Cycling Mob Cycling Forums - View Single Post - Make your neighbor cry and hug you: fix their bike!

01-16-2007, 05:09 PM

Well that was satisfying! My neighbors had been lamenting their lack of
good bikes whenever I saw them at the local dog park, as they'd often
see me zooming about doing errands on one of my small fleet of utility
bikes. So I lent Caroline "Helga", an alley find retrofitted with 700c
wheels and 28mm tires I built up from the detritus in the garage.
(http://tinyurl.com/2nw9c2) She rode the crap out of that funky coaster
brake thing the past couple of unseasonably warm weeks. That lady
needed a bike of her own!

I found out in passing that she had an early 90s rotty Mt. Shasta rigid
mtb in the garage. A college campus transport in very rough shape.
Tires with the tubes coming out the sidewalls, and a chain that was 2mm
past the 12 link usual. Shimano Altus componentry in oxidized, but
solid condition. Rust spots on frame, bars, and covering the chain. The
wheels were nice and almost true, so I asked her if she wanted to blow
a hundred bucks to see if I could do something with it.

Returned it today looking fantastic, with WTB slicks, Freddy fenders, a
silent and perfect drivetrain with a fresh chain, grippy new brake
pads, shortened bars with new Tru-Grips, rust ground off and touched
up with 'lectric tape covering the hideous decals in an urbanite
fashion. It didn't look showroom, but it looked like a serious vehicle
instead of an old rotty mtb. She just about had a heart attack! Talk
about a killer hug! She kept shreiking on about how cool the fenders
looked. :-P Oh, and then she saw the shiny new skewers I'd given her
from the bucket. Never have I seen a person get so happy about new
shiny skewers.

All for a hundred dollar bill. Now I have another neighbor that'll
leave the cage at home for the basics, as our local market, hardware
store, and dining/drinking establishments are all within a couple
miles.

This wouldn't be news in a city where utility cycling is normal, like
Chicago or Madison WI, but in Nashville, it's pretty cool to get
another rider on the road that's not spandexed up.

:-D

01-16-2007, 05:09 PM	#1 (permalink)
landotter Posts: n/a	Make your neighbor cry and hug you: fix their bike! Well that was satisfying! My neighbors had been lamenting their lack of good bikes whenever I saw them at the local dog park, as they'd often see me zooming about doing errands on one of my small fleet of utility bikes. So I lent Caroline "Helga", an alley find retrofitted with 700c wheels and 28mm tires I built up from the detritus in the garage. (http://tinyurl.com/2nw9c2) She rode the crap out of that funky coaster brake thing the past couple of unseasonably warm weeks. That lady needed a bike of her own! I found out in passing that she had an early 90s rotty Mt. Shasta rigid mtb in the garage. A college campus transport in very rough shape. Tires with the tubes coming out the sidewalls, and a chain that was 2mm past the 12 link usual. Shimano Altus componentry in oxidized, but solid condition. Rust spots on frame, bars, and covering the chain. The wheels were nice and almost true, so I asked her if she wanted to blow a hundred bucks to see if I could do something with it. Returned it today looking fantastic, with WTB slicks, Freddy fenders, a silent and perfect drivetrain with a fresh chain, grippy new brake pads, shortened bars with new Tru-Grips, rust ground off and touched up with 'lectric tape covering the hideous decals in an urbanite fashion. It didn't look showroom, but it looked like a serious vehicle instead of an old rotty mtb. She just about had a heart attack! Talk about a killer hug! She kept shreiking on about how cool the fenders looked. :-P Oh, and then she saw the shiny new skewers I'd given her from the bucket. Never have I seen a person get so happy about new shiny skewers. All for a hundred dollar bill. Now I have another neighbor that'll leave the cage at home for the basics, as our local market, hardware store, and dining/drinking establishments are all within a couple miles. This wouldn't be news in a city where utility cycling is normal, like Chicago or Madison WI, but in Nashville, it's pretty cool to get another rider on the road that's not spandexed up. :-D