AlphaDogg

I work for the bike program here at CU Boulder as a mechanic for the semester bike rentals. Today I was finishing up a bike so I could put it in the rental fleet. I put on all new rubber, adjusted the cables, and took it for a test ride. I felt the seatpost sink into the frame and found that the seatpost was not the correct size for the bike. I looked through our parts bins and found that we didn't have a spare post of the proper size. So I grabbed a post off another one of our bikes (one that hasn't been in the rental fleet yet) and found a cork in the end of the post. Expecting to see some green (because this is Colorado I'm not just talking about money), I pulled the cork out of the post. I found a little cloth bag with a crackpipe and what I believe to be crack. I called my boss to let him know what we were dealing with and then called the police. They came and bagged it and left after about 15 minutes getting info from me and info on the bike that the crack came out of.

So I ask of you to tell me your most interesting repair story!

lopek77

Crazy bike repair stories ended, when I started fixing my bike myself.

JohnDThompson 

Had a kid bring in a beautiful, canary yellow, full Campy Super Record Cinelli for a tune-up. He obviously had no clue what he had, and the bike sure looked like one that had been in the front window of Yellow Jersey recently. Called up YJ, and sure enough, their shop had been broken into and a yellow Cinelli was among what had been taken. Called the police and arranged to have them at the shop when the kid came back to get the bike. Sure enough, it's YJ's bike. The kid said he bought it from some guy at a bar; probably telling the truth since he seemed totally freaked by the incident.

FBinNY 

BITD, while working in a retail store in NYC, we had someone walk in with a decent condition bike that needed some work. Besides the normal issues, the bike lacked a saddle and only the post (old style tapered pin that takes a saddle clamp) was sticking up. So I tried to sell the owner a saddle. He declined saying it's always been that was and that's how he rides it. Since this was Greenwich Village, I opted not to pursue the issue.

Bill Kapaun

Francis- Are you a beatnik?

FBinNY 

I sort of was. More like a cross between an engineering nerd and beatnik. Though of the rock generation, I preferred Jazz and hung out at the great clubs in the village. One of my biggest life mistakes was giving up my $80/mo rent controlled apartment in what later became SoHo when I got married. Today, with annual increases that apartment would probably be costing me $200-300/mo. (unless the landlord took out a contract on me to qualify for vacancy decontrol).

rootboy 

And now the guy who rode around on a saddleless bike probably lives there.
Gentrification, etc.

lopek77

Ouch...this is so politically incorrect, and all this from a well known businessman/chainL maker...Double ouch.

FBinNY 

I stated the facts of a true incident. You're the one drawing politically incorrect conclusions.

lopek77

We both know what's the connection between Greenwich Village AND your "understanding", that it's OK for "them" to ride on the seatpost.
You not in your man cave talking to your close buddies while drinking beer... This is an internet forum with worldwide reach, and you should keep these "funny" talk to yourself buddy.

But since you already said it, you have to remember that -

FBinNY 

No we don't. You think you do, but that's about it.

hueyhoolihan

for me, it was just the beginning.

lopek77

I bet you were watching wrong YouTube videos lol

curbtender

Probably one of the few times a bike would be worth more with a crack in the frame...

lopek77

lol Brilliant!

fritz1255

And back to the original scope of this thread: Due to a couple of injuries over the last couple of years, a lot of my exercise is now done on a stationary bike in a stand. I am using my old high school 10-speed (probably made in the 1960's). When I first got it (used), one of the neighborhood kids, supposedly a bike "expert" helped me rebuild it, which he insisted was necessary. 40 years later, I am having to rebuild it again. Bottom bracket was short several ball bearings, plus the ones that were in it were two different sizes, bearing cones on pedals overtightened so that one of them would barely rotate on its own, cotter pins on cranks totally goofed up to the point where they weren't parallel. I could go on. Point is, beware the self-proclaimed "expert mechanic"!