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Love is a Two Way Street

There is no more loved or misunderstood piece of sporting goods equipment than the bicycle. The bonding comes at an early age.

Even after we grow up and on to cars, the bike is always on our minds. As adults we buy another one that gets ridden less than we’d like because living takes center stage. Still, we love the time spent on an occasional spin, after which this loved one is put away most often with little thought to its condition.

It can be a blue moon before we realize that it’s time for a tune-up. The wake up call is often when the tires are flat because the bike hasn’t been ridden in recent memory.

Bikes brought in for tune-ups fall into two categories: (1) those in decent condition and (2) those that are borderline to hopeless. That ratio hasn’t changed in the 30-plus years that I’ve been around bike shops. The age of the bike or the miles it has traveled are scarcely factors. The level of care and how the bike is stored make all the difference.

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For those machines in decent condition, roughly half of what any bike shop sees, a tune up works wonders, quickly bringing them back to prime operating potential. Priced under $100, the tune-up is a bargain. A skilled mechanic lubricates the moving parts and adjusts the gears, checking for signs of wear that could interrupt a ride.

The other 50% of bikes that enter the shop have been ridden hard and put away wet or worse. Too many have been left to rot outdoors or in a moldy crawl space. Despite this abuse, the owners profess to love their bike and want it made well again.

All bike shops comply and do the best they can, But it’s an economic reality that replacing the worn-out parts eventually equals the price of something new and spiffy.

Some of these bikes are in desperate shape and not worth putting a nickel into. But telling that to bike owners, is like saying their spouse should be euthanized. We love our bikes, no matter how badly we treat them.

When these owners insist that their old bike be saved – or they will take their business elsewhere – I comply, but suggest that the bike can be saved, as long as they do not intend to ride it downhill or apply the brakes. But business is business, and a good bike shop, with enough time and expense, can fix almost anything on two wheels. Very few bikes are ultimately turned away.

Unlike other sports performance equipment there are no written safety standards for bikes -- and there should be. It’s impossible to know how reliable worn or rusted parts are. Catastrophic events, by definition, occur suddenly. And catastrophe is likely in a game played in moving traffic at high speeds. Sudden equipment failure here, unlike in many other recreational sports, can be devastating.

Many lives are spared because amateur bikers don’t ride often, and even rusted, worn parts hold up to light use.

When you think of it, bikes are king when it comes to longevity. They survive long after other sports equipment (e.g. in tennis, golf, skiing) have been replaced by the latest technology, fashion or fad.

Indeed, ski bindings past a certain age cannot be legally installed by a ski shop, even if they are new and out of a box. But any rust bucket bike that moves can be ridden in traffic.

Not incidentally, new bikes are a sporting goods bargain. It’s hard to equate the value of a $500 golf club or a $300 tennis racquet frame compared with a professionally assembled $289 entry-level 21-speed hybrid, that has a few hundred parts.

If not put away wet or left out to weather, if lubricated often enough, a good bike at any price will last for decades -- or until you get good enough to want something better.

My bottom line advice is -- take a good hard look at your beloved old bicycle. Do it now. If it has suffered the ravages of tough love, trade it in. Then try a little tenderness with something new. The new ride will be so much better that you may even find the motivation to begin this new partnership with a healthy regimen of care and regular tune-ups. And you will also save a few bucks on gas.

Copyright 2008 by David Balkin. All rights reserved.

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