Yojimbo’s Garage

Marcus is a god of bicycle builds. You will not find a more knowledgeable person anywhere on the planet. He is probably the best wheel-​builder in the country. His shop is THE go to place for any true vintage bikes, as he is probably the only one who has the classic tools parts and knowledge to work on them. Yes, he is generally working in an outrageous backlog, but don’t let that scare you away in a pinch. His is still the only place I have ever gotten same day service in a crisis.

Marcus was great.

Marcus is a bike God! He brought my 80’s red Bottechia back to life with parts only a true master bike mechanic has and knows how to fit and install. Damn, my bike looks like a red Ferrari now but done on a Fiat budget.
Going to Marcus is like going to a great architect — tell him your vision, he listens, jots down notes, and he wows you with making you a bike masterpiece.
The man loves what he does so let him pursue his passion for you.

I recently was in need of a new bike and stopped over at Yojimbo’s Garage to see if they had anything I might like.
The selection wasn’t terribly big, some nice bikes though. And it seems like Marcus does a lot of custom builds. I didn’t end up getting anything here because I didn’t really want to go through a custom build process, but meeting Marcus and seeing the shop makes me feel like this place would be excellent for any future repairs and parts.
Marcus was super helpful, answered a few repair questions I’ve been having about my old bike and even recommended some places I might go in the city to pick up a used bike on the cheap.
Really seems like he just loves bikes and is a very amicable dude.
Even though I didn’t end up buying anything here, I could see myself coming back.

Most everything has already been said by the other excellent reviews. I concur.

Marcus is fantastic. Super helpful, down-​to-​Earth, and totally set me straight about what I needed (and didn’t need) for my build project.
Yojimbo’s Garage is a specialty bike shop (and fixed gear parts Mecca) targeting track, fixed gear, and urban riding and commuting. If you’re a lugged steel fan you’ll know how hard it is to find knowledgeable advice and good (or any) selection of parts at most mainstream bike stores that emphasize family-​friendly comfort bikes or extravagant carbon racers (and haven’t sold a straight top-​tube bike since ’91.) But if you’re looking for Quill stems, hubs, cranks and chainrings in all configurations (and colors) Yojimbo’s is your candy store.

If I could give Marcus more than 5 stars, I would. He is THE BEST.
It’s not your average bike shop. Don’t expect fancy displays or multiple salespeople trying to upsell you on everything.
Expect to get the best mechanic around. Expect to get the highest level of bike knowledge I’ve ever seen. Expect to get someone who cares about bikes, cyclists, and the bike community. Expect to get someone who actually remembers you, what you ride, what you use on your bike (s).
We’ve bought parts here, had bikes worked on, and had Marcus build some wheels for us. Everything has been superior service, always more than expected.
And and Active Trans membership discount too.
Every time I’m here, I leave with a smile on my face. There’s nowhere else that even comes close.
And he has a shop cat, Grace, that is just adorable.

Absolutely 5 stars, no question. I’m in love with this shop/​garage and I don’t even ride a bike. Seriously.
I wanted to buy my boyfriend a new messenger bag. I first called Yojimbo’s to see if they had what I wanted in stock. They did, and they were closing in 30 minutes BUT the guy offered to keep the shop open for me if I was going to run late and I needed the bag that day. This was right before Christmas and I really appreciated that he offered to do that. I thanked him and told him not to worry about it, I’d come later on in the week during their regular hours.
I drive over there again. This time I pull up and realize the time. Omg. They’re CLOSED! (I thought… they have different hours on different days so I wasn’t really sure). Shit! I decided to park and call them on the phone to see if anyone was there. Turns out they did close already, but he didn’t even realize and that he would keep it open as long as I needed. SO NICE! I ran outta my car and into the shop and I thanked him profusely for helping me out.
When I got inside, I was pleased to see a grey cat walking around the coolest bicycle garage I’ve ever seen (I haven’t seen too many, but this place is really neat!). When the owner (I think it was the owner?) asked me if I rode a bike I was a little embarrassed to tell him no, but he was so nice and gave me tons of information on blogs, online forums, etc. for the bicycling community in Chicago.
I left here extremely pleased with the customer service and the fact that I was able to support a Chicago business like this. I will definitely be coming back here and when I’m ready to start riding, I hope I can get a bike from here.
OH ALSO. I forgot to mention this. The bag ended up costing me $ 50 less than I found it for online.

Marcus is a rockstar. It’s that simple.

Google this place. I swear by the time I pulled up on a rainy afternoon I thought I was going to be kidnapped. Or that I needed a secret password just to enter a secret club (read the door, it says to knock so remember that!).
But in all honesty this is a really cool place. As soon as I walk in I’m greeted by the mechanic, who happened to be tuning a bike while jamming to Pearl Jam on the radio. Place looks like a dude’s messy garage, but it’s loaded with good bike parts. Don’t expect clean racks, nicely arranged bike parts and all that jazz. Come on, didn’t you enter the same door I did and expect a dust-​free lab did you? This guy looks like he was here before Cabrini Green got it’s reputation, and kudos to him for sticking around and to his roots.
Very cool selection of bikes, a lot of parts, and some vintage stuff too. If you’re looking for fixie/​track/​singlespeed parts, this is the place to go. When I’m ready for a set of custom-​built wheels, I know just the place to go.

