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09-18-08, 07:51 AM
I went looking for bikes yesterday, and realized quickly that with the wedding to pay for and hockey season almost here, and with what I wanted out of a bike now (rather than waiting til november when its of less use) that a brand new ride was out of the question.
So I went down to the local bike co-op www.thirdhand.org, paid my $25 to join and promptly spent 2 hours learning and volunteering. Im a long way from being able to fix my own bike, but I figured I'd be giving back to the community and learning at the same time. I've helped rebuild a crank, learned a little about brakes, and "balanced" a wheel (I cant remember if thats the right term, its where you use a set of tools to tighten and loosen spokes to get it to run straight). All the bikes I worked on were owned by folks from poor neighborhoods. A couple were kids, but a couple were folks who use these bikes as primary their transportation.
When I walked in, I originally settled on a piece of junk Murray MTB that needed a lot of help that I would fix and ride while keeping my eyes out for a much nicer ride when the next batch of donated bikes came in.
At the end of the night, one of the other members/volunteers saw what I was buying and talked to me about what I wanted out of the bike, and we looked through some of the bikes that still needed some work. Low and behold there was a TREK 800 ANTELOPE in very good shape that just needs a tuneup and shift replacement. I had paid $25 to buy the Murray, but they let me pay another $25 and get the 800 instead!!
So now, I have a nice solid heavy MTB that I've seen listed in a few spots as an acceptable Clyde bike that should be ok for short commuting, have started to learn how to fix bikes, and am giving back. (Plus you earn credits towards parts/bikes with the time you volunteer, so upgrades should be cheap).
I am still going to fix the Murray I had originally planned to purchase, and use some of my credits to upgrade it before it goes back onto the sales floor, so it can be resold as a better bike for the original $25 I was going to pay.
I've identified the 800 as a 1993 based on the Shimano C20 shifters/deraileurs, but I do have one question: any idea where I can find the serial number?
I'll be posting pictures of the new ride this evening, and starting a thread somewhere on the Murray as I rebuild it.
So I went down to the local bike co-op www.thirdhand.org, paid my $25 to join and promptly spent 2 hours learning and volunteering. Im a long way from being able to fix my own bike, but I figured I'd be giving back to the community and learning at the same time. I've helped rebuild a crank, learned a little about brakes, and "balanced" a wheel (I cant remember if thats the right term, its where you use a set of tools to tighten and loosen spokes to get it to run straight). All the bikes I worked on were owned by folks from poor neighborhoods. A couple were kids, but a couple were folks who use these bikes as primary their transportation.
When I walked in, I originally settled on a piece of junk Murray MTB that needed a lot of help that I would fix and ride while keeping my eyes out for a much nicer ride when the next batch of donated bikes came in.
At the end of the night, one of the other members/volunteers saw what I was buying and talked to me about what I wanted out of the bike, and we looked through some of the bikes that still needed some work. Low and behold there was a TREK 800 ANTELOPE in very good shape that just needs a tuneup and shift replacement. I had paid $25 to buy the Murray, but they let me pay another $25 and get the 800 instead!!
So now, I have a nice solid heavy MTB that I've seen listed in a few spots as an acceptable Clyde bike that should be ok for short commuting, have started to learn how to fix bikes, and am giving back. (Plus you earn credits towards parts/bikes with the time you volunteer, so upgrades should be cheap).
I am still going to fix the Murray I had originally planned to purchase, and use some of my credits to upgrade it before it goes back onto the sales floor, so it can be resold as a better bike for the original $25 I was going to pay.
I've identified the 800 as a 1993 based on the Shimano C20 shifters/deraileurs, but I do have one question: any idea where I can find the serial number?
I'll be posting pictures of the new ride this evening, and starting a thread somewhere on the Murray as I rebuild it.