I recently re-built up my first road bike from five years ago with the intention of selling it to a friend who needed a bike. I bought the bike used, hadn’t ridden it for four years, it hadn’t even had wheels on for three. My friend is fairly new to cycling and just needed a basic ride to get her from the Seward neighborhood to the U of M campus for classes. I kept the build as frugal as possible knowing that she didn’t want, or need, to invest much in a campus cruiser. I was able to dig through my parts bin here at home to find about half the parts needed to get the bike rolling again. A set of the cheapest wheels in the shop topped my shopping list, total cost about $125. After two partial afternoons piecing the new-old bike together, I was ready to test the resurrected ride. 

Just for comparison here, my personal project so far this year has been building up a mountain bike for myself. Being a single twenty-something dude with a job at a bike shop and disposable income on the side, I spared no expense and got some of the nicest parts I could dream up. Despite all the money invested in that bike, when I took the $125 cruiser down the block for the first time, I couldn’t help the huge grin that spread across my face. When I pedaled it went forward, when I hit the brakes it slowed and stopped. I guess I shouldn’t have been so surprised it worked, but I was a little surprised it felt as smooth and comfortable as it did. That ride around the block reminded me of the simpler days; when I was happy just to be rolling along getting around the city under my own power. From that first ride, I was almost loathe to sell the bike but told myself we didn’t have room for the extra bike, half the reason I built it up in the first place was to clear some space in my already crowded living room/bike shop. So when the bike ended up being too big for my friend (she could barely get a leg over much less get a foot down without tipping) I wasn’t all that disappointed. I figured I could always sell it on craigslist, if nothing else.

The bike never did make it to craigslist, though. I kept it around and it found a niche in my stable of bikes. It’s not as fast as my fixie, but I don’t always feel like sprinting. I can wear regular shoes to the bar now and I don’t have to worry if some drunk is peeing on my fancy mountain bike. When friends come to town, now I have a loaner bike that’s easy for anyone to ride. Maybe most important of all, though, is the feeling I get every time I hop on. Despite being the cheapest and oldest bike in my house, I still have a great time riding it. Sometimes I feel I get caught up in the hype riding my other bikes, thinking I have to ride hard and fast all the time. That’s simply not true. It makes me wonder if some people are turned off of cycling thinking they have to invest a ton of money or effort to get anything out of it. The more people riding bikes, no matter the style, the better I say. Even if you aren’t ditching your car for a bike, everyone who is getting out there and riding makes the city that much more bike friendly. So run what ya brung and get out there and ride!