is called Uprise and its on Milwaukee ave off of the Western blue line stop. As for spots, there are a ton of pretty decent parking garages downtown- some close to 20 stories. You gotta be carfeul though cause its not exactly legal...The museum campus which is south of the loop has some decent trails as well as the sea wall which is a natural quarter pipe by the musuem. Other than that, theres not much just some lake front paths. Be careful skating downtown though...watch out for bike cops cause they'll hassle you for skating. Nothing big, but just a warning. Hope this helps.
Hey, i live up in the northern suburbs, just happen to be 2 blocks from the shred shop. Its gonna be your best bet for anything decent as far as a skate shops, they stock gravity, S9, never summer and loaded boards with varying stock ( last time i was there they probably had around 30+ boards). They are still primarily into shortboards and snowboards, but at least they are trying. As for paths, you should be fine on the lakefront paths which are nice, except for what other people have said. If you wanted to head into the suburbs, there are some nice forest preserves with really long blacktop bike paths. The only hills your gonna find are overpasses and parking garages .
dingbat, i think you've already come and gone, but i know that squiggly path you're talking about. i hit it up the other morning, after security told me i couldn't skate in millenium park, but i could go to town in grant park. that squigly path is a bridge connecting the two parks. it gets a little busy during the day, but early morn or later at night, its kinda fun. not too fast or anything, but good to get a few turns in.
i also found a nice hill across randolph, from there. the problem is it can be heavy traffic coming up behind you, and there's some full-width street grates to watch out for. as for the lakepath, its fun and no hassles, just watch for bikers because they get pretty serious. near oak street beach, the path is really slanted and you can get a nice wave vibe.
I'm officially a chicago longboarder now, I got my bustin complex yesterday and took it out for my first full cruise today. I went down to lakeshore and checked out the skatepark near 31st. Where else does everyone skate in the city? Especially near the south side.
Gonna be in Chicago...
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