Yojimbo’s is a unique shop and there are a couple of things to understand before trying it out. First of all, it is mainly higher end stuff, and the selection is not going to be massive. They probably aren’t going to be interested in tuning up your Huffy. It is a specialty shop that focuses on track bikes, and some road bikes.
Yes, their website it two years out of date, and the hours are a bit odd, but once you get in the shop Marcus is extremely knowledgeable. They do have some moderately priced equipment, and he is more than willing to help you find it. Even if you are clueless, you can always ask him questions and he will be happy to help you out. Marcus just really likes biking.
This is a great store that does a lot for the cycling community as well. They are one of very few (maybe the only) stores to offer a discount on frames or complete bikes with the Active Transportation Alliance as well — if you are going to buy a bike definitely look into getting a membership, it can pay for itself in one trip.
Finally, this is the only store I have ever been in where the proprietor ran out to my car to give me money. I bought some pedals that were missing the cleats (I told him I had extras and didn’t mind), and Marcus made sure to run out and meet me to give me a discount.

Great place.
Marcus is the bike encyclopedia. Lots of racing knowledge.
He has some of the most beautiful bikes I’ve seen. I want a bareknuckles frame. LOL.
A little pricey but worth it cause most of what he has is hard to find outside of the Internet.
Even if your not going to buy anything stop in and check out his stock. Don’t be afraid of the storefront. Its whats inside that matters.

Ive never gone to this place and seen them OPEN. I thought it was an abandoned building. Have they finally got their act together or are they only open an hour a day? What am I missing… I know what they are missing, my $$$ because the operation is shoddy at best, (I spend around $ 5−10K a year on cycling related purchases for self, friends and family).
Go to a real bike store, one that has a store front, a window on the front door and clearly posted hours of operation, (like it really matters if they did).

Where do I start! This is one of my favorite places to visit on payday. I have to tell you Unilocalers out there that Marcus runs one great shop! If he does not have something in stock he is tenacious in finding it for me.
Keep up the good work!

I am going to bite my tongue on commenting about some of these low starred reviews about Yojimbo’s.
Marcus is fantastic.

When I search on Unilocal,my motivation is to find the best. If you search for «bike repair» Yojimbo’s is on top. Considering it’s rating and how close it is to my apartment, I decided to give it a look. I walked my broken bike about a mile and half to seek out the the great Yojimbo and hopefully get some good advice about how to make some affordable upgrades on my road bike.
I arrived at a locked shop where I had to knock to get in. I was finally let in by an unmotivated man in his 50s who kind of ignored me and my friend. After waiting 20 minutes (there were only 2 people in the shop) I asked if he would at least take a look at my bike in order to give me some suggestions on improvements and upgrades that I could make for the summer season. He coldly replied that he couldn’t look at my bike. Understanding this is a busy time of the year, I very politely asked if there was any time of the year that I could come back and have him take a look at my bike. He said that he had many projects that he was working on, and that after that, he would be doing a lot of paper work, so that he wouldn’t ever be able to look at my bike. I asked if he was the only guy that worked at this store, and he said that he was.
So, now that you know the awkward conversation that i had, my assessment is that this IS NOT A BIKE REPAIR SHOP. Do not waste your time walking your broken bike all the way to this store in order to receive expert attention, because there is a chance that the guy there will not even look at it.
As a store, this is fairly functional place. There are many averagely priced fixed gear bikes, as well as many bike parts. If you ride a fixy and do most of your own bike work, this is the place to come get parts. But… if you don’t fit this profile strictly, you are wasting your time.
I’m rating this store as a bike repair shop rather than store. If it was just a place that sells bikes and parts I would rate it a 3.

there is no better place to deal with bike matters than here.
Marcus is a great guy and will handle any velo issues quickly and fairly. Nothing more needs to be added, other than check the website since they have an irregular (but conciencious) schedule

Skip the Big chain Bike shops with the bad attitudes.
This place has everything you need. After 1 visit, Yojimbo’s Garage is my favorite bike shop. EVER. Heres why:
I needed a crank puller. a Box End and Pin Spanner Crank Wrench (36mm), FR-​6 — Park Tool, a Lock Ring Spanner, & FR-​4 …
After calling Cozy’s, Upgrade ((always rude)), & Village Cycle Center ((steve is nice))… Yojimbos was THE ONLY shop that had ⁴⁄₅ of the tools I needed. None of the other stores even came close!
& once inside, How can I argue with a vintage HUFFY team track frame, & an 80’s p-​10 (w/​pedigree) hanging above entrance ??? seriously. I WILL ALWAYS GO HERE FIRST. THANK YOU
p. s. It’s fun to ride there too. Something different.

Hey guys at Upgrade… look what happens when you’re not an a-​hole know-​it-​all to those that look to you for information. People end up liking you and your business. Strange world we live in.
Picked up some new tires from here for a good price. Cool space for a bike shop. The owner is friendly and willing share what he knows with clientele.

Yojimbo’s is great! Today was my second trip. I came in this morning with a flat tire, and they sold me a rim strip and a patch kit for a total of $ 4.50. Not only that, they were super helpful, not giving me any trouble about borrowing a wrench and even assisting me with their leaky floor pump.
Wonderful, friendly folks at Yojimbo’s. I won’t be going anywhere else.