Filed under: Anecdotes
One day not too long ago, some shabby looking dude walks in with a bike. Bags hanging from the bars, cane strapped to the top tube—this was a really hard ridden ride. With desperation in his voice he asks if I can fix it, pointing to the rear derailleur. At first glance it looked as though the chain had gotten wrapped around it somehow. Not wanting to put out too big of a charity vibe, I ask if he’s got a few bucks. To which, in reply, I receive a litany of reasons why I should do this repair for free. These ranged from his just paying rent, bus fare, and something about his needing to meet his parole officer in an hour. “Just a quick fix to get on the road man!” So it was to be free, and quick! I relented to look at it closer and see if I could help the dude.
Rolling his bike to the back I saw it had decent old school Suntour components on it. An older nicely crafted Schwinn made with CrMo Columbus Tenax tubing. Closer inspection revealed however that this bike was trashed. Just over-used and abused. Sadly I had to tell the dude there wasn’t much I could do for him. The Suntour Sprint rear derailleur was blown out and lacking a pulley, but surprisingly the right dropout itself was stretched to about twice the normal at the opening—significant frame damage. His rear wheel was forced fit into the the damaged dropout with the QR screw-down method. This bike was wholly unsafe to ride.
After my safety explanations were flatly ignored, I listened to another deluge of excuses and reasons why I needed to get him back on the road. What was I to do? Here was a guy, requiring a cane to walk, with a bike that needed considerable repair, that needed to get to a parole hearing within the hour lest he go back to prison. I could no doubt fix his bike, repair his dropout and return this mistreated machine close to its original glory, but there was nothing I could do for the dude. And with either case, I couldn’t do anything within such a time restraint.
Either his protests prevailed, or I merely wanted to see him packing, I explained thoroughly that the bike was unsafe to ride, recommending he only walk the bike. I chose a moderate cog on the freewheel and cut the chain to length rendering the bike a single speed. I didn’t like doing that, but I also didn’t like putting the guy out. It was a lousy compromise, I hope he made it to his meeting and hasn’t landed back in prison.
This wasn’t the first similar instance and surely won’t be the last. Who knows what’s happened to these bikes before they come into the shop? Maybe the dude is not the original owner, one can guess that the bike has been stolen and resold, lost and then found. What adventures could it tell us? What are people doing in order to damage their bikes in such a way. I know the bicycle is a tool, and we use them in different ways, but like any tool, good care should always be applied.
A philosophical mind might draw a parallel between the bike and the rider. Life can sometimes result in jail time, poverty, or physical handicaps; the harder the life, the more likely perhaps. I guess, whenever possible, be good to your life, it might be the last one you get.
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that guy was sketchy as all hell and I loved it. at the same time though, regardless of how rough his life may or may not have been, when someone treats their gear like shit, that’s exactly what they’ll get out of it. you did more than most would have.
Comment by fuckgas 03.11.09 @ 9:28 pmLeave a comment
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