Back in the 1960's I got a new Schwinn Typhoon (their cheapest model) to use on my paper route. Made $5 per week and paid off the bike in about 3 months.

First mod I made was to loose the fenders, kickstand, and chain guard (made my dad quite angry) which was all part of being cool.

So too the pedals once they wore to the point of being spindles. Local swimming pool was about 2 miles away which made it show of bravado to pedal spindles on a hot day with bare feet. What we didn't realize then that it was more a show of stupidity than courage.